Puella Magi Aeternum Bellum:In Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition
by smartcircle
Summary: In the 31st Millennium, the Imperium of Mankind survives only due to the power of magic and its wielders. A young girl makes a wish and takes her first steps into a larger world as she joins the most ruthless and brutal police force of the most terrible regime imaginable. The laughter of thirsting gods echoes as both blood and tears are shed.
1. Beginning of a Long Awakening

It is the 41st Millennium. For more than one hundred centuries, the Goddess has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. She is the Master of Mankind by Her own will, and Master of a Million Worlds by the might of Her magic. She is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from a realm beyond our own. She is the Carrion Queen of the Imperium, for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that She may never truly die.

Yet even in Her deathless state, The Goddess continues Her eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the manifestation of the light of The Goddess's Hope. Vast armies give battle in Her name on uncounted worlds. Greatest among Her soldiers are the Adeptus Magica, the Mage Knights, magical girls enhanced with Her power. Their comrades in arms are Legion. The Imperial Guard and countless planetary defense forces, the ever vigilant Inquisition and the Tech-Mages of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants, and worse.

To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the greatest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Only magic may light the way now. Forget the promise of progress, for in the grim dark future there is only despair. There is no hope amongst the stars, only an eternity of despair and hatred, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

* * *

_**Puella Magi Aeternum Bellum**_

_**In Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition**_

_**Volume 1: The Dreamer Wakes**_

* * *

Magical Girl: A female between the ages of twelve and nineteen who has entered a contract with Her Holy Majesty The Goddess of Hope, Magic, and Mankind. The female makes a wish, in exchange for eternal servitude in Her name. This contract bestows the power of The Goddess upon the female, granting that female powers of magic. This magical girl must then fight eternally in the name of Her Holy Majesty, protecting humanity from all threats. Her energy is gifted to the Goddess, to further the eventual resurrection of Her Holy Majesty, and the Ascendance to a New Golden Age.

-Excerpt from Her Ladyship Tomoe's _Encyclopedia Magica_

It is vital that the truth of the system be hidden from everyone. The details of the magical girl system, the contract, even the wish, all must be kept in complete secrecy. None of us would be here right now if we knew our souls would be stuffed into a jar, or if we knew that our wishes would eventually bring about despair. It is imperative that we carefully control the contracting system, to that end the Incubators have agreed to assist us. We can no longer afford to take into consideration the feelings of contractees. It pains me, and I know it pains all of you. After what has happened, this is a necessity. I hate to do this to millions of little girls, but the human race must survive, we will do what we must.

-Excerpt from Her Ladyship Tomoe'saddress _In the Wake of the Heresy, _circa M31.019

* * *

Schicksal

There was nothing at first. Only darkness. There were no sensations, no feelings, only darkness. There was seemingly no escape. But maybe one could be found.

The first step was taken tentatively. There is no sound, only darkness. Another step. A faint sound can be heard and a dim light appears. A third step. There is more now. More light, more sound, a feeling of touch became present.

After an eternity, the light was bright enough to see clearly. Stepping created the noise it should. Feet could be felt against the shoes that pressed against the floor.

A long corridor stretched out. But it wasn't long, it was short, but it was long again. There was no clear distance. The corridor is checkered, but then it was not, then it was black, then it was white. Now, all the colors could be seen. It was pointless trying to figure these things out.

_Who am I? _That was the question. Not where, when, why, or how. _What is my name? _The human looked down and observes that it is a girl. _Now on to the other questions. What's behind the door?_ She was scared. She was not sure if she wanted to go through the door. So she looked for another way.

She looked around herself and saw nothing, only formless dark. She looked behind her and saw the same. _What's happening? Where's the light? _She was terrified now. Even the light above the small space she occupied was going out. She screamed. She looked at the door. _It's the only way._

She reached her hand out and grasped the doorknob. She turned it slowly and pushed it open.

It was dark again. She screamed. In front of her, just like before, was nothing, nothing but a huge empty space. Then she realized she heard herself scream. So she wasn't in that void.

_But what is the darkness?_ Then the girl realized she could see small points of light. There were like tiny, glowing specks of light on a gargantuan black canvas. _Those are stars, aren't they? _She realized she was in space.

_But how? _She walked forwards and found herself impeded by glass. On a spaceship then. _How am I here? Why?_

Her question was quickly answered. There was a flash. She blinked. When her eyes opened again, there was a huge…_thing _in front of her. She didn't know what it was. It was spherical, on it were huge expanses of what looked like black metal.

She felt instinctively that she knew what she was looking at. It was her planet, her home. One of those cities could be hers. She had never seen it like this, but somehow she knew.

_Why am I here? Above my own planet?_ Then she saw something she would always try to forget. A sight a certain kind of person may see many times. But never regret seeing it as much as the girl did.

The planet lit up. It was as bright as the sun.

The girl shut her eyes. When she opened them again the planet was on fire. She couldn't even see the surface anymore, the flames were so thick.

"What?!" the girl screamed. She realized she could speak. "What is happening?"

For another minute, the atmosphere burned. The surface would be scorched of all life. Anything left would have no oxygen to breathe. When it subsided, the girl saw the smoking ruins of the surface. The girl wanted to look away, to find the one responsible. But she couldn't, it was too…beautiful. The thought was sick. But it was true.

Immediately following the subsiding of the flames, there were more bright flashes on the surface. One was on the ground the girl was above. The flashes left holes in the planet's surface. She realized what they were.

These… monsters weren't just burning this world. They were truly killing it.

"Why!" she screamed "Why does this have to happen!"

Huge explosions shook the planet. The crust of the planet immediately developed massive cracks. The planet was going to die, split into thousands of pieces.

But no one answered. She kept trying to turn away. Or at least close her eyes. But she couldn't. The world continued to split up. Tremors shook the ground as lava spilled onto the surface. She still couldn't close her eyes. The horrifying beauty of the scene captivated her.

It was epic, terrible, awe-inspiring, and horrifying."Please!" she cried out "Please make it stop!"

The planet continued to writhe it its death throes. Massive cracks spread across the surface like it was glass. Massive eruptions shot out of the ground as the core collapsed in on itself.

She couldn't believe it. What had the people of this planet done to deserve this?

"Why? Why? Why did this have to happen?" she begged, hoping someone would answer. But more importantly, she realized, was the request. "Please, stop this,"

The girl finally tore her eyes away from the planet below and looked to her left. She saw another girl. About the same height. She was fixated on the planet below. She showed no emotions whatsoever.

"Please! Make this stop! Please!" She begged to the silent figure.

But whoever this monster was, it didn't care, it didn't care that billions of people had just died as it watched. It didn't care that an _entire planet_ itself was splitting apart in front of her.

She knew it wasn't human, no human being could order this. No human, only a daemon. One of those daemons the preachers warned them of.

"Please…," she whispered one last time, slumping to the floor, knowing it was useless. "Make it stop,"

"No one can, not at this point. This was fated to happen, the wheels of fate were kicked unstoppably into motion long ago." a flat, monotone voice replied. She looked to her right and there it was; a small white creature. It had large pink eyes and a tiny mouth. Two long ears stretched from its head with rings near the ends. "But, _you_ can stop it,"

"Who are you?" the girl asked. Her eyes widened. She can stop this. How? She would so anything to save the billions that just died.

"That doesn't matter,' the white creature replied. "What matters is that you can save this planet and everyone on it."

"But how?" she asked. She needed to know. She didn't care what this was. Even if it was a demon who stole her soul, if she could save this planet, she would.

The creature had an answer. Cheerfully, it said "By making a contract with me and becoming a Magical Girl!"

* * *

Nichts Neue

The buzzing of her alarm clock woke Erwine Braune.

She quickly sat up and jumped out of the cramped bed. It was hard and uncomfortable, but she had gotten used to it. The floor was chilling beneath her bare feet and the air was stale and cold.

Her parents had already left for the manufactorum at which they worked. She didn't need to not see or hear them there to know. They had always left before she woke up in the morning. It had been like that for as long as Erwine could remember.

It was dark, absolutely no light in the room. She went to flip the light switch. It was located on the right side of the door, so she had to take a few steps, her bed being on the left side. She didn't need to fumble, for she had always had to turn it on in the morning. She had memorized the location long ago.

The single light in the ceiling dimly illuminated the room. It was just enough so that Erwine had no need to strain her eyes, but it wasn't the brightest. Her parents slept in the same kind of bed Erwine did.

Their two empty beds were across the room from Erwine, one above the other. Erwine also had another bunk above her bed, but due to the lack of a sibling, it was unoccupied. She wondered if it would ever be filled, but she hoped sincerely that it never was.

She looked into the small mirror above and to the left of her bed. Her shoulder-length silver hair was disheveled and sticking into the air in places. She'd have to comb it down as usual. Her hair always looked like that in the morning, especially if she had a night where she had turned over and over in bed. The only way to defeat it was to vigorously comb it until only a couple of strands still dared to rise into the air.

There were dark circles under her blue eyes. She didn't get much sleep the night before. Her dreams had been…strange. This had been occurring for the past several days. Erwine didn't know why. She wasn't sure that she wanted to know why.

She was at least happy that she could remember nothing of her dream from the night before. They were starting to leave her with a sense of uneasiness in the morning, and Erwine knew that would only be enhanced if she actually remembered the contents.

A quick glance at her alarm clock showed that it had not malfunctioned, as it sometimes liked to do. It was 6:00 in the morning. She always woke at that time, or at least if her alarm clock worked.

Erwine hated to comb her hair. She wanted it to look nice, but didn't want to spend the time. She grudgingly picked up the comb from its position on the nightstand next to her bed and began to pull her hair into its proper position. The process took only three minutes. But for Erwine, it was three minutes too many. The worst part was the pain, resulting from the curls and knots that formed in her hair. She liked the look of her long hair, but at the same time it annoyed her.

After completing the tedious yet necessary task, Erwine began to get dressed. She took off her pajamas and threw on her daily clothes. It was her schooluniform, the same thing she'd been wearing for a long time. That didn't really change either, just an increase in size of the uniform whenever she grew. It consisted of white shit underneath a blue jacket and a knee-length white-and-black checkered skirt. Erwine had a positive opinion on the popular subject of how ugly the uniform was.

Personally, she thought it suited everyone well. Nada and the other people who disliked it mainly didn't like the coloration. They said it was too dull. Erwine disagreed, but it was quite a silly topic to argue about in the first place. But in this world, there was not much else to argue about.

Erwine liked to move fast. She hated wasting time and considered every second not used to its fullest extent wasted. She felt very strongly about this. Her mother felt very strongly that Erwine should talk to the psychologist at the school. Erwine had disagreed for the longest time, and she could not see herself ever agreeing with that.

When Erwine finished dressing she reached underneath her pillow and retrieved a book. It was an old book. It had that dusty old look and fainted text that everyone associated with old books. It turned that common belief was rather true. Erwine had no idea how old this particular book was; just that it was very old.

The book was part of Erwine's personal collection. She kept it hidden from her parents. She wasn't sure if they'd be mad. Because some of these books children should not be reading. Or so some adults thought.

It had everything to do with the violence displayed or mentioned. This particular book, for example, was the _Siothean Fusiliers Sergeant's Field Manual_. It contained exact descriptions of various military operations. Some parents didn't like their children reading of violent things when they were young. They believed that would turn children into criminals. Erwine's parents had yet to find this particular text, so she wasn't sure how they would react. She herself wasn't sure on that matter. She didn't know of anyone who was a criminal, so she had no ability to make judgments.

The book was interesting to Erwine. She didn't understand most of the terms used, but otherwise it was fascinating to at least get a somewhat good understanding of the glorious Imperial Guard worked. She had heard plenty of stories who said they were somehow experts on the organization, but she doubted all of them.

Erwine placed the book under her arm and walked to the door. She opened it and walked into the large room. To the right of the door to Erwine's bedroom, was a small living room. There was a sofa large enough for about three and a chair.

To Erwine's left was where everyone hung their coats and placed their shoes. In addition, there was a table placed against the wall with sewing materials on it, in case anything needed fixing.

To the left, on the other side of the room, was a small kitchen. It stretched for about 6 feet from a door in the middle of the wall to the corner and then another six feet down the wall Erwine was facing. There was a table in the middle of the counters about three by three feet.

Where the kitchen ended, on the side facing Erwine, was a door in the middle of the wall. That door led to another bedroom. To the right of that door was the door that led into the single bathroom. One bathroom, for the two families that lived here. Fortunately, four people were most of the time two of the people were awake, so it worked out.

That other bedroom was occupied by Erwine's best friend, Nada Vladic and her parents. They had lived here Erwine's entire life. She and Nada had known each other since they were born. Erwine knew that Nada would not be awake. She would always try to get as much sleep as possible. Erwine would sometimes have to coax her out of bed.

Erwine went to the kitchen and placed her book on the table. She then took out some of their bread rations for the day, a glass of water, and began to eat. They had little taste, but Erwine knew they were actually somewhat nutritious. She also suspected it was better that they had little taste. If they had one, it would probably not be a good taste. Erwine didn't really hate the food, but she didn't love it.

She opened up her book and began to read. She was about a fourth of the way through the book. Currently, it was talking about the correct procedure on how to storm a building of any size or layout. Erwine figured she would never get tired of reading about such details that were meaningless to her and those around her.

Erwine had no idea if she'd ever have use for this knowledge. That possibility was very unlikely. Unless she was conscripted into the Guard. She had no particular desire to enlist and die fighting on some distant, nameless, planet. But she also had no desire

Erwine finished her food and cleaned up after herself. She proceeded to pack her lunch for the day with the rations she always assigned to lunch. She placed the lunch bag inside her schoolbag; situated to the left of the door.

She finished this routine by brushing her teeth. It was a necessary thing. The foods were made to do as little damage to teeth as possible. But the teeth still got dirty, so money had to be spent on expensive toothpaste.

It only took a few minutes and by the time she finished brushing and using the bathroom for its usual purpose, she heard Nada emerge from her room. Nada also followed an exact procedure. She'd always come out of her room, get her food, and use the bathroom, if Erwine wasn't done yet, otherwise she'd go there first. After that she'd sit and eat until the two of them had to leave for classes.

Erwine walked out of the bathroom and retrieved her book from the kitchen table. She went and sat on the chair in the right corner of the room. As she left the bathroom she went past Nada, who said nothing. Erwine said nothing in response.

Nada was a blond-haired girl. Her hair went down to the top of her neck. She liked to keep it short. She was very skinny as well, for one reason or another. Both girls participated in the same amount of activity. Though she never told anyone, Erwine envied Nada's physique. She was a bit out of shape for a girl her age.

They never said "hello" anymore; the two of them both knew what the other was thinking and what their day would be like and what yesterday had been like. Today was no different. _Except for…that. We might want to talk about that. _The thought weighed heavy on her mind, pushing any chance of a normal day away.

There was an important thing that they should discuss, but both Erwine and Nada had promised each other to talk with all their friends first. Besides, Erwine had already thought about it and she didn't like the worrying it created.

It was about six-thirty now, the time they usually left on school days. Both Nada and Erwine kept track of what time it was. They knew exactly what to do. Nada cleaned up her food, Erwine stashed away her book and he two of them went to dress in their winter clothes.

They went to the racks to the left of the door outside and began to throw on their clothes. Heavy coats, scarves, hats, gloves, boots, it was very cold in the winter. Due to all the buildings casting shadows, the air was rarely warmed enough in the winter to melt any snow or even raise the temperature above freezing all day long.

After dressing they picked up their schoolbags. Nada and Erwine worked in perfect synchronization. They did this every day of the school week. At almost the exact same time every day. Erwine sometimes wondered why she hadn't gone insane yet. Erwine opened the door and Nada walked out first. There was some difference. Yesterday, Nada opened the door.

It took a couple of minutes to walk their way out of the hab complex they lived in. They lived on one of the higher floors, so it took a few minutes to walk down the flights of stairs to the bottom. They walked in silence. Neither of them had anything to say to the other. They both knew what the other was thinking of.

The two of them reached the ground floor and went towards the side that would exit them on the quickest route to their destination. As soon as the door was opened, the cold hit them like a sucker punch. But, again, they'd experienced it before, so the two of them soldiered on and began to walk as fast as they could to maintain their warmth.

The season of winter had begun a month before, and had been signaled by the dropping of the temperature to brutally low levels. Cold winds had rolled in, pushing dark skies ahead of them to empty their payloads of rain, in the first week. But after that, the cold was enough to cause snow.

The next week had brought a full meter of snow to the city. This snow had led to many an injury from children who went out exposed to the elements, but the next week was worse. The usual winter dryness set in, with all the moisture having been rained or snowed out.

The lack of moisture decreased the temperature drastically, and Erwine had heard stories of people who froze to death. Supposedly, an entire hab block's heating systems had failed during the night, and everyone inside save a lucky few had frozen to death. Her parents had passed the story off as an urban legend, but Erwine wondered if her strange dreams had something to do with her fear of dying in the middle of the night. _I doubt it, _Erwine thought, _The Goddess would never allow such injustice._

The last week, however, had seen the return of some of the clouds to the city. They still floated high above in the air, gently casting snow down to the ground sometimes. Erwine certainly preferred their snow to the deadly cold of the dry days, during some of which classes had been cancelled due to the harshness of the cold.

Erwine and Nada started to make their way towards the school. Their hab block's front entrance emptied onto a street, but they had taken a side exit, which opened into an alleyway to the side of the main streets. Most children traveled through these passageways between buildings. There was little to fear during the brightness of the schooldays, and the number of people walking also decreased any chance of assault.

If one were to map out this single sector of the outer part of the city, they would see that the alleyways were not just straight lines going right in between buildings. Many buildings were oddly shaped, due to the more haphazard design of the outer city, compared to the strictly regulated inner city. This led to the alleyways twisting and turning to move around the buildings.

She and Nada continued through the cold towards their final destination, which was still far from them. They lived about three kilometers from the school, which they could walk in about thirty minutes when one takes into account the twisting alleys they had to get through. Classes began twenty minutes after seven o'clock, so they still had around forty minutes.

Erwine wasn't worried. She was rarely late to school, and this year, she had never been late. However, that was not what occupied her mind this morning. Bigger problems. She had put them off far too long. _We all put them off far too long, just waiting right until the last minute to try and pull ourselves together._

The girl glanced about, eyes traveling upwards. The snow fell gently. The sky shined white. It wasn't dark out, despite the thick cloud cover. The skyline near the center of the city was clearly visible, with the huge edifices reaching up into the clouds. Erwine wasn't sure how big the city was. _I don't know how big anything is, _Erwine realized. _Not as though I need to know._

All Erwine knew about the world was that it was a big place. How big, she couldn't say, but it had to be big, given what she was told by those who seemed to have knowledge. Erwine understood that she was a single cog in the greatest machine ever crafted by mankind. The great Imperium of Mankind stretched across the entire galaxy, containing millions of worlds and countless people within. Erwine couldn't help but feel pride at the knowledge she lived in so wondrous a time. _But my name will never be known by anyone but my friends and family. I doubt even my classmates will remember me after a while. I certainly don't remember them._

Nevertheless, Erwine was a staunch believer. She knew everyone had a duty, even herself. _Even though I'm just a tiny little part of a bigger machine, it's my purpose. _Erwine felt that she could do anything for The Goddess, _save for one. _The Goddess was real. _The world can't be any other way. Magical girls are real, so the Goddess has to be real._She was of course the Goddess of Hope, Magic, and Mankind. Erwine wondered if that was the order of the things she was important to, or if it was just an arbitrary order someone came up with randomly.

She shook her head fiercely, as if to forcefully remove the thoughts from her mind. Such thoughts could be considered heretical, depending on who you asked, and Erwine had heard far too many urban rumors about magical girls being able to read minds to try to find out for herself if that was true or not.

Of course, that led to the inevitable question. Where were the magical girls? Were they any at all? Erwine had never seen one. Rumors drifted about incessantly. Sometimes there'd be a whole downpour of the stuff. Other times scraps drifted about, passing from ear to ear every so often.

Erwine had heard the stuff so many times that she'd lost all sensitivity to it. In the past, she'd gotten excited because someone 'knew a friend whose uncle's cousin saw a…' Now she just sighed at things like that. She'd never seen any trace of a magical girl being on this world. She'd never seen one of the things that made them, those Incubators. What's more is that the girl had no idea why magical girls would be on Siothea in the first place. It was a relatively backwater planet, at least to Erwine's knowledge. As far as she knew, nothing threatened it.

Of course, she really didn't know anything more about the world she lived in. For all Erwine knew, the only two planets were Siothea and Holy Terra. She doubted that was the case, but she received little concrete information to point to any other set-up.

But even disregarding the wider world, she'd seen no evidence for any magical girls on Siothea. Everybody knew that the moment one contracted, they were sent off to join the mage knights. Erwine had never seen one. In fact, she wished that she never did. For the only reason one would be on Siothea was if things were really, really bad.

And by that point, Erwine knew a weak girl like herself would already be dead. She glanced over to her companion, feeling a little insecure as she knew that Nada would probably make it through anything the universe could throw at her. _She'd find some way to survive, _Erwine told herself_…maybe even protect me in the process…_

"Erwine?" Nada shattered the silence. Erwine paused, coming back to reality. She realized she'd almost walked into the side of a building, such had been her detachment from reality.

"Sorry," She chuckled, getting beside Nada again.

"Too hard on yourself," Nada commented, poking Erwine in the arm, "Don't worry, we got each other's backs, right?" Erwine nodded, smiling at the girl's warm words. She focused her thoughts. Despite her staunch disbelief in rumors of any sort, she wasn't going to test their truthfulness.

Besides, she was close to the school now. Nada was getting more and more tense, and Erwine realized her own muscles were beginning to become taught, and her heart was starting to beat faster and faster.

Erwine had come to understand that nothing was inevitable. Everything that was said to happen would happen at some point, unless it was outright rendered incapable of happening. Delaying the issue would only make it worse when the issue was finally confronted.

The issue that Nada and Erwine were now thinking of was one that was more important than any other in either of their lives up until this point. They had been waiting to discuss this issue for a long time, but it was not an issue that could be discussed by just the two of them alone. The two girls emerged from the alleyway, and moved out onto the street in front of the school.

Noises of hundreds of children filled the air, but the other sounds encountered in the city were not present, as this was not a place where many adults would be. Erwine and Nada easily made their way through the dozens of children who blocked their path, which would have been a short one, to the street corner where they would wait for their friends.

Erwine glanced hurriedly around, straining to see the amount of light in the sky. She had memorized long ago how bright the sky would be before classes would begin, it came with being in the same place for years and years. A small part of her mind wondered if they would have the time to discuss, there being only around ten minutes left before classes actually began. This was a day that none of them could miss.

Nevertheless, Erwine and her companion stood on the street corner, doing their best to ignore the biting cold as the snow rose up to the tops of their shoes. Every now and then, a cold gust of wind would sweep in, causing an additional wave of shivers in both of the girls. Their friends always took longer to arrive, being farther from the school then Erwine and Nada.

Erwine was constantly annoyed at that fact, as she and Nada waited most days to speak with them for at least a couple of minutes before classes began, but she could not be personally angry with them. They lived farther away because of their parents and the specific manufactorum where they worked, not because they wished to annoy Erwine.

Finally, after only a few minutes that were dragged into an eternity by the cold, Erwine saw her friends walking down the street. However, only two of the three were there. Matile and Renata always walked together, but at times, Natalya was a bit behind. She wasn't the best at waking up quickly and being ready to move in the mornings.

As the two girls approached, Erwine counted down in her head to find that they had but five minutes before they had to go. Classes started in ten, but it was good to be moving before the last five minutes, lest one be unexpectedly held up. She wanted to say something, but the pressure to resolve the issue now was clear, so Erwine kept her mouth shut as her friends joined her and Nada.

"Good morning," Matile said, and Renata echoed her. Nada responded in kind, and Erwine said the same thing. It was a short exchange, lacking any kind of true emotional investment, instead coming purely from the desire to stave off the awkwardness that would come if no one greeted one another.

It was a social constant, everyone greeted one another when meeting after saying goodbye, even if they did not exactly truly wish that person a good morning. It was clear that in this case, the various persons involved in the greetings truly wished the others a good morning, but lacked the space in their minds to truly put their heart into it, as they were otherwise occupied. The way they acted was just the norm.

Erwine had heard the stories told at mass. She'd heard rumors. She had a handbook assigned to sergeants in the Imperial Army. She knew very well that the universe was a scary place. The very fact that magical girls were needed told her that much.

Yet she'd never seen a single magical girl. Not a single one of those daemons parents told their children about had ever appeared before her. No xenos had ever threatened the world during her lifetime. Nothing had. There hadn't even been any sort of corruption, as far as Erwine knew.

From what little she understood of the world, her life was astoundingly normal, yet astoundingly safe at the same time. She didn't suffer like countless billions of others did. As a consequence, she would live a boring, monotonous life. Yet she would also live to die a natural death, other circumstances notwithstanding.

And here, now, so many girls were gathered to discuss a decision that, if made in a certain way, would shatter that normalcy. That would thrust them into a wider world. A more exciting world for certain, but it was a world none of them knew. None of them understood it in the slightest. Who was there to assure them that it wasn't just another monotonous routine to be forced into? Who was there to assure them that it wouldn't just crush them?

As Erwine counted down, she noticed Natalya was approaching. The girl was at least jogging lightly, showing she understood how late she was. That pleased Erwine. It would not do to stain her rather clean record with one tardy report. It was not that she would be punished for one, single, isolated incident, on a day on which many would be held up by concerns similar to Erwine's, it was that she had little to praise herself for, and having a perfect record was something Erwine could be proud of.

Natalya said good morning as she came closer, and like the good little pigs everyone else was, they said the same thing back. The five friends formed a circle, with nothing but the corner of the street in the middle. Erwine could strain her ears, and hear the sounds of other girls talking, some in groups just like this one.

No boys were outside at this point. They were all inside. They knew to give those of the other gender some time to themselves. The second year girls were for some reason standing outside, in the biting cold, in the freezing wind, in the cold snow, talking amongst themselves. Yet this talk was not idle chatter. It was talk that could decide their fates. Not just what they would do, but how they would die, when they would die, and who would be responsible for their deaths.

Erwine turned her head back to look at her close friends once more. They were her closest friends, and also her only true friends. They had always been with her, at least Nada had, and the others had been known to Erwine for years.

The other girls were looking around with the same uncertain gaze Erwine was, unsure of how to being the conversation, or even if a conversation should be begun in the first place. Nada had courage, however. She was always braver than most, especially Erwine.

"I assume that we are ready to speak?" she asked, her voice neutral and calm. She tried to not show any emotion, but the combination of fear and excitement within her was easily noticed by everyone in the group.

Fear, of the uncertainty of what the decision would be, of whether her opinion would be respected, of what the outcome of this conversation would be.

Excitement, that her future was to be decided right here, that what was said right now may change everything, that her very life was on the line.

Why a person would be excited about that was unknown to Erwine. She did a better job of hiding her feelings, and it was good that she did, for she felt nothing else but fear. Something told her that something would go wrong. It was her gut.

She liked to trust that part of her. That part that was her base instincts. It was usually right, while when she thought long and hard, she was usually wrong.

"I think that…" Nada had to take a breath in order to be able to say anything. Such was her excitement that she was barely able to speak. But her fear could have easily caused that same stuttering uncertainty her voice showed. "…If we are approached, then we should…" She trailed off.

There was a word that she did not want to say, simply because saying it would acknowledge the reality of this conversation. It would confirm that what was being spoke of was a real issue that all of the girls faced. A part of each of them just wanted to think that it was just a dream, a fantasy that would not, could not, become reality.

Natalya's breath caught in her throat as she opened her mouth to speak. There was only one reason she would stop like that. She had a contradictory point of view. Erwine mentally took a step back, waiting to see the effect Natalya's words had on Nada, before she added in her opinion.

"What is it?" Renata asked. Her harsh tone, critical of Natalya's fear, showed that she was supportive of Nada. Matile said nothing, but her posture, with her gaze fixed on Natalya, clearly displayed that she supported her roommate.

"I do not think we should be so quick to…" Natalya was also afraid to say the word. For some strange reason, it was impossible for this few girls to say a single, two-syllable word. Yet this word was one that could change their lives. "We should assess the outcome, carefully plan what we shall ask for, and then we proceed."

"Why?" Nada asked, "You've heard stories about how potential can fluctuate in the space of a day, sometimes even less than that." Her tone was not one of anger. It was one of a girl unable to understand the opinion of another, such was the passion she felt for her own opinion.

And when speaking on this matter, Nada could not be blamed for being so aggressive. No one could, really, such was the importance of it, especially when compared to the problems these five friends usually faced. And she had, of course, just spoken one of the many words which had already been playing a large role in the minds of the five girls. In the minds of all the teenage girls.

Potential. A word that meant relatively little to a boy, or a grown adult of the Imperium. But to a little girl, such a word meant the world. It was a measure of whether or not one was suitable to become a magical girl. And for many girls, like the five who talked on this snow-covered street corner on this cold, windy, winter day, becoming a magical girl was the difference between a good life, and a terrible one.

"Yes, we've all heard those stories, told by girls who were angry that they never had the chance in the first place," Natalya snapped back, but she instantly regretted her decision, as Renata and Matile had already made their side clear.

"We cannot take the risk," Renata insisted, "This is far too important a matter to ignore like this. We can't sit around and think about what we want to do. If we have the chance, then we should contract!" Her voice was a harsh snap, not yet a shout, but if the conversation escalated as it had been, then there would be trouble.

Perhaps it was this snapping tone that made her finally spurt out the word that none wanted to say, nor even consider saying. Contract. Another seemingly trivial word, that meant everything to these young girls.

Matile backed up her friend. The two had a habit of agreeing on everything. Unlike Erwine and Nada, they thought alike. They shot a glance at each other, confirming their support. "Natalya, I know that you are afraid. However, we cannot just spend multiple days carefully considering this issue, what is there even to consider, we all have dreams we want fulfilled right now."

Matile was calmer than her companion, definitely the better choice for speaking to Erwine. Nada cut in at the end of Matile's words, "And besides, what else are you going to think of, you know the rules for a wish?"

All of them knew the rules for making a wish. They were not hard to memorize. They did not leave much room for creativity. But when dealing with the nearly uncontrollable power of miracles, it was necessary in order to prevent unforeseen harm. Harm that could manifest on a massive scale.

Natalya shrunk back from the three girls, slowly sliding her feet back through the thick snow. She looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet the gazes of the others. "Alright," she said, "I guess…" She trailed off, knowing that saying any more would only be trying to gain pity, and that would be pointless.

Not wanting to watch any further, Erwine tried to speak up. "Excuse me," she said, a bit meekly, knowledgeable of the fact that she was facing three people who very strongly believed that their opinions were the correct ones.

"Yes?" Nada asked, suddenly kind with Erwine. At least for now. Erwine had a sneaking suspicion that Nada would be just as angry with her once she voiced her actual opinion on the matter.

"I…I must agree with Renata…" the sentence trailed off quickly as Renata and Matile turned to look at Erwine. Nada gritted her teeth.

"Really?" Nada asked. She wasn't angry. Rather, she seemed more disappointed. Erwine doubted that Nada could project any other emotion against her best friend.

"Nada…" Erwine warned, glancing at the sky quickly, "We don't have time for this." Her gut told her that they had…a ringing sound. The bell. Five minutes. Exactly.

"Erwine, we can't run from this forever," Nada said, taking a step towards Erwine. She wasn't angry. Her attitude was intense, but she merely wanted to talk. The step sent Erwine over the edge. .

Erwine flinched backwards, as if she was going to be struck. The girl stood several feet away from Nada, there was no chance. Yet the fear in her eyes was immense. Nada paused, wondering what she had done. _I didn't want to hurt her, _she thought, scared of herself.

Erwine stared into Nada's eyes, and Nada stared back into Erwine's eyes. The five girls were frozen. There was not a hint of tension in the air. There was only cold. A freezing gust of wind swept down the street, making each of the girls shiver as the wave of cold swept over their already freezing bodies.

As if she was cued by this gust of cold wind, Erwine turned and ran. There was a shout behind her, but that did not stop her from sprinting all the way to the front doors of the school, and entering before anyone could catch her.

It was not as if she would have known she was being chased, as she never looked back. Erwine went to her first class, silently, and with heavy thoughts weighing on her mind. Her body may have warmed in the slightly better conditioned building, but that did not mean that Nada's effect on her heart was taken away as well.

* * *

Unsicherheit

It was time for lunch. Erwine had already sat through three hours of classes, varying between interesting and boring topics. She was both motivated to care by the fact that her future depended on her paying attention, but also motivated to not care, because one could not be sure when they were a teenage girl.

Erwine walked slowly into the large cafeteria. Not a thought in her mind was given to hunger. The girl did not look forwards to the rest of the day with a happy heart.

Now, Erwine looked forwards half an hour with fear, thinking that what was said would only reinforce Nada's claims, and make her own opinion irrelevant. Nevertheless, she still had to eat, at least a little. It was not as if she had much, her food consisting of a mix of bread and meat, straight from the school kitchens. It was not tasty, at least to someone who had never had it before. For Erwine, it was quite enjoyable, as she had never tasted anything for lunch besides this, save on holidays dedicated to various Imperial figures.

She sat down at one of the smaller tables. She was hoping that she would be alone, but unfortunately, she saw someone moving towards her. It was the last person she wanted to talk to, but also the only one.

Nada sat down across from her friend, setting her tray down before placing her backpack on the floor. The heavy thumping sound made by the falling pack only served to disrupt the fragile peace of mind Erwine had established in the last few hours. She was frightened, but at least she was not panicking.

Nada said nothing as she started to eat. Erwine had yet to begin, having stopped when she saw Nada approaching, but she hesitantly began to eat now that her friend showed no signs of anger or any other negative emotion.

The two girls ate in silence while the world around them was filled with noise. Hundreds of other children all spoke to one another, about various things. Few conversations were as serious as they had been earlier, outside. However, Erwine knew that she would not get the chance to have a lighthearted talk about something trivial at this lunch.

Nada was waiting to make a move. She was looking for the right time, the right place, to insert the words that would push Erwine over the edge. Erwine kept risking quick glances at the girl, only to find that she was not being watched.

Nevertheless, Erwine watched her friend carefully, until Nada said, calmly and casually, "I'm not that great of a friend, am I?"

Erwine was taken by surprise. She stopped risking quick looks, and stared at the girl in front of her, who was still digging into her food as if it was the last meal she'd ever have. There was a certain melancholy on her face, a kind that suggested she was sad, but also willing to hope.

"What do you mean? You're a wonderful friend, Nada," Erwine replied. It only clicked in her mind that she was contradicting her own thoughts a second after she spoke.

"I don't really think so," Nada replied, "I wasn't that kind to you earlier. I regret how threatening I was, to both you and Natalya."

"I'm sorry as well," Erwine said, "I suppose that your opinion makes more sense." Erwine knew it made sense. It's why she didn't want to accept it. _I can't face that possibility if it comes to it. I can't agree to this._

A coward like her was incapable of standing up to anyone, not even her best friend. "You don't suppose that, do you?" Nada asked. She had a light grin on her face, the corners of her mouth turned upwards enough so that she showed a perfect example of how to look entirely content with one's situation, "You believe strongly in your opinions, but you're too afraid to support them."

Erwine did not even wonder how Nada knew this. They had slept in the same hab every single day of their lives. They knew each other better than anyone. "You're wrong, I just don't want to stand up. I don't want to face the possibility of having to contract, especially so fast." Erwine said, averting her eyes from Nada's.

Nada reached across the table, touching her fiend underneath the chin, "Stop being so scared," she said, "It's just me, you've nothing to be afraid of,"

"I know," Erwine said, but she still kept looking away, even though Nada tried to bring her head back to face her. "I know," she repeated, and said the word a couple more times.

"In fact, Erwine, I think that this fear is what's causing your opinion," Nada explained, "You're scared of contracting, so you don't want to rush into it."

"I am scared," Erwine admitted. Admitting her fear was not hard for her, however. "But I have reasons,"

"I know," Nada said, her tone soft, "In fact, I'm afraid for those same reasons. I know that this choice will change both of our lives forever, with no way to change them back. We'll forever be apart, and only one will truly benefit from the situation."

"That's why," Erwine nodded.

"But don't you see?" Nada asked, "You can be a hero? Who would turn down the chance to go out into the galaxy, to see far-off planets, to go to the stars, something none of us will ever do, unless we contract?"

Nada leaned across the table, bringing her face close to Erwine's, "You can be a hero who saves people, a hero who is respected and praised, not a single worker in a manufactorum on this single world, don't you want that? Don't you want to be a bigger part of this world? Especially when all you have to do is say a few words?"

Erwine was scared. She was deathly afraid of having to one day face the chance to contract. Many things scared Erwine, but change was one of the things that frightened her more than anything else. And contracting would lead to more chance than Erwine could even imagine.

"I want that," Erwine said, "But we all want that…"

"So if you get the chance, then why don't you want to take it immediately?!" Nada asked, her louder volume not coming from anger, but rather from the excitement she showed in an attempt to convince Erwine.

This excitement was genuine, but Erwine had always known that she had and Nada were different people. "I think that I would just prefer to stay here," Erwine said, "It's safer that way,"

"So what?!" Nada asked, leaning across the table even further, now slamming her hands down on it. Although she was obviously not angry, her excitement was beginning to scare Erwine. "Just take a chance for once in your life, you don't know how well it could pay off!"

Erwine had anger in her suddenly. She may be scared of everything, but she was willing to retaliate when people pushed her past her breaking point. Her mouth opened, and she burst into tears, falling back into her seat just as quickly as she had stood to launch her retort.

Erwine covered her face with her hands, trying to hide herself from the gazes of the other people in the cafeteria. However, most understood what today was, and those who did not were quickly informed by those who did know. Nobody except the rudest in the room looked on as Erwine cried. It was not as if she was the only person in the room doing so at the moment.

"I'm sorry," Nada said. She was back in her seat, having lost all the excitement she had displayed earlier. "I scared you, didn't I?" She knew what she did. The shame was obvious.

"Yes, of course you did." Erwine said, the tears slipping from her eyes. "But you know who I am. I'm scared, Nada. I can't do anything even mildly stressful without breaking down in tears. All I can do is repeat the everyday schedule, or else I'll go crazy with fear."

_Just go, _Erwine thought, _or stay quiet. Whichever. We can't go on like this. _Instead, Nada stood back up, and stared right into Erwine's eyes, fixing her with a glare that could make daemons back down. "If you have potential, then make the contract," Her voice was flat. She looked at Erwine a second longer. Then she was walking away, leaving her tray there.

Erwine watched her go, and slowly, but surely, shrunk back from all the eyes that were now turned to her. Not knowing what to do, the little girl went back to eating her food in silence.

* * *

Leere Worte

Lunch had ended five minutes ago. Erwine had quickly moved through the halls to reach the classroom where she was supposed to be. All girls of her age had been assigned the classroom where they would go, to be taught by a specially trained teacher.

She pushed her way through the halls, going slowly, and keeping her head down. The world was filled with the sounds of the dozens of conversations occurring all around her. It always was like that, but today was different. The girls and boys only spoke of one thing.

Magical girls. Of course it dominated the minds of everybody, it wasn't like Erwine was confused by why. It was the whirlwind of discussion that the topic generated. She tried to ignore the voices, not listen to the rumors they spun, to the hearsay they passed on, to the supposed facts that their grandparents told them.

It was difficult though, so incredibly difficult. Erwine stopped trying, and just did her best to disregard the words, rather than ignore them entirely. It was as if a million 'experts' on magical girls were speaking all at once.

Some purported that they saw them running about the city in the middle of the night, fighting monsters. _Why would magical girls want to hide their presence? _Erwine thought. Others said that they'd lost their cousin, or their father, or their pet mouse (of all things), to these mysterious monsters in the dark.

Erwine had never seen such things, yet she'd rarely been out after dark. Perhaps there was some truth. Yet the things some tried to sell were simply preposterous. One stood up high and insisted that she'd heard, from her mother, that her aunt had been tortured to death by a magical girl. A boy cried out that his little sister was stolen away in the middle of the night. A whole group argued about whether or not their thoughts were being constantly monitored, with some insisting that their thoughts were entirely controlled, and that no one had free will.

_Then why not just make people contract? _Erwine thought, almost wanting to laugh at the claims. And then there were those who tried to sell themselves as the relative of some famous person. A girl insisted that her older sister was a famous mage knight, and told long and intricate tales of her exploits.

_Then how is she getting back to you? _Erwine wondered. No one asked the question though, as the girl was incredibly emotional about the stories. _The world can't be so connected so that a mage knight may talk back to her sister, so…far away. _Erwine sighed. _I don't even know what unit of measure to use._

_Hundreds of miles don't separate stars. Probably not thousands…millions probably, _Erwine decided, _millions of miles away. How can you talk over that distance? _Erwine was close to her destination, but just had the time to hear another rant about some girl's plan to contract and then become some great hero.

Erwine couldn't imagine hurting something else. She heard about the horrors that were the daemons, xenos, and traitors that threatened the Imperium, but she'd never seen them for herself._ Must little girls go out and fight everyday? _Erwine looked up.

She encountered the ceiling. The girl stiffened, pausing, people pushing her to the side as she blocked the congested hallway. Erwine almost expected to see the sky above her. Maybe even stars. But she was in school. The ceiling was there.

_I'll never go up there…_Erwine thought, imagining that great black space, with bits of light throughout. But when she looked inside her heart, she was certain that she didn't want to go up there. She preferred down on Siothea. Down here, the world made sense.

And while one day would pass by the same as the next, it was better than suffering at the hands of monsters beyond her wildest dreams. Truthfully, while others sought escape from the dullness of their normal lives, Erwine couldn't shake a feeling the normalcy was better than the alternative.

Erwine had gotten a bit mixed up, having headed for one of her normal classes rather than the special one. She hurried along now, her pace a bit too fast. She just didn't see the girl. It was if she came from nowhere.

First the girl, then the wall. Erwine collided with the former and bounced into the latter. Papers spilled from her hand, as the traffic curved around her. Erwine looked for the girl she'd hit, and found her already helping Erwine with what she'd dropped.

Getting to one knee, Erwine grabbed up the rest, before the remainder was placed into her hand by the girl. The silver-haired girl looked into the blue eyes she found, and was amazed. It was though time itself stopped.

The girl there was simply beautiful. It was as if an angel had come down before Erwine. She wore the normal school uniform, yet she seemed to carry herself in an intelligent, mature fashion. Her demeanor, it seemed alien to Erwine. Yet the smile she put on was beautiful.

"Thank you," Erwine said, taking a step back. She hit the wall, yet kept looking at the girl. The step was out of shock. She'd been thrown quite harshly from her train of thought with the impact.

The girl tilted her head, raising her eyebrows. "You alright?" she asked, "Is something wrong? Anything I can help you with?" The girl was a complete stranger. She acted as such, but the kindness she displayed was just unusual.

Out of the corners of her eyes, Erwine noticed that no one else seemed to care that they were taking up half the hallway. It was strange, but perhaps this girl was a well-known figure. "I was just thinking," Erwine explained. The girl looked to be her age. _Perhaps she's new. She looks new. But where might she have come from?_

"Contracting," The girl, whose navy blue hair was in two tails, guessed. "Just the standard anxiety?"

Erwine nodded. _I guess what I'm feeling is what so many others feel. I'm by no means a special one. _"Yeah…" She muttered, looking for an exit.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," The girl explained, grinning happily. "You don't seem like the others. You're thinking about it, not many do. You've already got an edge." The girl looked around. "Well, we should get going. Can't be late." The girl turned.

Erwine followed after her, her mouth opening to ask her name. Yet the girl had disappeared into the crowd. And the crowd was now once again pushing her to the side.

She had reached the class. Her mind kept running, but the anxiety in her chest was growing. Erwine was one of the first to arrive, having rushed all the way from the cafeteria, knowing, thinking, that everyone had been staring at her and talking about in the aftermath of the incident between her and Nada.

Erwine took a few seconds to catch her breath as she found a seat that was closest to the back. Sitting down, she leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. She focused on a single point, and watched as the world spun around the small imperfection in the ceiling that she had observed.

It helped her take her mind off the fact that someone she knew might have seen what happened, and that they might be coming to this room. That would be disastrous. Erwine could not imagine having to then talk to them as they sat next to her. She could only hope that they would know her well enough to not bother her.

Minutes passed, and by the time the bells rang to indicate the beginning of the next period, the classroom was full. Thirty students now sat in the room. Erwine had spent most of the time staring up at the ceiling, and only when she heard the teacher begin to move did she look down, knowing she concentrated better when looking at what she needed to focus on.

However, the first words of the teacher's lecture were completely lost to her, as she looked down and saw someone who she did not want to see. Nada was in one of the front rows. Erwine was unsure of whether or not she had been noticed by her friend, but she instinctively shrunk back, trying to reduce her presence.

"…few months ago at the most," the teacher, who Erwine did not know, finished saying something about how everyone listening to her had turned thirteen. "And that is why you are now here,"

The teacher seemed a bit concerned. She was not used to doing this, that was obvious, but she was able to do it. And she knew what she was doing, that was obvious as well. However, she seemed more concerned about some of the people she saw in the room. Erwine noticed her looking at various people, herself included, in the pause between what she had been saying, and her new sentence.

"My job is to instruct you on how to contract, something that many girls do not truly understand. Many of you function based on only rumors that are untrue, and that must be stopped as soon as possible, before one of you makes a mistake that you will come to regret more than any other mistake."

Erwine was paying attention to the teacher, which was for certain. She understood little about the intricacies of contracting, but she knew that there were dangers. Dangers that a meek girl like her wished to avoid at all costs. Erwine turned her full focus on the teacher, not wanting to miss a single word she said.

"First of all, there is the contract itself. Many girls do not entirely understand what this is, and that is why I am here to enlighten all of you. A contract, as defined by the Encyclopedia Magica is: 'The process through which a female, between the ages of twelve and nineteen, becomes a magical girl. Only an Incubator is capable of offering a contract. The Incubator, and by extension the Goddess, will grant the female one wish, and in exchange, the female will become a magical girl, and eternally serve the Goddess and Her Imperium.'"

The teacher had clearly memorized this quote well, as she did not hesitate in the speaking of it. "I am sure some of you are questioning some of the words within that description, so I shall explain." _Not really, _Erwine thought. She imainged that the thought was shared by many in the room. Though this was most likely all procedure, Erwine thought that they had to know that everyone knew practically everything there was to know about the system by the time they reached this age.

"An Incubator is a manifestation of the Goddess's will, a small, white creature which offers a contract. The Goddess brought magic into the universe when she was born, so only she has the power to grant magic to another being. But from her throne on Holy Terra, she cannot reach everyone everywhere, so she created the Incubators to do her bidding for her. If you see a small, white creature, with long ears, and a fluffy tail, then do not fear it, nor destroy it. While this is appropriate behavior with any alien species, the Incubators are not aliens, and are vital to the existence of humanity."

"They shall only approach you if you have potential. Potential, as some of you may know, is the measure of one's power as a magical girl. Having potential, any at all, means you are eligible to make a contract. The process of making a contract is not a complex one. You will have to make a wish for something that _only you _want."

The teacher paused. What she was going to say next was incredibly important, so she had to let her words sink in. She even repeated her last sentence, just to prepare the girls in the room for what she was going to say next.

"You cannot wish for something that will in any way directly affect another person. You can only directly affect yourself with the wish. You cannot simply wish for all the sadness to go away, or for there to be peace everywhere. These wishes directly affect other people, so they cannot be made."

"And what, you ask, are the consequences of making such a wish? The consequences are unknown. The repercussions that could occur from such a massive wish could result in the death of the entire human race. Even if you wish for your friend's broken arm to be healed, you could end up dead, as well as all your friends."

The teacher paused once more, and Erwine's eyes widened. Her eyes were not the only eyes in the room to widen, and her mouth was not the only one to drop in shock. There was a sudden sense of unease in the room, as none of the girls wanted to hear that their wishes, the wishes that were supposed to bring happiness, could also bring harm.

"This does not meant that making a wish is bad. In fact, contracting is something you should do, as soon as you have the chance. Being girls in this kind of a place should certainly inspire you to achieve great things as a magical girl. You should all have a wish prepared to be said at any time or any place. You cannot hesitate."

"The stories about potential sometimes disappearing overnight are true. You may go to sleep scared and uncertain, and wake up with no other option in your life but to stay on the path you have always been on." Erwine shuddered a little. _Knowing my indecisiveness, that might just be my fate._

Erwine felt this threat, and she realized that Nada had to be correct in what she said. She cursed herself for ever doubting the thoughts of her friend. She didn't think that a coward would somehow be correct anyways.

"However, there are some things to look forwards to," the teacher said, "Such as the prestigious organization you will join when you contract. The mage knights are always looking for new members, and I am sure that the next company to stop by this subsector shall make certain to collect all potential candidates."

A girl's hand went up. Her hand was followed by several others. The teacher called on the first hand to raise. "Does the Inquisition actually exist?" the girl asked. It was an expected question. Erwine had heard so much about this invisible boogey-man that she was starting to actually believe it all.

"No, the inquisition is nothing more than a fairy tale invented to scare children and adults who think of stepping out of line. The Mage Knights handle all matters when it comes to magical girls." All the hands in the room went down. Erwine had no questions to ask.

The teacher continued to speak, but it was on trivial matters, like specific examples of good wishes, and the specific exploits of various magical girls, which had supposedly come from this planet. Erwine found it all interesting. Pride occasionally coursed through her heart. _It's not just some girl randomly spouting off her connection to a long-lost relative who supposedly single-handedly saved the Imperium._

She actually found herself paying attention, though she wasn't sure than anyone else in the room was. At least for Erwine, she took all this as a sign of what she could be. _I could be a great person, I could make a difference…but I doubt I can ever be like that. _With the shudder of fear that even the thought of contracting sent coursing through her, Erwine knew that to be true.

At some point, a note found its way into Erwine's hand. It was passed by various people, but it had been handed out originally by only one person. Erwine unfolded the paper and recognized the handwriting of her best friend.

_I'm sorry for the way I was acting earlier. We've been friends for so long, I should know who you are by now, so it's all my fault. I hope we can have a better conversation later, hopefully as soon as this finishes up._

The note ended there, but it was enough to make Erwine happy. A warm feeling was suddenly in her chest, and she looked up to see that Nada was doing well in concealing her writing of the note. She was looking ahead dutifully, and Erwine immediately went back to doing that.

The other girls around her glanced at each other, wondering what was on the note, but Erwine concealed it from them, and continued to listen to the teacher speak. All of a sudden, she was a lot happier. She had been happier at times, but this day was certainly a special one. For some reason, the defeats Erwine had suffered in the past few hours were gone, and all that was left was a sense of hope for a brighter future.

The bell rang loudly, and classes were over for the day. After all the stories, the teacher had answered some more questions about them. Despite all that was said, Erwine felt as though she came out of the class knowing the same amount about the Imperium and magical girls as she did when she went in.

She stood, eyes set on Nada's spot. She was about to try and push her way through the crowd, but was stopped by a strangely familiar voice. "Hello," Erwine spun her head, gasping.

That beautiful girl from earlier stood there, grinning happily again. "Feeling a bit better about your choice?" The girl held a stack of papers close to her chest, but Erwine could not see what was on them.

"I haven't made a choice yet," the silver-haired girl replied. For some reason, she felt uncomfortable. "I still have to think."

The other girl chuckled, "Sorry, a slip of the tongue. I meant to ask about that thinking. Are you feeling better?" She leaned forwards, eyes locked onto Erwine's. The contact felt strange. The girl looked at her as though they knew each other well.

Erwine could nod to that. "I suppose so…" she muttered. She almost leapt out of her skin when the girl put a hand on her cheek, gently running her fingers over her skin. The sensation she got was strange. She had no intention of resisting.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just don't be mean to your friend, there's more to her than you might think. Trust her, as she knows more than you." The girl said, her voice stern. "See you later, Erwine. Stay safe."

The girl strode away. Erwine turned to follow, reaching after her, "Hey I never got your…name…" The girl had disappeared into the crowd, as though she was never there.

The general paranoia about magical girls suddenly started to get to Erwine. She hurried over to Nada as the room was entirely cleared of students. Nada was leaning against the wall at the front of the room, and she was the last person in the room besides Erwine. Even the teacher had left.

Erwine walked through the maze of desks and chairs, to stand in front of Nada. She held herself straight, but still shuddered a little as she looked at her friend. Nada smiled, "I'm sorry," she said, "I know that I've apologized already today, but I hope that I can actually follow it up this time,"

"It's not your fault," Erwine blurted out. It was sudden, but it was not loud. She simply interrupted what Nada was going to say next with those four words, and she continued to speak. She was content as she explained. "I'm just scared. There's nothing more to it than that. No need to worry about a coward like me." She grinned. She knew that this was the person she was.

Nada frowned, "Don't put yourself down like that, you can be strong when you want to be."

"I know," Erwine said, "And that's why I wish this was one of those times. To be scared of contracting is to be unwilling to serve the Goddess. By being a coward like this…" Erwine choked up, "I'm basically the same as any other traitor or heretic."

"No," Nada interrupted, "You're not on their level. A girl like you could never go there. You're scared, but you're also so innocent. So confident in who you are. You don't want to change that."

"I'm a traitor…" Erwine muttered, breaking down into tears again. "A bad, bad traitor." Nada leapt forwards, embracing the girl.

"You're not," She insisted. "Why would the Goddess force a girl like you into contracting? You don't have to do it. Her Holy Majesty would never want to hurt a little girl like you."

"We can't forget about this just because we assume I won't have potential." Erwine countered. _Where does potential even come from? _She wondered briefly, before quashing the thought. It was a key component of the human soul, something one had when they were created.

"Then make the contract when you have the chance," Nada said, holding Erwine tightly to her, "Just do it, and don't worry about what will happen next."

"Why?" Erwine said, "How am I supposed to live only in the moment, and not consider the past or the future?"

"Just push those thoughts aside!" Nada exclaimed, determined to help her friend, "You have the power, just don't worry anymore! I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, and I know you can get through anything! That fear of yours makes you smarter than you think."

"I'm scared," Erwine said. Her body trembled. She hung onto Nada as if she hung over a huge precipice, and the girl was one thing holding her up. "I can't do this."

"Yes you can!" Nada exclaimed. She was sounding less and less excited by the second. "Don't just deny me because you want to stay in this state. I know you can be happy, Erwine. Don't let me down."

"I will, though." Erwine said, "I'm too frightened to decide anything."

Nada stepped back, bumping into the wall. She slid down the wall, covering her face with her hands as she suppressed tears. Erwine stepped back, silent. She wanted to run. Her eyes glanced to the door, then back. Just run away from all of this, from all her obligations. Nada sat with her back to the wall, her knees to her chest, and her hands on her face, shuddering as she held back a waterfall of tears.

"I just want one of us to be a hero," Nada whispered, her words barely audible. "I just want one of us to contract, and get out of here. Whether it's you or me, I don't care."

"That's why you want us to agree to contract immediately," Erwine realized, "Because you're afraid you'll lose your chance, when you're completely ready to go right now,"

Nada nodded slightly. Slightly so that Erwine had to think about whether Nada actually nodded or not. "I just want to be a hero," the young girl on the ground whispered, "I don't want to be here anymore. You read those books, and read of the outside world, and you don't care. I take glances at them, and I know that I want to be part of that bigger world."

"I don't want to stop you, Nada," Erwine said. "Make your own choices."

"But I don't want you to stay here either. I think it'd be amazing if you went out there and became a hero." Nada sighed heavily, trembling, "Everyone tells those stories of their best friend who contracted, and is now some kind of great leader." She shook her head. "I don't want to hear those stories from you. I just want to know that you're out there, doing great things."

Erwine froze. She looked to the side. _Why don't I run away? I'm a coward. I'll never contribute much to the world. Why not just run out into the cold and die? It might even be better that way. _Yet she remembered what she had been told.

'Trust her'. _That girl…who is she? Is she a figment of my mind? She appears and disappears in such unnatural ways. Perhaps she's…not real. _It wasn't something Erwine wanted to court. The thought of a specter appearing before her eyes brought about thoughts of daemons. _But still…she was right. _Though she chose to listen to that girl, Erwine wondered if she'd regret the choice in the future.

"Alright," Erwine said, "Let's both try to contract as soon as we can, alright?"

Nada's jaw dropped. Her eyes opened wide. She embraced her friend. They sat for several minutes, locked in the hug, before Nada whispered, "We should really go. The others are probably getting tired of waiting for us."

Erwine said nothing, just nodding, but it was a few seconds before they did. The two girls stood up, gathered their things, and happily strolled outside alongside one another. Both seemed to be as happy as they could ever be.

* * *

Entscheidung

Outside, they saw their friends waiting for them. Erwine and Nada were surprised that all three had waited for their friends. Natalya, Renata, and Matile stood in various positions at the bottom of the steps leading up to the doors of the school.

Natalya spoke first, "Good afternoon," she said, and her words were echoed by Renata and Matile.

"We came to a decision, if you are all ready," Nada said.

The three other girls nodded. Erwine started the conversation, saying, "I have told Nada that I will contract at the first opportunity." She looked at Natalya, knowing her to be the only other source of opposition in the morning.

Natalya nodded, "I have agreed to that as well," she said. The five girls looked at one another, a sense of relief rising up from seemingly nowhere as the muscles of each girl relaxed, and the five started to laugh at how they had treated each other on this day. It had been embarrassing, the fact that they had spent so much time getting angry with each other, when they had been best friends for years.

Their laughter lasted for a full minute, and in this time they all fell to the ground, their muscles weakened by their mad laughter, and gravity's effects enhanced by their heavy packs. Erwine fell onto her back, stretching out across multiple steps, looking up at the cloudy sky. The day had brought some new snow, but it had stopped for now.

The freezing wind of the morning was gone, only increasing the sense of happiness the five girls felt, as they did not have to shiver every five seconds in order to maintain a barely appropriate temperature. Erwine felt the cold snow on her back, and relished the cold sensation. She had always preferred the cold to heat in any situation, except when there was a biting wind as there had been that morning.

In this kind of cold, Erwine was right at home. She laid back on the snow, even though the stone steps she lay on did hurt her back a little. The other girls were in the same positions Erwine was in, just staring up at the cloudy sky, the relief from finally coming to a consensus after what had seemed like years overwhelming all other concerns related to contracting.

Erwine wished that she could have just lay back on the snow forever. She would later wish that she had chosen to do that on this day. However, the five young girls had to get home. They had nothing to do, and were not expected back, but it was not the best idea to be outside in this area when no one was around, and it had been thirty minutes since classes had ended. Most of the people there had already returned home.

Natalya was the first to stand, and this triggered the other girls to stand as well. They all said goodbye to each other, as they did every day they saw each other, before heading home in their separate directions.

However, Erwine was reminded of something. "Nada, I need to go ask Natalya about a test, you can go along without me," Erwine said, before turning around quickly. Just a question about class. Erwine had dozed off, and forgot when the next test was. Nothing too important.

"I can wait, are you sure that you'll be fine?" Nada asked, but Erwine simply nodded, before sprinting off. Nada shook her head, chuckled and kept on walking. It was cold, she didn't want to wait around.

* * *

The Goddess: Her Holy Majesty The Goddess of Hope, Magic, and Mankind. The supreme ruler of the Imperium of Mankind and all those within its borders, Her Holy Majesty rests upon the Golden Throne of Holy Terra. Wounds from ancient battle laid Her low, but even in Her state of recovery, Her Holy Majesty watches over us all. She protects those who are faithful, and grants the wishes of those who contract with her. Without The Goddess, mankind would have fallen to the ravages of this world long ago. Pray to Her, for she is the salvation for all of us.

-Excerpt from Her Ladyship Tomoe's Encyclopedia Magica

Start MSOC report. Approximately 1207 Universal Standard Time, 036.04.08, Inquisitor Adrianne Azure. I have arrived in the Siothea system. The smuggling network established by the individual I believe to be Ishna Kleimar points to Siothea as a part of that net. Descent shall occur most likely tomorrow, 036.04.09. No intention of bringing in any new magical girls. Estelle Adramartis is presumably a day or so behind me, depending on the whims of the warp. I intend to maintain the status quo with her, no intention of engaging. I do not expect to go loud on Siothea, and with any luck, the PDG won't even notice I'm there. Furthermore, I hope to minimize the damage to the world itself, in every conceivable manner. Apologies if I do cause trouble, though. Conclude MSOC report. Next report on 036.04.15, should time allow.

-Report from Inquisitor Adrianne Azure to Tempestus Four Toella Multi-Sector-Overwatch-Committee.

* * *

**I know I haven't been heard from in a month, but the revision is actually going quite well. It should all be posted up within the next week, ending by the 25th at the most. I'm just putting the first chapter up now because the first chapter of the original draft was posted last year on the friday of this week. Going by numerical date it's tomorrow, but I still prefer the day.**

**The rest should be coming as soon as I start to feel nothing more can be improved upon.**

**I also changed the millennium dates. I think I tricked myself into thinking rolling it back was necessary in the first place, so i'm just going to run with the standard 40k times. Also, if I had my way, the little things in German at the beginning of each scene would be in the Madoka runes font, but it doesn't seem to work, no matter what I try. **


	2. Out of the Dream, Into Reality

**I quickly realized that while I enjoyed the German phrases at the beginning of each scene, I wouldn't enjoy typing a couple hundred of them, in a language I don't know, for this whole thing. I might update in the future with them, but for now, they'll just be in the first chapter. **

* * *

It is worth noting that children have a tendency to be afraid of contracting. There is no need for them to worry, and this must be hammered into them. They believe that they will be slain on some far-off world, with no one remembering them, but all magical girls are heroes, even those who die in their first battle. Anyone who gives their life for the Goddess is worthy of great praise.

There is nothing to fear, that is what must be said to them. Explain the exploits of the greatest magical girls, and reinforce that there are more heroes than villains. Take care to never mention the Enemy to them, do not let them know that some magical girls turn away from the Goddess's light. That is something they can learn in the future.

Take special care to not mention any part of the contracting process, nor let them hear even a few words about any silly theories about contracting, like the idea that an Incubator steals one's soul. It is silly and completely ridiculous. Why would the Goddess ever allow such a thing to be done to millions of little girls?

-Excerpt from _Raising an Angel_

* * *

Erwine turned around. Sitting on the landing behind her was a small, white creature. Bright pink eyes, long ear-like structures. Just like everyone always said. It didn't have an expression, though it had a face. Had Erwine not known better, she'd have thought a demon was before her.

And really, it was a demon to her. She wanted to reach out to the thing, to touch it, to feel it, to confirm that this impossibility was really there. Her entire body was frozen with fear, her mind stopping in the middle of a thought. An eternity passed as Erwine struggled to comprehend the reality. It was as though she had come from a happy dream, only to find the truth was nightmarishly terrifying.

The creature stared up at Erwine's face. It didn't move. It didn't even breathe. Erwine stared into the pink eyes of the creature, and it stared back, with its fuzzy tail swishing back and forth.

Erwine felt her body lose all energy, as fear began to take over her mind. There was a strong sense to simply turn and run. Erwine knew that would be breaking her agreement with Nada. And so, her bonds of friendship were tested against the strength of her fear.

"Hello," the creature, the Incubator, said. Its voice was monotone, and conveyed no emotions. It was impossible for Erwine to tell what it was thinking, if it was thinking at all. "Erwine Braune," it added her name like it was unimportant, as if the only thing that mattered was what Erwine could do.

Erwine had no response. Her entire body was shaking, so hard that she fell to her knees. She continued to stare into the eyes of the Incubator, which stared back at her with the same blank face. "You understand why I am here?" it asked. Erwine knew that it knew the answer to that question.

Yet she still nodded. The nod was slight, apparent only to the most observant, but the Incubator's question had been rhetorical. The creature required no answer. "Have you a wish to make?" the creature asked. This question did need an answer.

Erwine shook her head. _I never even thought about it,_ she realized. For as much as there had been about making the contract, Erwine had never given thought to what she would say. _Before now, this whole thing was impossible. _

"You have potential. The potential to be a powerful servant of Her Holy Majesty. Why do you deny that potential?" The Incubator's eyes stared unblinking into Erwine's. Erwine stepped back, almost falling over. Her mouth was moving incoherently, spitting out only gibberish.

_Why is this happening to me? _she wondered. She wanted to scream out the words, but didn't, for fear of attracting attention. _I can't show my cowardice to the rest of the world, I can't show my inability to everyone else. _Erwine wanted to run away. Perhaps it would have been easier than staying. Then trying to face her cowardice.

Having received no reply, the Incubator then asked, "Will you have a wish?" Erwine had made a promise. To her best friend. She didn't want to be the kind of person who broke promises. Erwine gritted her teeth, trying to slow her breathing. The horror and fear running through her body was too much.

It was overwhelming her. It was like trying to resist a storm. There was a crash. Erwine's school books fell to the ground, her hands clutching the sides of her head. Her backing away almost sent her tumbling down the stairs. She stopped as she felt the edge. _Could I just fall, and let myself go down? _

_I have to contract. But I can't. _Erwine didn't have the bravery. When she looked the Incubator in its lifeless eyes, she knew full well that she couldn't be a magical girl. She fell to the floor, hands still on her head as she curled herself up. "Please, please just leave me alone…" She begged.

"You cannot run from fate, Erwine." The Incubator stated flatly. Erwine knew that. Yet she prayed that it was not fate that she become a magical girl. For if so, then she had every intention to run from the Goddess's plan. _Can I really do? Can I really become a traitor just because I'm scared? _

The incubator sighed. "I see that further conversation is going to be pointless. If you have a wish, you know who to ask. Be warned, your potential is rather fleeting." The thing disappeared in the next second.

The world was silent, only disrupted by Erwine's slow breathing. Her eyes were wide. Her body shook. She didn't want to face the truth. The fear had sent her into shock. One's own mind is far greater at making one suffer than anything else in the world. Erwine encountered this truth.

"No…don't go…" She found herself lamenting its departure. It meant that she truly was a coward. That she didn't just have any fear to overcome. It meant that she was hopeless.

"Erwine?" a concerned voice asked. It was the voice of a young girl, coming from the stairs leading upwards. Erwine recognized the voice instantly. Nada. There was suddenly more motivation to roll over. More motivation to roll over, stand up, and run down the stairs, out of the building, and go anywhere but where Nada, the friend who Erwine had just betrayed, was.

However, Erwine would not do that. She had failed, and now she would face the friend who she had failed. Running would not come close to solving any of her problems. She did not even roll over, so Nada knelt down next to her, laying a hand on Erwine's shoulder. "Erwine, are you alright?" she asked.

A silly question to ask, that was for certain, but Nada knew not what else to ask. Erwine was clearly not alright, but Nada was unsure of what other words she could use to ask the question that she needed an answer. However, when she did not receive an answer, Nada spoke another question, "What happened?" Her voice was more concerned now, true fear was starting to rear its ugly head inside her mind.

Erwine had finally gathered the strength to formulate an actual response to the question. "An Incubator came," she whispered softly, still lying on her stomach.

Nothing more needed to be said. Nada looked at Erwine's hand. There was no ring, no sign of the tattoo that a magical girl would bear. She looked all around, looking for a gem. There was nothing. No sign that Erwine had contracted. There was only one option, then.

Nada froze, as the realization came to her. She had trouble accepting for a second, but when she did, a wave of anger washed over her, changing her demeanor completely in a split second.

She gritted her teeth hard, and her hands clenched into fists, as she began to shake. Her breathing started to be slow and steady, as compared to the panicked breathing before. "Did you really refuse the Incubator?" Nada asked.

"Yes," Erwine said. There was no point lying, or trying to explain herself. Nada knew everything that there was to know, and that of course included the fact that she knew that Erwine had agreed to contract the first opportunity she got.

"I'm sorry," Erwine said, knowing that there was nothing more to say after that. She knew in an instant that Nada's anger would follow. How long that would last could not be predicted, nor what would happen afterwards. Erwine wondered if that really mattered.

"I know that you are," Nada said. Such words were pointless. Erwine wondered if Nada would actually attack her. It seemed likely, at this point. But the girl was displaying hesitation.

Erwine was willing to accept whatever, as she understood that she had done many things wrong. Nada stood up. Her entire body was trembling. Erwine, whose head was turned towards Nada from where she lay on the ground, saw that Nada was still shaking with rage.

"I hate you," Nada said. The words were lacking much emotion. They were more a statement of a fact, rather than an angered declaration.

Erwine knew that already, so she did not bother to reply. "I could show my anger in some other way than this," Nada said, "But I don't want to hurt you, I know that you're aware of what you've done."

The girl turned towards the stairs leading upwards. "If you ever want me to have a single ounce of respect for you ever again, then you will contract when the Incubator comes again. If you do not, or you lose the potential, then you can consider our friendship over." Once again, the girl was simply stating a fact.

She walked up the stairs, and was gone in a few seconds, her footsteps still echoing through the empty halls. Erwine slowly stood up. Moisture still escaped her eyes. She turned around, facing at the stairs that Nada had just walked up. Having nowhere else to go, Erwine walked up those stairs.

She wondered why it had to be her who was shouldering this burden, out of all the people she knew.

Nada ran back up the stairs, tears in her eyes as she hurried away from Erwine. _This can't be real. It can't be Erwine, of all people, it can't be Erwine. _That was the only thought she had in her mind. Nada's entire body shook as she made it to her floor, sprinting down the hallway. Were anyone else there, she'd have slammed right into them.

The girl almost tumbled over grabbing for the door. _No, no, no._ She kept repeating in her head, as she threw the door open. Nada pushed it shut, locking it as she pressed herself against it, weeping. _This can't be real…_tears ran down her face. "Erwine…" She muttered, her legs collapsing. "No…"

_She can't handle the world out there…_Nada thought, eyes going blank as she sat against the door. _What have I done?_

* * *

Erwine was sitting in darkness. She had been doing so for a few hours now. Her stomach was growling angrily, as if it was an angered beast fighting for its life. However, Erwine was not really fighting for her life. She was simply fighting to find some light in the events of the day.

Even the previously fond thought of being able to resolve an issue that sometimes tore apart friendships was gone, replaced only by the shame Erwine felt. She had considered many things she could do in the past few hours, but they had all been dropped, mainly due to Erwine's inability to do anything that scared her.

Nada was in the main room, and the voices of her parents and Erwine's parents could be heard faintly through the wall. Erwine wondered when the latter two people would come into this room. She knew that her parents would have something to say. What this something would be was unknown to Erwine, nor could she even guess at what they would say.

Erwine was leaning back against the wall, sitting on her bed. She had never truly appreciated how hard and uncomfortable the wall of this room was. She figured she would have some back pain after leaning against it for a few hours, but that would be the simplest of her problems to solve, if it really did come.

Her knees were pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, and her head leaning back. Erwine's thoughts had been a complete mess for the past few hours, and she was not looking forward to the moment when her parents would come into the room.

She had never expected that this would happen to her. Her mind had never even considered it an inevitability. She had never even thought of it as a possibility. She hated to slander the Goddess, but Erwine had thought that She would choose magical girls more carefully than this.

_I would make a terrible magical girl, no matter what I would do, _Erwine thought, slowly realizing that there was not much hope in her life at this point.

She heard footsteps coming towards the door. They were the footsteps of two people. Two adults. Erwine had memorized the sound of her parent's footsteps long ago, and she knew that they would be opening the door in only a second.

The metal door was slowly pushed open, and a hand came through, searching for the light switch. Erwine hands rushed to cover her eyes as the light caused her pain. She could only hear the sound of her mother and father walking into her room, the bright light preventing her from seeing them.

"Hello," her mother said, "Erwine, dear, we heard what happened,"

Erwine felt a bit annoyed. _Of course you know what happened, what do you think I thought you were doing out there?! _Erwine raged internally, but when she realized it was her parents she was dealing with, all her anger was suppressed deeper inside.

"We just want to tell you that we are not angry at you," Erwine's mother said, "We're not annoyed, disappointed, sad, or anything, we'll support any decision you make,"

Erwine's eyes finally adapted enough so that she could bring her eyes away from her face. The light was not too bright, after all. She stared her mother in the eyes, and a retort was on her lips when her father spoke. "Please, Erwine, don't say anything unless you've thought it through, there's no need to be angry at anyone here," he told her, having seen the anger in Erwine's eyes.

"I'm not angry at you two," Erwine said, "Don't worry,"

"Not even yourself," her father said, "You've done nothing wrong,"

"I made an agreement with my best friend," Erwine said, "You two should know that, and this agreement was also made with three other good friends. I have potential, and not contracting when I had the chance was heresy,"

"It was not," her mother said. She sounded angry, but it was more directed at those who suggested that not contracting was heresy, not at the sobbing mess that was her daughter, "You made a choice for yourself, there is nothing wrong with that,"

"If you had the chance, when you were a child, would you taken it?" Erwine asked. Her voice as harsh, but it reflected more her own feelings about herself, rather than her feelings about her mother.

Her mother paused. Her mouth had been opening, but as she heard all of Erwine's words she had stopped. This told Erwine everything she needed to know. If the reply would have been 'no', then her mother would have spoken immediately. The reply was 'yes'.

"Well…" her mother stalled, wondering whether she should lie or tell the truth. She threw a glance at Erwine's father, who shook his head.

"I would have contracted," her mother said, hesitantly, "However, I was a different person than you are now,"

"That doesn't matter," Erwine said, "We all have duties that we have to fulfill. It is a duty of girls like me to contract, especially when an agreement has been made to do so."

"Then why did you not do your duty?" her father asked.

"I was scared," Erwine said. It was not hard for her to admit this.

"Why is that not a sufficient excuse?" her mother asked.

"There is no excuse for cowardice," Erwine said, turning her head to the side as she was unable to meet her mother's gaze any longer, "Not even cowardice that has always been within you,"

"Erwine," her mother sighed, "You don't want to be happy. We are saying that we support you, and that we love you, no matter what you choose to do, and you are refusing us. I don't really know what you want."

"I want to be left alone," Erwine said, "If you think I don't want to be happy, then just leave me be,"

Her parents said nothing as they walked out. Erwine knew that they deeply cared for her, and that they were only trying to help. Her rejection of them had been unnecessarily rude, she knew that. _They actually cannot understand, _Erwine thought.

It was true. While many children are prone to believing that their parents do not understand them, it was true in this case. Neither adult who Erwine had just sent away had ever had to face such a choice as Erwine now did. They could not possibly understand the weight on her shoulders at this point.

Erwine knew this. They did not. She knew that not even Nada could understand. No one could, save another girl who had been faced with the same choice. Erwine doubted that such a person would just come walking around her neighborhood.

* * *

Contrary to the belief of Erwine, a girl who had been faced with a choice similar to hers was planning to walk around her neighborhood, if her neighborhood could be expanded to include all the city.

However, the inquisitor who was planning on doing this was currently not happy. Her smile had been turned into the opposite expression by the appearance of a certain creature whom she had grown to hate.

_Type of creature, really, _Adrianne corrected herself, _even though they all look the same, mostly sound the same, and their actions are only a little different. _She looked the Incubator in front of her in the eyes. She had stared down far worse threats, but the unchanging, expressionless face of the creature still made her uncomfortable.

Adrianne looked down at the small thing, and asked, "What do you want?"

The creature's normal monotone was a cheerier monotone. Every single thing it said had the same pitch, but the pitch was a bit higher. That meant it was a bit different from the last one Adrianne had encountered. It also meant it knew human's better, as it was clear the creatures did not have emotions, and if they displayed any, then it as only to try and seem friendlier to whomever they were talking to. In this slightly higher pitched voice, the creature said, "Hello Adrianne!"

The inquisitor cringed at the use of her name by the Incubator, but she did nothing more than that in reply to her name. In reply to the entire statement, she repeated, "What do you want?" At this point, her voice was more monotone than the Incubator's.

"I have come here to inform you of someone you might be interested in," the Incubator said.

"Who?"

"A girl on the planet below. She fits the criteria you asked me to look for the last time we met," the creature explained.

_Last time we met? _Adrianne thought, _you aren't the same. _"Are you certain?"

"What reason would I have to lie to you?" the Incubator asked.

"Perhaps you would like to explain," Adrianne said, "Given that you are not the same Incubator I spoke to two weeks ago."

The Incubator did not move, but Adrianne could feel it shrugging. "So, methods do not equate morals," the creature said, but Adrianne could feel it struggling to weasel its way out of the situation it stuck itself in.

"One could say that," Adrianne agreed, then suggested, "How about we just forget about that little lie, and pretend that you would never do such a thing?"

The Incubator did not reply to that, instead continuing on as if nothing of the sort had been said. Adrianne knew it would do that. "I am certain that this girl meets the criteria you specified, I can list out the details if you wish."

"There is no need," Adrianne said, before smirking, and adding in, "I'll trust you,"

The Incubator showed no reaction to the added comment, but Adrianne could feel that it had reacted in some way. "I'll be going now, if there is no reason for you to keep me any longer," the inquisitor said, before waiting for the creature to walk off and disappear into the shadows as it liked to do.

"I'm sorry," the Incubator said, "But there is more,"

"What?" Adrianne gritted her teeth, having had enough of the creature already.

"You have not been exactly forthcoming with excess grief cubes," the Incubator explained, "You are overdue on the payment, you asked for more time, and this is the deadline established when you last spoke with one of us."

Adrianne frowned. _Of course, _she thought, _of all the things to forget. _It was standard for all inquisitors to give over a portion of their grief cubes to the Incubators, so that they may keep the Goddess alive on the Throne. The tax dates were standardized across the galaxy, but for someone like Adrianne, who pushed herself and her subordinates hard, grief cubes were not always plentiful.

"Give me a few minutes," Adrianne said, "I don't have them with me now." However, she was classified under the type of inquisitors who moved around often, so her tax was not as large due to the unpredictable nature of her work.

She walked around the Incubator and down the hall, thinking of how to work on the amount she had left after this. _I can give up my personal supply, I don't think I will be needing my magic much down here. If this operation goes according to plan, then there should be little for me to do except in the end, and by then I'll have had time to stop by the local offices._

The inquisitor went through the ship back to her room. At some point, the Incubator disappeared, which pleased Adrianne greatly. She would have hated to walk the kilometer back to her quarters with the thing followed her. However, as soon as she opened the door to her room, the thing was there waiting for her.

Sighing, the inquisitor walked to her cabinets, and retrieved the small metal box in which half her personal supply was located. She put the box on the bed, and started to toss the cubes at the Incubator, who happily swallowed them up.

Once the task was done, the Incubator looked up at Adrianne, saying, "Thank you, Adrianne, you serve the Goddess well." With that, the creature turned around.

"Wait," Adrianne called, making the Incubator pause and turn once again, "This girl, has she contracted yet?"

"Not as of yet," the Incubator admitted, "She will,"

"Are you certain?"

The Incubator replied, "Absolutely certain, some things are just inevitable,"

* * *

Nada didn't enjoy the darkness. She hated to admit it, and almost never did, but shadows always made her heart skip a beat. A reason for such a childish fear had never been apparent in her head, it had always been there. _But I'm ready to rush off into a whole universe of unknowns…_Nada thought to herself.

She'd tried to sleep. The effort had done nothing but made her role back and forth in her bed for a few hours, before she finally settled. She sat herself up, leaning against the cold wall behind her. Her parents were still both sleeping, as far as she knew.

Nada's knees were pulled up to her chest, her head buried in between them. She could only think about her choices. _Think about Erwine. She's scared of everything? Why did I ever pressure into agreeing? _Nada knew eactly why. In her heart, she was entirely aware of why she had done that.

Admitting it to herself, fully accepting the guilt, was another matter entirely. _Just because I want to justify leaving her…_Nada shook her head, shutting out that thought. _It's ok, she'll go out there and be a hero. She'll find a reason. She'll be able to. I know she will. _

_Do I even want her to go? _Nada couldn't figure anything out. The moment she realized that Erwine had potential, the moment she walked down those stairs and saw her lying there, Nada knew that she had made the biggest mistake she'd ever make. _Now Eriwne's going to end up suffering because of my selfishness. _Nada knew that was a fact. She sat there in the dark, praying that a miracle would somehow solve all this. _But miracles can only be brought about by contracts, the very thing I want to run from. _

Erwine dreamed again. Memories flooded into her head, of darkness, of chaos, of a world in flames. Her eyes were closed at first, and when she opened them, there was once again nothing.

Unlike the last dream, this dream brought something to Erwine for her. She found herself feeling something under her, something she sat on. Erwine blinked multiple times, as bright white light flooded into her eyes.

The light was brighter and cleaner than any light she had ever encountered while inside a building. She knew she was inside. She didn't know how, but who knows how dreams work? She looked around through her still-adjusting eyes, seeing that she sat on an ornate red chair, more akin to a throne rather than a simple piece of furniture.

This chair was comfortable, made of a soft material, the likes of which Erwine had never felt in her life. She had never imagined that something could be this soft and comfortable. Her arms were on the armrests of the chair, while her legs were hanging down as her back leaned against the back of the chair.

Erwine noticed that she was wearing clothes that were different from what she normally wore. Different colors, a small tiara was felt atop her head, long tights and a pair of high-heeled shoes. It was strange, but Erwine found comfort in seeing and feeling herself in this attire.

She was at peace. Then, as soon as she finished blinking, there was someone in front of her. It was a human. In a chair, like the chair Erwine now sat in. A girl, about Erwine's age, maybe a little taller. She wore a red greatcoat, and a red hat was on her head. Long blonde hair, tied into a ponytail, ran down the back of her head.

_She can't be! _Erwine thought, as she saw the entirety of the other girl, _she can't be the girl…the girl from the other dream?! What is she doing here?!_

Her eyes were blue, and they stared into Erwine's. Her face was emotionless, but there were clearly feelings under the surface that were not being expressed on her face. She sat in a pose similar to Erwine's.

"You've come a long way, Erwine," the girl said. Her voice was familiar, but not.

Erwine tried to open her mouth. Her muscles struggled to work, as if she was too tired to even move. She did not feel weak, she was just tired.

"You've seen many wondrous things, and have done even more wondrous things," the girl said. She stood up, sighing as she looked down at the girl in front of her.

"You've come a very long way from where you were," the girl said, "But…you still have so far to go. Your journey has really only just begun, my little Erwine." She grinned, before taking a step forwards, her hand reaching out to pat Erwine on the head.

"You need some rest," the girl said, "Get some sleep, things can stand to wait a few more hours." She turned to the right, and walked away. The chair she had been sitting in slowly faded away, and Erwine could not turn her head to follow the path of the girl as she left.

Erwine was tired. She was so tired. She wanted answers, but it was clear that no answers would come without sleep. So she closed her eyes, feeling sleep coming for her mind.

She let it take her away, and then there was nothing.

Erwine's next day would start very similar to the last, just as it always did. Even down to the lingering sense of fear that stemmed from the clouded images of the dreams she had the night before.

Except this morning, Erwine did not read any book when she finished the rest of her procedure. She had not had to do anything for school. Homework was never given out on the day of _that _class. Erwine sat on the couch, resting her arm on the armrest as she leaned in that direction, while her legs were pulled up next to her on the couch.

She heard the sounds of Nada getting up, going to the bathroom, eating, the normal things the girl did in the morning. Erwine expected her to say something to her. But most of Erwine wished that Nada would not say anything, as she imagined that the words the girl would say would not be pleasant to hear.

Erwine stared at the corner of the wall, her eyes going up and down as they traced the seam where the two walls met. For some reason, it interested her. It was not truly interesting, but it was an insignificant thing that Erwine could think about instead of anything else.

All of a sudden, she felt someone behind her. There was no one else besides Nada who could be behind her, so Erwine instantly knew that her morning was about to get worse. Although she had successfully staved off most thoughts about the previous day, she imagined that whatever Nada said would not be much help.

Yet Nada said nothing. She simply wrapped her arms around Erwine's shoulders, kneeling down behind the couch in order to do this. She sat like this, with her arms around her friend, her head pressed into the back of her shoulder.

Erwine expected some explanation. She expected Nada to burst out, declaring what conclusion she had reached which had led to this kindness. _Or will this kindness be followed by anger? _Erwine had to wonder.

For minutes and minutes, the two girls sat there. Erwine stopped looking at the meeting point of the two walls, instead looking down at herself, and wondering what she had done. Sure enough, Nada had not helped stave off the memories of the day before, but she had also not made them worse.

Instead, she had made Erwine…happier. Not much, but a little. And a little was good for Erwine at this point. However, it was almost time to leave for the day. "I'm sorry," Nada said, "I really am sorry. I didn't want to be so angry at you. I shouldn't have done what I did, pushing you into agreeing with me like I did. Really, I just wanted you to agree with me so that we could be equal. In the end…I think it would be amazing if one of us could become a magical girl…and be a hero. Go to the stars, see all this world has to offer. But…" She trailed off, pausing for a moment.

Erwine did not have the words with which to reply to Nada. She could only listen to the girl, as Nada sniffled a little. "I shouldn't have even advocated that opinion from the start. I should have agreed with you, we're friends, after all."

Nada took a deep breath, and Erwine could tell that whatever she was going to say next would be of the utmost importance, "If you are approached once again by the Incubator, then you do not have to contract. I don't know if you are truly seeking the approval of the Goddess herself, or if you simply seek my approval, but you have the latter."

"We've been this far together, Erwine, and I know it may be impossible for you to be any different. So you don't have to go anywhere. You can refuse, and we can be here for the rest of our lives." The two sat in silence for a few minutes longer.

The two girls stood up, and immediately went to prepare to go. Erwine now wore a smile on her face. It was a bright smile. The two girls walked to the door, which was opened by Erwine this time.

And so, the two young girls resumed their places as tiny, insignificant, meaningless cogs, within the greatest machine of all time. A machine that cared not for the tiny cogs within.

The walk to school was the same as the day before. Nothing had changed about the route, nor the pace. The topic was the same, though. It shouldn't have been. No one else walked to school thinking about magical girls. The initial craze always died down quickly, giving way to the normal thoughts. No one but those truly wise liked to dwell on the idea.

Those who were faced with their own potential had no choice but to dwell on it. Erwine was one of those. She wondered if she was the only one. Or if there were others, out there amidst the throngs of people, who were facing a similar dilemma. Even as her eyes glanced at Nada, she found that she didn't recognize the girl.

Nobody seemed familiar anymore. Nothing in the world was as it had once been. But nothing about a single piece of it had changed. _I'm not like anyone else I see, am I? Everyone knows magical girls are real, few have seen them, and even fewer have the chance to be one. _

Erwine kept her pace with Nada, yet the storm of emotions in her head raged on. No, it wasn't a storm. She just couldn't recognize what she felt. In her world, everyone was the same. Yet here she was, different than anyone else in her tiny little world. It was isolation that Erwine felt coursing through her body.

_It's as if my potential has moved me up in the world. I now stand above everyone normal, yet still below magical girls. _It was a limbo. A place where there was no one but herself.

There were at the school. Erwine was catapulted violently from her thoughts into the reality. The reality that those thoughts had been about. They were one and the same. Erwine turned her body to face Nada, stopping in her tracks. The other girl stopped, staring back. "What is it?"

"Why don't you want me to contract?" Erwine asked.

"Because you're you. You've said it yourself, you're frightful, indecisive, not very strong. You wouldn't make a good magical girl." Nada said. She sounded as though it was unfortunate.

"Isn't it the role of every girl who has potential to contract?" the silver-haired girl wondered.

"Why would you have a choice if it was?" Nada asked.

"We still have to make the contract."

"Where are you going with this?" Nada asked, "Do you still feel bad? I already told you don't have to do this. You don't have to contract. I don't want you to, I don't want to imagine my best friend going out there and facing terrible things."

Erwine was calm as she replied. "And I don't want my best friend going out there and facing terrible things either." Nada stiffened, her blood running cold. "So why would you want to agree to contract as soon as possible, if you knew that?" Erwine asked.

Nada sighed. "I don't want to hide the truth from you. It wouldn't be right doing that." She took a deep breath, looking to the side. "Erwine…I want to contract. Had I the chance, I'd do it in an instant. But I couldn't bear the thought of leaving you behind. So I thought that if we both agreed to contract, we'd both we ready to face the departure of the other."

Nada shook her head. She uncomfortably shifted her weight, almost moving from her spot. "I'm sorry, Erwine, that I was so selfish." She looked up with a grin. "If you don't want to, then don't contract, it's entirely up to you."

Erwine nodded. She knew that Nada was telling the truth. "Do you think I could survive, out there?"

Nada paused again. She didn't want to answer. "If you really wanted to, Erwine, you can do anything you want. You may see yourself as a coward, but I think you're smarter than most people. Smarter than myself, certainly." There was silence for a moment, then, "We should go, the others are waiting for us."

The five of them were sitting as they normally did. It was as if it was a normal day again for the friends. And really, it was a normal day. The only difference from the usual was that Erwine was under pressure. The other three didn't know, though their suspicion rose every time Erwine shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

She was close to Nada, and her eyes were heavy, as though she didn't sleep well. Erwine only poked at her food, her movements slow. Nada didn't say a word about it. But the other three were fairly certain they knew the truth.

Erwine stood up. She left everything of hers there as she turned away, taking only her coat. "Where are you going?!" Nada cried, turning in her chair.

"I need to walk around. Don't worry about me," Erwine said, trying to smile. She failed utterly, and hurried away before anything else could be said. She walked outside, pulling her coat on. It was the lunch hour, so she had time.

The snow was still on the ground, and the air was still freezing. The wind had died down from the previous day, but snow still fell lightly. Erwine sighed, her breath drifting away in a visible cloud. The girl slumped down beside the steps leading up to the front entrance, leaning back against a small embankment of snow.

Her eyes were empty of life as she stared outwards, gazing at her surroundings without a single care. Erwine breathed slowly. It was hard to breathe, as though someone was stepping on her chest. She didn't want to cry. Erwine was tired of crying.

Yet she found herself hastily lifting her uncovered hand to remove the moisture from her eyes. _I don't want to go out there. No matter what Nada wants…I can't do this. She doesn't want me to anyways, not anymore. So why am I so worried? Why can't I let this go, if I've no obligation? _

"Mind if I join you?" an oddly familiar voice asked. Erwine's head turned to the side. There was that girl again. She stood with her arms behind her back, bending down with a smile.

"No…" Erwine muttered, turning away from the girl anyways. Before Erwine could do even that, the girl was beside her. The blue-haired girl wasn't wearing any sort of winter coat, just a normal uniform. Despite this, she wasn't cold in the slightest, while Erwine shivered every couple of seconds. If she wasn't, then she was the greatest actor Erwine had ever seen.

The girl took a deep breath, looking up at the sky. Snowflakes fell on her face, the rate not very high. "I find snow to be the most beautiful of all the weathers, don't you?" she asked. "Perhaps it's the rarity of the thing. Maybe if it snowed all year round, it wouldn't be very beautiful?"

Erwine didn't really understand. She had far more important things on her mind, bigger than snow. "Magical girls are similar. Like snowfall, they're a beautiful thing to see, yet even more amazing to think of. When memories become entwined with the future, the future seems so different. Didn't you look forwards with bated breath towards this day, Erwine?" the girl turned her head, looking at the side of Erwine's face.

Grudgingly, Erwine looked back over. She didn't know the girl was looking at her. Unexpectedly, their eyes met. Both jumped a little, the contact sending shivers through their bones. The moment was profound, but Erwine couldn't put her finger on why.

"It was always big in my mind," she whispered, "But I never thought it would really come."

"Just like the snow," the girl said. "In my experience, whenever I expect it to snow, it never does. But when I give not a single thought to the possibility, there it is. It's almost like there's some intelligence behind it."

Erwine furrowed her face, looking downwards. Her hand brushed away her tears again. "I don't really understand what you're saying," she said quietly, not whispering any longer. She felt fingers under her chin, gently guiding her back up. Yet the girl's fingers pushed her chin all the way back, till she stared at the sky.

"You don't have to. Maybe you'll know one day, Erwine. In fact, I hope you do." The girl moved in closer to Erwine, continuing to tip her chin upwards. She got up on one knee, looking down at Erwine. Their faces were inches apart. "Why don't you want to contract?"

The gasp that Erwine let out sent her onto her back. She stared up at the blue-haired girl, body shivering. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Someone who knows a thing or two about you," the girl said, grinning. "Someone who wants to help you." Her arms flourished out, then came in quickly towards Erwine's face. The little girl flinched, but the finger just rested on her nose. "Tell me, Erwine Braune, what are you so scared of?"

Erwine felt compelled to tell the truth. To reach deep into her mind, and find out what scared her. "I'm a coward" Erwine said softly, "I can't make any difference, even if I were to make a contract."

The girl shook her head, "That's not it. That's not it at all. Erwine, why are you so scared? There's no such thing as cowards in this world. Nada isn't brave, she's reckless. She doesn't know who she truly is." The girl leaned down, whispering into Erwine's are. "At the most basic level, in comparison with the world, what are you, Erwine Braune?"

Erwine realized what was meant. "Oh…" she whispered, the realization coming to her. "I'm nothing more than a single little girl. The Imperium is over a million worlds. Siothea is just one. There are billions here. I am just one." Tears came to her eyes. "Why would I ever want to step into a universe like that, where I'm nothing in the grander scale of things?"

The girl stood up, staring down at her. Her tails settled on her shoulders, running down her uniform. "But you _can _be something, Erwine. A contract comes with a wish."

Erwine's eyes went wide. Her jaw dropped. "A wish." She repeated. "A wish." She struggled to stand up, to get to her feet. "I can make a wish, and give myself the power I've wanted." She smiled happily, "I can become _something_."

She looked to the girl, mouth opening to thank her. Yet she was gone. It was if she was never there. Erwine looked down. There had to be a trace in the snow. There was a trace of how Erwine had moved, yet the girl had never been there.

Erwine was left standing alone in the snowfall. Quietly, she asked, "Am I insane?"

* * *

Erwine's classes were over without any issues. Her classes and schedule were both back to normal. There was no concern over the previous day's issues, at least none was shown by any adults. Many girls were still clearly dealing with the problems that they were faced with at this age, Erwine felt bad for them.

There was nothing she could do to help. She could only be happy that her friend had given her the freedom to make her own choices. A freedom that she had not had for much of her life.

Erwine had been thinking throughout the day, about what Nada had said to her that morning. _…For the rest of our lives_, Erwine recalled the end of that one sentence Nada had said to her. _Do I really want to be here for the rest of my life? Do I really want to amount to nothing, continuing to be insignificant?_

Erwine stood up, the bell had rung. Her final class for the day was over. She walked towards the door, her face distant, and her pace slow, as her mind slowly came to an answer. _No. _That was the decision Erwine came to. She wanted out. However, there were only two way out.

_Death, or contracting, _Erwine realized, turning around as she walked down the hallway. She had been moving slowly, but a part of her mind had made her realize she had left her book in the classroom. It was one of the books she had stashed away at home, which she brought to read.

Erwine started making her way back towards the classroom. Classes had ended five minutes before, but for some reason, the lights were off within the room, and the teacher was nowhere to be seen. Sometimes, they stayed at least ten minutes after to wrap something up. It was not uncommon, what Erwine now saw, but it did make her uneasy.

Especially when she found that the door was open. Erwine stepped inside, and quickly moved to where her desk was. She found the book underneath the table, and stuffed it into her backpack before she heard a noise behind her.

Erwine stood up quickly, spinning around and jumping back, such was the panic she felt. Far too many stories of rape and assault had reached her ears for her to be careless.

No one was there. No one human. Erwine caught sight of a small white creature slipping by a desk, and her heart sank. She shook her head. _I can't turn back now. I've made my choice, and the people who care about me the most support it._

She took a deep breath, and then walked towards the front of the classroom. She blinked, and the Incubator was on the teacher's desk at the front of the room. It stared at her with its large pink eyes, its expressionless face, with its tail flipping back and forth.

It felt as though an eternity passed as she stared at the creature. The ticking of a clock on the wall was constant. That steady _tick-tock _was the only thing disturbing the silence. With every tick, Erwine's body froze up more. She didn't want to run, nor did she want to stay.

_I must do this. For the Goddess, for everybody. _Erwine told herself that, but the fear in her heart made her want to deny the words. To deny the truth. She knew she could not do that. Erwine understood that this was her duty. _I have potential. I have a wish. If I can defeat my fear with that wish…if I can break free from what holds me back…then I can truly fulfill that duty. _

She took a deep breath, staring the Incubator down. "Do you have a wish you'd like to make, Erwine Braune?" Still, the girl hesitated. She'd tried to think about what to wish for, but she'd never found anything that sounded right. "Still having second thoughts?" the thing questioned.

Erwine's body was still frozen. She tried to force her mind to focus. Bit by bit, she pushed through all that held her back. Erwine thought of all that she had experienced over the past two days. All Nada had said, all that girl had said. _She wants one of us to be a hero. At this point, if she doesn't have potential, then her wish will never come true. _

Erwine started to shake with fright, uncontrollable excitement coursing through her body. She started taking deep, slow breaths. _I'm going to be a hero. Not for the Goddess, not for everyone. But for Nada. I have to fulfill her wish. But how could I ever do that? _

_I'm a coward. I can't even make a decision now. Only the wish of my friend pushes me forwards. Am I even fit for this role? _She slowly opened her mouth, remembering the other one. That other girl whom she had spoken with. "Was there ever a magical girl talking to me?" Erwine asked the Incubator.

"You never have been spoken to by a magical girl." The Incubator replied. Erwine knew that it could have lied, but in her heart, she knew it to be true.

Erwine froze, but she had prepared herself for this. Her eyes closed, and her mouth opened. "No," she said, her voice steady and proud, "I will not contract,"

"Are you certain?" the Incubator's reply was immediate, as if it expected Erwine's words.

Erwine nodded, her eyes still closed. "You have no wish you want granted?" the creature asked. Erwine had clasped her hands in front of her, but they tightened as she tried to stay calm.

Erwine was unsure whether to lie, or to tell the truth. Either way, she would be doing something she did not want to do. "No," she said, "I have no wish,"

"That is a lie," Once again, the reply was too fast to have not been planned out.

Erwine seethed internally, as it was clear that the Incubator knew exactly what it was doing. _It's expected this, planned this out, it thinks that my contracting is…inevitable._Erwine's eyes shot open, her jaw dropping. Her hands came apart, and her foot stepped back as her entire body flinched from the shock of the realization she had brought upon herself.

Erwine Braune had remembered that some things are inevitable. _I don't have a choice, do I? _She wondered, _I'll contract no matter what, at some point in the next few minutes. It's just…inevitable._

"You have a choice, Erwine Braune," the Incubator reminded her, "I can leave right now, and let you be at peace, but deep down, is that what you truly wish for?"

Erwine gritted her teeth together, and took a step forwards, reversing her momentum as she shouted, "I will not contract! I don't want to leave here! You should know by now that I'm too much of a coward to amount to anything!"

The Incubator said nothing for a minute. Erwine had time to think on what she said. She started wanting to take back her words, wanting to rescind her statement. _No, I have spoken. I won't back down, not now._

"By definition, only the coward is capable of the highest heroism," the Incubator said. Erwine could have sworn she had heard that somewhere before, but could not place it, as the impact the words had on her was greater than the need to remember who had first said them.

Erwine shook her head, "I don't believe that," she lied. Erwine was never a good liar. She had never managed to convince Nada, who trusted her more than anyone, of anything, much less this Incubator.

"You do, Erwine Braune," replied the creature, "So why don't you just contract?"

Erwine was silent. She stood, feet side by side with only a few centimeters in between, staring down at those feet, trying to block out the voice of the Incubator.

"Do you truly want to live here for the rest of your life? Do you want to amount to nothing? Do you want to fade away into obscurity with only a few people knowing and remembering your name?" The Incubator paused, before it spoke again. "Or…do you want your name to become known by the entire Imperium? Do you want your name to be sung by thousands, praising the deeds you have done?"

"You can be a hero, Erwine Braune," the Incubator said, "Or you can be nothing more than a tiny piece of a far greater machine, a machine that doesn't care who you are,"

Erwine was starting to cry. She fell to her knees, hands covering her face as she sobbed. Her tears ran down her cheeks into her hands, covering her already sweat-covered palms with more moisture. Salt was tasted by her tongue.

"You have a choice," the Incubator said, "You always have a choice," The lie was not at all obvious, but Erwine heard it. She realized it, and she also accepted that in this case, she had no choice.

There was only one thing she could do now. A seed had been inadvertently planted in her mind by Nada, and the boredom of school had nourished the seed, only to be fully brought to fruition by the Incubator. Events had turned out this way exactly so that Erwine Braune would want to contract now.

Was this luck? Pure chance, that Nada say that one phrase, that Erwine would interpret it the way she did? Erwine certainly couldn't tell. The Incubator might have told her, but it was wrong. Some things are just meant to happen.

Erwine stood up, her face still covered in tears, her eyes still glistening with moisture. She stared back at the incubator, finally able to match its gaze and feel no fear from those somehow mysterious and threatening pink eyes.

A deep breath was taken in and pushed out. Erwine opened her mouth. Her voice was soft, faint, and barely audible. Her eyes closed. Her entire body froze. Deep down in her chest, she questioned this choice. For a brief moment, a mere instant compared to the life she would live, Erwine Braune wondered if she was really insane.

Her mouth was moving before she understood why. In the instant that followed, all Erwine could think was that she had done something she could never take back.

"I wish to become more than I am now, to have the power to make my own decisions, to control my own fate. To be my own person, free of control."

"Thank you, Erwine Braune, your wish heals the Goddess," these words were the last the Incubator ever said to her.

The Incubator's ear-like appendages reached out towards Erwine, and her chest began to glow brightly. Suddenly, a terrible pain spread throughout Erwine's entire body. She instantly screamed, but no sound came out. She tried to struggle, but she could not move.

Every single part of her hurt. Each millimeter of skin roared in pain. The pain stretched down to the cells inside her, and down to the molecules inside those cells. Down to the atoms making up those molecules. It was if every part of her body was being assaulted in every way possible.

Her chest was pulled forwards, and her limbs and head were pushed back. Erwine kept screaming, but no sound was coming out. Her feet lifted off the ground, and the pain grew more and more intense by the second. The pain was most intense in her chest. It felt like her heart was being ripped out, nanometer by nanometer.

Erwine felt more pain than she ever felt in her life, more pain than she ever would feel, not until a day long in the future. And then it was over. Erwine fell on her back, and a glowing, silver, egg-shaped object fell into her hands.

Tears flowed from her eyes as she looked down, and saw a soul gem. Erwine could do only one thing. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking of what she had done. She had just given her life to the Goddess, wishing for her own empowerment. She had become a larger part of a great machine. A machine that would still grind her up, spit her out, and reduce her body to nothing, but it was a machine she swore to serve.

The young girl stared up at the ceiling. She tried to grin, tried to show that she was happy. Yet she wasn't sure if she had done anything close to the right thing. She felt that the old her was already gone. Erwine the magical girl whispered, "The Goddess Protects."

* * *

One should be mindful of their wish. The wrong wish, and everything shall come crashing down upon them.

-Her Ladyship Miki


	3. From the Dream Itself, a Monster?

Inquisition: Many purport a belief that the Inquisition is a secret police force, consisting of magical girls. However, the Inquisition is no such thing, for it does not exist. The myth was originally started in the immediate wake of the Heresy, to try and scare magical girls, potential contractees, and the average human alike into never considering rebellion, for fear of disappearing in the night. Everyone should understand that they have nothing to fear from any Inquisition. Should the Goddess find one unworthy, they shall be smote by her own might.

-Excerpt from Her Ladyship Tomoe's _Encyclopedia Magica _

Egnia Toella: "Unfortunately, it seems that the trouble-maker has made her move into Hadiens."

Ashiri Maleno: "Which one?"

Egnia Toella: "The biggest, Ms. Azure, the one on a delusional quest to kill someone who doesn't exist."

Lola Opin: "Oh, her. What's her justification for being here?"

Catirin Akhme: "Hunting down some smuggling network. Looks good on the surface."

Egnia Toella: "It'll somehow cause trouble. Especially with that Adramartis hunting her down. I say we hand this to Ms. Eskel, she should be capable enough."

Catirin Akhme: "I agree. Ms. Eskel shouldn't be troubled by her."

Lola Opin: "What about collateral?"

Ashiria Maleno: "I'll start drafting a plan to maintain secrecy, given her previous record. It shouldn't be hard if we plan ahead."

Egnia Toella: "Good, do that. Catirin, call up Siothea PDG, tell them to not let her get her claws on a single new contractee on that entire planet. Lola, keep a close watch on her. If she slips up once, I want her under suspension. She gets things done quickly and efficiently, but one step outside the boundaries, and she's gone for good."

-Log of Tempestus Four Toella Multi-Sector-Overwatch-Committee Emergency Meeting,

* * *

The world Erwine walked out into seemed like a different one. The snow had stopped falling, the clouds having briefly broken. The rays of the sun shone through, casting shadows throughout the city. The air was still chill, Erwine's breath frosting as it exited her body.

Nada stood on the front steps of the school. They were empty of anyone but her. She faced away from the school. Her shadow stretched out behind her, elongated by the low angle of the sun. Erwine paused as she saw the sight. All of a sudden, a strange feeling grew in her heart. It was something she'd never felt before.

The sensation quickly took root and spread, as Erwine took the steps one at a time, almost stumbling in awe down them. She was slow, wondering if Nada had heard her. The girl's head looked over her shoulder, a knowing expression on her face. Her eyes caught Erwine's.

Another sensation took hold of Erwine. This was a more familiar one. The girl's eyes traced down Erwine's body. Erwine instantly realized what had brought Nada to do that. The silver-haired girl hadn't put her gloves back on, what with the ring on her finger.

Nada froze as her eyes found that ring. Erwine could actually see the girl's body lock up. Their shadows stretched out to the side, a sudden gust of wind passing through, as if to emphasize the silence. This gust of wind sent Nada moving. Down the steps, moving quickly, yet not running.

Erwine's hand reached out towards her, a pitiful cry emerging from her lips. "…Nada…" The little girl cried out, almost tripping down the steps. For a split second, she wished she just let herself go.

Tears welling in her eyes, Erwine caught herself before she could fall, stumbling down the stone as Nada made her way to the bottom. The girl stood there. One foot, on the final step, she turned and stared back up at her friend.

"I'm sorry, Erwine. I should have told you." She said. Erwine strained to hear the words, such was their volume. Nada stared down at the steps, a sad look on her face. "I didn't want you to do that." She stepped back, hearing Erwine approaching. The magical girl stumbled down the steps, as if she had no idea where she was.

Erwine just couldn't understand. "But…but you wanted me to contract? Don't you want one of us to be a hero?" She struggled to find a reasonable answer.

"I do," Nada sighed. "I want to be a hero. Erwine…you're not ready for any of this." She shook her head. "You shouldn't have done any of that." She kept backing away. "I don't know what I'll do anymore." Erwine kept stumbling forwards, shock coursing through her body.

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked.

"I don't even know what to say!" Nada cried. She stiffened, staring up into Erwine's eyes. "I hate you," She said.

Nada backed up, eventually turning around and running. Erwine's shouts feebly followed her. The girl eventually did trip and fall over, landing face first in the cold snow.

The girl looked up in a daze, trying to find her friend. Erwine let go of the papers in her arms, sliding her pack to the ground. She scampered forwards, whimpering before she collapsed. _This can't be real…_she thought. For a few moments, she lay there shivering, till she finally pushed herself up.

As her eyes went upwards again, Erwine saw that girl. The same one from before. A sad expression was on her face. "You…" Erwine whispered. Then her voice rose, fueled not by anger, but by the maelstrom of fear, regret, and sorrow inside. "You convinced me to do this!"

Then Erwine fell back down. By the time she looked up again, the girl was gone. No trace of her. "Well…" Erwine whispered, sobbing at this point, "I guess I really am insane."

She got to her feet. The girl picked a direction. She ran. She didn't know what she ran from, where she was going to go, or if there was any reason to do this. Erwine just wanted to get away from everyone else, from Nada, from her own mind. She didn't want to face her fears, she just wanted to run. _No, you're a magical girl, you're better than this. _The thought slammed into her mind, yet she pushed it aside. She was still Erwine Braune.

Her school bag was left in the snow. It sat there, as the clouds returned, and the snowfall began once again. It was as though Erwine Braune had vanished without a trace.

Erwine didn't know if it would be taken as a betrayal. After all, Nada had told Erwine that she didn't have to contract. Erwine cared about Nada's feelings, but also realized that her becoming a magical girl was for the best.

She easily made her way out; now that few people were left. Erwine quickly put her glove over her left hand; making sure to conceal her ring. She had regained her composure since she contracted and was now ready to accept the consequences of her actions. She didn't think that Nada would be too mad even though she had told Erwine to not do it. She had wanted Erwine to contract in the first place.

Erwine walked down the steps of the main entrance to find Nada waiting at the bottom. She looked angry. Erwine's mind went wild. _Had she figured it out? Does she somehow know?_ Erwine prepared mentally prepared herself. She'd wanted to tell Nada at the right time; not immediately.

But all Nada said was "Where have you been!? I've been waiting here fifteen minutes!"

Erwine was relieved. She had a tendency to imagine the worst extreme first and stick to it. "I just got stuck talking to someone; that's all," Erwine explained.

"Well, you could bring them out here at least," Nada looked hurt. Did she think Erwine was secretly meeting someone? Probably, but that was currently the least of Erwine's problems.

"Come on," Erwine said, strolling past Nada who ran to catch up, "I have something very important to show you."

_How fast should I do this? Wait or tell her now? It's hard to judge what her reaction will be, so it's a difficult choice._

"Erwine?" Nada cooed, then her voice got a bit more annoyed, asking, "What is it? You're worrying me."

_Too late, she's worried and she won't stop pestering me until I tell her. I really did well here. I guess she can help me talk to Mom and Dad._

"Erwine!" Nada said sternly, "Spit it out already!" Erwine cursed herself for getting into this situation. The two of them began to walk on the route home. Erwine wondered how to put it. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"Ughhhh," Nada grunted as she grabbed Erwine's hand and spun the girl around to face her. She leaned in close to Erwine's face, "What. Is. It." She growled.

"I-I-I don't know how to say it," Erwine looked away from Nada. She dropped her schoolbag. Using the now-free hand she pulled the glove off of her left hand. "So here, I'm sorry," Erwine continued to look away; not wanting to see the look on Nada's face.

"E-e-Erwine," Nada froze. She turned. Her voice was filled with many feelings. But the worst that Erwine could hear…was betrayal. Erwine cursed herself. She should've known. She should've known that Nada would feel betrayed.

Erwine turned around; tears streaming down her cheeks. She fell to her knees. She saw Nada's face. It conveyed the same feeling of betrayal Erwine heard in her voice. "I'm sorry, Nada, I'm so sorry," She expected Nada to have the same anger as the day before.

But the blonde girl dropped her bag and ran to embrace Erwine. She rested Erwine's head on her shoulder. "I'm not mad, Erwine, I'm not mad," She spoke softly.

"I said I'd be fine if you didn't contract, but I'm also fine if you did," Nada said. Erwine calmed down a bit. She slowed her breathing back to its normal rate. But as her body calmed, her mind panicked. _What is she really feeling?! Is there something more?! _Erwine, while she had just been brave, still found herself unable to confront her friend.

"The Incubator, it-it convinced me!" Erwine confessed, believing she had to explain why she contracted. Her voice was panicky, and she was barely able to keep contain the various emotions fighting for recognition within her.

"Erwine, I don't need to know why," Nada said quickly, hearing the panic within Erwine. She understood that if she did not handle the situation, carefully, Erwine might just break down because of what she had just done.

Yet Nada was feeling many things as well. Happiness, sadness, pride, disappointment, but overall, anger was the thing which controlled her now. Erwine sometimes had no reason to be afraid, but this was a time when she did need to be afraid.

Erwine froze, struggling under Nada's grip. The two girls locked eyes, and their true feelings were revealed in a single instant of eye contact. "So," Erwine said softly, "That's what you really feel,"

She stepped back from her friend, eyes wary of the girl. "What do you mean?" Nada asked, but the different tone of her voice betrayed her true feelings. She gritted her teeth as Erwine shook her head.

"I didn't think you would be angry," she admitted, "I thought you might be sad, but not…angry, we made that agreement…"

"You don't understand," Nada said, "You can't possibly understand. Just like I couldn't understand you, you can't understand me."

"What do you mean?!" Erwine shouted, backing against the wall of the alley. Her voice expressed the fear she felt, and the inability to understand she felt. _Does she think I actually can't understand, or does she not want me to?_

"Our paths in life have split now," Nada said. Her voice was beginning to sound sad, rather than angry, "We can't ever understand the problems and situation of the other ever again." The girl shook her head, "I wish it could have been different," she muttered.

"What do you mean?!" Erwine shouted. She wanted to understand, but she did not know how. She didn't even know anything about what Nada might be feeling. No reasons came to her mind that explained the girl's actions.

Nada looked down at the ground, "You've said that twice now, but I keep saying that you can't get what I mean," she sighed, "I guess that I should be ready to say goodbye sooner or later,"

Erwine shook her head, "Don't worry!" she shouted, "I don't have to go for a long time, we don't even know if any mage knights are in the system to recruit me!"

"Someone has to be watching," Nada said, "You know how quickly they pick up girls. You have a day, maybe two at the most."

"Stop being so cynical!" Erwine shouted, her anger rising, "I did exactly what you wanted me to! I contracted! I was brave! I did something that some girls my age can never find the courage to do! Start showing me some respect!"

Nada's entire face changed in a split second. She looked up at Erwine, a smile on her face. Erwine was crying, however. She couldn't understood how she had said what she just did. _Was that the wish taking effect? _She wondered.

What was even stranger was that Nada was walking towards Erwine with a bright smile on her face, her hands clasped in front of her. "Erwine," she said, her voice sweet, yet speaking in the most respectful voice possible, "You were so brave, you're right. I can't believe I would ever act the way I did."

"Stop it," Erwine immediately said, but the words were less a command and more a prayer that Nada would come to her senses, "No, what are you doing?" Nada was beginning to rattle off a list of praises. Erwine had never seen her do this for anyone before. She had never seen the girl change moods so drastically before.

Erwine thought about what could have happened. _I couldn't have done that? _She remembered the demand for respect. Shaping her tone for a more direct command, Erwine ordered Nada, "Stop it."

Nada immediately froze. Her face became confused. She looked around. "What just happened?" she asked, before looking at Erwine, "What did you do?" It was a guess. Nada did not have any idea what happened, and simply wondered in a casual tone that was not accusatory, if Erwine had done something.

Erwine shook her head, her pack slipped from her back, "I don't know," she turned to run, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Don't run!" Nada said, "Don't run away from me! You just contracted, and yet you can't stand up to me being angry?!"

"I don't know why you're angry!" Erwine shouted, "All you say is that I can't understand, when I am trying to help you,"

"You won't listen to me!" Nada screamed, "You can't help me anymore! Just because you're a magical girl doesn't mean you can fix everyone's problems!" Nada was angrier than ever before. The only time Erwine had felt more hate was when Nada had been angry at her the first time the Incubator came.

"I see I'm…not wanted," Erwine turned around, knowing she would not be stopped this time. The revelation about her magic had been only one small nail in a much larger coffin. Her true reason to turn and run was more because she had realized that being a magical girl was not all fun and games. Somehow, she thought that her wish would bring her happiness.

The realization that it did not was too much for her. Her anger at Nada had only gotten the girl even angrier. Nothing was working out. So Erwine did what she did best, and ran away.

Nada was left in silence behind her, as Erwine ran to go anywhere but a place where Nada would be.

* * *

The sun was going down. The clouds had returned. The world was slowly descending into darkness as the snowfall resumed, coating the city once again in the white sheen. It wasn't good to be out after dark. Erwine didn't care. She just wanted to be away from everyone. She no longer understood anything about herself. About the rest of the world.

She had been running for hours, through the maze of streets and alleys. She was tired, out of breath. So she stopped and leaned back against a wall. She couldn't keep herself up, so she slumped to the ground. Tears began to fall from her cheeks onto the snow-covered ground.

Her parents would be worried sick. But she knew Nada wouldn't care. No, that was a lie. If Erwine's prediction was true; Nada would be worried too. Erwine felt terrible, but she had realized the repercussions of her 'logical' choice. She needed time to think.

All the hope that had been in her heart when she came running out of that school was gone. Had someone asked her to recount what happened, Erwine didn't think that she could have. The world had been turned upside down in the space of a few seconds.

"Why are you crying?" asked someone. Erwine whipped her head to the left. There sat another girl. She looked Erwine's age.

She wore a red hat and had blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. She had a red trench coat on which split at the waist to reveal a knee-length black and red skirt. Her high-heeled boots stretched up to her knees.

Erwine didn't speak. She was too scared to think about replying.

The person that spoke to her now…it couldn't be. It was that girl…

The girl in the dream. The same one who had watched Siothea die. The one who had done it all.

And that girl…was a monster. Erwine would not talk to a monster. She would run.

Her muscles did not obey her commands, and honestly, Erwine could not criticize them. If she ran, the thing might chase her. It might kill her. It was awfully selfish of her to wait rather than run, but the fear in Erwine's chest was too great to push aside.

So she decided to talk, if nothing else, it would buy her time to figure out a way to escape. She hesitantly spoke, in response to the question that this…girl, if it could be called such a thing, had asked.

"Because I'm a coward," Erwine responded.

"Don't cry," her voice was so calm. It was exactly like the…

Girl in her dream…

The second one. The where she had been so kind.

"Who are you?" Erwine asked.

"Who are you?" the girl replied.

Erwine almost answered with her name, but then understood the true meaning of the question. She did not want to give the answer she had in mind, afraid that this girl would carry out that answer. But she figured that the girl would know if she was lying. So Erwine replied "I'm so stupid, thinking all my problems will be solved. I can't even face them, though I may have the power. You see, I'm just a coward. A stupid coward. The same level as any traitor, I can't even live up to Her Holy Majesty's wishes."

"That's no good, thinking like that," The girl seemed to speak from experience. Her voice had a strange tone to it. It was calming, yet Erwine found

"Why?"

"A general who abandons his post and leaves his men to die so he can escape is a traitor, he should be shot. Not a 13-year old girl who just made a life-changing decision and cries about it." The girl in red responded.

Her head was tilted ever so slightly in Erwine's direction, so that just a bit of her face was exposed to the girl's view.

"You know? About the contract?" Erwine replied, her heart racing more and more with each passing second.

"You'll find I know many things, Erwine Braune,"

_How does she know my name? Who is she? Why does she sound like the girl in the dream?_ "Who are you?" Erwine whispered. She needed to know. She felt that knowing the girls' name would somehow help her.

"My name is not important right now. What is important is whether or not you are ready," The girl tilted her head backwards and to the side towards Erwine. It was strange. It looked unnatural. Her eyes felt like they looked right into her soul. Erwine was scared. She felt like the girl would kill her if she answered incorrectly

_She must be an Imperial official. Obviously part of the mage knights? She's tracked me down? This fast? Who is she? _There was a word in the back of Erwine's mind, a word that kept appearing in the back of her head, repeating over and over again as if her gut would not let go of the idea that this was true.

"Don't ask what I mean, because you know what I mean by that." Erwine paused. The girl looked ready to kill, but Erwine knew if she lied the girl would know and kill her anyways. She sat for a minute; unsure how to respond. Finally, she did.

"I'm scared," She pulled her knees up to her face and buried her face in them.

_Why did I make the contract? I could've refused. I could've lived a normal life and…_

"Of what?" The girl questioned, interrupting Erwine's thoughts. She had a much lighter tone to her voice now, it was calming. Like Erwine's answer had satisfied her.

Erwine felt like she was about to go into shock. She felt like another second with this girl would drive her mad with fear, but some primal instinct to survive drove her on, as her mind told her that staying and fighting the fear would be better than running.

Erwine stopped crying and looked straight into the girl's eyes. "I don't know what I'll encounter, I've heard…of things I don't want to be true."

The girl chuckled, it wasn't a derisive laugh. She was clearly humored. "There are many things in this universe that no one would want to be true."

"But, they exist and it is our job to protect against them," _Inquisitor, _was the word that Erwine kept thinking of. It was impossible. _They don't exist. The dreams…were they signs? Is this girl an impossibility? She was in my dreams...yet here she is, seemingly part of an organization that isn't supposed to exist._

"I know that, and I want to do that. But I feel this fear that won't stop." Erwine felt her mind going on autopilot now, unsure that she wanted to do anything, except survive this conversation with what to was to her one of those things we had just talked of.

"I felt that too," the girl had a much lighter tone to her voice now, like she was remembering a wondrous time of her life. It was strange, as it sounded like a legitimate sense of nostalgia, a deep sense that no one could fake.

"But, you wouldn't have contracted if you were truly scared," the girl looked right at her, a grin on her face. It was so comforting the way she acted, her voice, it was calming.

Even though the fear told me it was the opposite, she felt safe.

"Who are you?" Erwine asked. She wanted to know, she wanted to know what she was agreeing to. Who would she be serving for her life if she agreed?

What would she be serving for the rest of her life?

"Please," she pleaded, "Tell me, who are you?" She had a vague sense of hope about learning this…girl's, Erwine was willing to admit that this thing was a girl, name.

"My name doesn't matter," the girl stopped grinning. She was serious. More than there were words. She turned her head away. She panicked, remembering my conversation with Nada the day before, and then the argument with her earlier that day.

Erwine knew that I could not let all this go to waste. _Is she angry, _I thought,_ No! She can't be! I won't screw this up again!_

"What does matter then?" She asked.

"I told you what matters," she was definitely angry. She looked as if she was done talking. Erwine could see she wanted to leave, but didn't for some reason.

"You didn't understand, obviously, so let's try again," She had contempt in her voice now. It almost sounded like raw hatred for Erwine.

"Would you like to join me?" She stood up. She turned and faced the opposite direction. She was about to walk away. She turned her head backwards; the look on her face scared Erwine. "Last chance,"

"I… I accept! I will join you!" Erwine leapt up. She shouted not with excitement or happiness, but simply with duty to the people she loved. She knew she couldn't let them down. Even if she failed herself, she would not fail others who counted on her.

The girl turned, looking once again; straight into Erwine's eyes. Her flat expression turned into a grin and then into a smile. She leapt towards Erwine, clearly filled with joy.

_She's strange. If she really is who she says she is. Who I think she is…she can't be this joyful!_

"Good…" she said softly, as the girl extended her left hand. On it Erwine could see her soul gem in its ring form. Erwine shook it. The girl's hand was firm and she had clearly done this many times.

"Inquisitor Adrianne Azure of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition." The girl grinned, just a little. It seemed more like a nostalgic expression than anything else, a memory of a time that was better, but Erwine didn't care.

"Erwine Braune," She meekly responded. She was cowed by the title but calmed by the way Adrianne said it. _Well, that's probably the effect she wants, _Erwine thought, not feeling as scared as she did before.

Erwine's thoughts went wild as she understood that she had been right all along. _The Inquisiton is real! And I'm…I'm part of it now. _Erwine realized the tales that she had heard of the inquisition, and started to question her choice.

"I know, I know, what a big title and all, and trust me, a sector over and it'd be twice as long." Adrianne laughed, "But probably not as positive," Still smiling, she asked. "So where do you live? We must tell your family of this."

"I'll show you," Erwine offered and turned to move. But she was stopped by Adrianne, who clasped her left hand in her own. Erwine was surprised by this move. She stared at her Adrianne's hand attempting to grasp some deeper meaning._What? Why is she holding my hand? _The thought was alien to erwine. The idea that a stranger could be so king.

"What, no one's held your hand before?" Adrianne asked with a smile. Erwine snapped her eyes back to looking forwards. She wasn't exactly embarrassed, just curious.

She said so, leading Adrianne to reply "Well, I just felt like encouraging friendship between us, I don't have to," Erwine sighed and began to lead Adrianne in the direction of her hab. "We're magical girls. We're in this together now."

_Those words…_Erwine thought. _They should have been hopeful, happy. Yet they sounded empty. Like she didn't really believe them. _Nevertheless, she understood that Adrianne was perhaps the best chance she had. So she held on tightly, and followed alongside as Adrianne started walking.

_Perhaps all those things I heard…they're untrue. This girl…she can't be evil, can she? _Erwine looked with wonder at the girl, amazed at the fact that somebody so content could exist.

"Oh by the way, Erwine,"

"Yes?

"I like talking to you, you're the youngest person I've met in a while, take the longest route back."

* * *

The fear in Erwine's heart had receded. It was as though Adrianne projected some aura that drove the sensation back, giving Erwine a hope she'd never felt before. Truthfully, Erwine felt better than she ever had before. She really did feel like she could confront Nada, like she could drive away that apparition in her head.

She wore a smile on her face all the way back to her home, save for one short stop. For while Erwine's mind was filled with happiness, a glance to the side sent her spiraling downwards again.

Despite all her kindness, despite all she had done, despite all Erwine thought she would do, Adrianne was still the girl in the dream. In fact, what Adrianne might do is what scared Erwine. "Adrianne…" she whispered, "You…" Erwine broke away, stepping away in a daze.

Her mind spun. She wanted to stand up, to protect what was close to her. On the other hand, she wanted to run, once again fearing this girl. The look she received from Adrianne told her that running wouldn't work. Yet the weight on Erwine's chest froze the girl up. She wouldn't dare face the inquisitor down.

So she watched helplessly as Adrianne looked at her for a few seconds. "Are you alright?" she asked, mildly concerned. She stepped forwards. At the same time, Erwine stepped back. The silver-haired girl's foot found a small rise of snow, and she tumbled backwards, her head slamming against the wall of the building behind her.

Erwine shivered, as Adrianne knelt down in front of her. For some reason, the inquisitor showed hesitation in helping Erwine. _Does she want to help me? Does she want to hurt me? Does she care at all? _Perhaps Adrianne was merely afraid of herself. That same nostalgic expression from before came back as she grasped Erwine's hand gently, pulling her upwards.

"It'll be fine," Adrianne whispered, "Tell me what's wrong." Erwine refused to let herself get pulled up, staying right where she was. She didn't know why, but something about Adrianne put her off. It scared her, shocking her to the core.

The sensation ran fast, infesting every inch of her body, but Erwine already felt it bleeding away as the inquisitor tried to do something for her. The silver-haired girl felt tears at the corner of her eyes, till Adrianne eventually embraced the girl, pulling her tight.

"I won't hurt you, I promise." Erwine believed those words. She heard nothing but the truth in them. Why would she hear anything else? _Adrianne has done so much. She cares about me. She really…really does care about me. _It was an amazing sensation, the girl comforting her like this.

Erwine relaxed into her embrace, letting it last for a few minutes. "What's wrong? Why are you so scared?" Adrianne had asked many times, but only know did Erwine really hear the question.

"I…I can't remember." Erwine searched the depths of her memory, hunting for even the slightest trace of a reason. She found nothing. "Maybe…maybe a dream, perhaps." Erwine whispered.

"A dream?" Adrianne repeated, "Of what?"

"I don't know…it feels like all I have left are scraps. Maybe you were there. No, you _were _there. You did something terrible, I think." Erwine shuddered, "But I don't know what."

"I would never do something terrible to you." Adrianne said, a hand brushing on Erwine's cheek. "I swear, I'll never do anything to hurt you, Erwine. I promise." Erwine smiled, nodding contently.

It was just a soft whisper, but she said, "Thank you."

* * *

A few minutes after they started to move again. Erwine and Adrianne found themselves at Erwine's hab. They climbed up the stairs. Adrianne stopped on the last landing before Erwine's floor.

Erwine turned, "Why did you stop?" She was much calmer than she was before. She was not happy, but she was not scared to death of everything Adrianne death, so that was certainly a positive.

"Because I don't want you to die," was the response from Adrianne.

"Are you joking?" Erwine asked. But she wasn't. Her expression was one of the utmost seriousness.

"I… am not joking Erwine, you will have a hard time saying goodbye, correct?"

"Yes, I will. I'm afraid, but I'll manage."

"Give me your soul gem," Her voice was stern. She was clearly not going to take "no" for an answer. Erwine began to remove her ring and hand it to Adrianne.

"Transformed please," She stated.

"Ok," she tried to transform it and with a flash it converted into its egg-shaped form. Erwine handed it to Adrianne who clutched it tightly in her left hand.

She did not feel worried about giving her soul gem to Adrianne, as she had learned quickly that the girl could be trusted. She was much older than Erwine, after all.

"Go on," Adrianne said.

"Why do you need to hold my soul gem?"

_Why? Is something going to happen to me in there? _Erwine wondered. "The state of our soul gems is affected by our emotions, you _will_ experience significant grief upon saying goodbye." It wasn't a question; this was obviously something Adrianne had done before. Erwine wondered if someone had died while saying goodbye.

"I understand," Erwine responded. She turned and walked up the stairs; Adrianne falling into step behind her.

_I'm going to be strong. I can't cry. I have to show them I'm ready, so they won't worry._

She got to the door, she knocked gently. A second later and the door was flung open. It was her father standing there.

"Hello," Erwine said. Tears were already forming in the corners of her eyes, and she knew immediately that her words to herself were not going to help anything.

Adrianne had walked up beside her, and stood out of the way of the door.

"Where have you…been?" The pause in the words of Erwine's father was certainly caused by his noticing of Adrianne standing there.

"Father," Erwine said, "I'm sorry, but I have contracted,"

"And you've already been taken?" he asked, looking at Adrianne.

Adrianne nodded, extending a gloved hand towards Erwine's father, "My name is Inquisitor Adrianne Azure, your daughter shall be serving me,"

The man began to form tears in his eyes as he shook his head, not responding to Adrianne's hand, "Erwine, why?" he asked, "I wanted you to contract, but the Inquisition, you had to join them?"

He was pushed out of the way by Erwine's mother, who saw the two girls standing there and gasped. "Erwine?" she asked, "You really did it! I knew you would do it!"

Erwine wondered where Nada was. The girl thought she would be excited to see her, but she was not there. She guessed that she might have been too busy moping to notice the commotion.

"Mother," Erwine said, "I am sorry, but I joined the Inquisition, if you did not hear,"

Her mother looked at Adrianne, "This is your master,"

Adrianne nodded, "Yes, I see that you are the parents of Erwine?"

The two people nodded.

"Alright then, I will let you say your goodbyes, we have time, so feel free to take as much as you want,"

Erwine's father looked at Erwine once more, "Why did you have to agree to serve her?"

This made Erwine think. She realised that she did not have to agree to serve Adrianne. She could have waited, and joined a chapter of the Mage Knights, or something else, besides the Inquisition.

She had heard plenty of horror stories about what inquisitors did, and she did not want to take part in those stories. It had just been something about the way Adrianne had acted, despite Erwine's fear of the girl.

It had made sense in those moments that maybe she should join this girl, even though she may have been a sort of daemon. Erwine did not understand her own reasoning, but she did understand that she had agreed to this.

"Father, mother," she said, "I have joined the Inquisition for no reason, Adrianne told me that she wanted me, so I agreed. It is simply the duty that I have, and if I end up regretting the choice, then I will make sure to know that I could have made a better decision,"

"But for now, I am a servant of the Goddess, as we all are, and I should go where I am needed the most," Erwine said, "So that is why I am here with this inquisitor,"

"There you go again," Nada said, she was standing behind Erwin's mother and father, "Being the hero, fighting for the good of everyone,"

She stepped in between the two adults, and walked out to come within a few inches of Erwine. The two girls stared at each other.

"Erwine," Adrianne said, "Perhaps I should go inside with your parents, while you remain here with Nada?"

Erwine nodded, and the inquisitor proceeded to do exactly what she had said she would do.

The hall was silent, and few sounds could be heard. The two girls that stared at each other, as if they were going to fight, both began to feel tears in their eyes.

"I'm sorry," Erwine said, "I don't know what I did to you, but I am so sorry for hurting you. I had no desire to do anything like that,"

Nada smiled. She raised her hand, and slapped Erwine across the face, "That was for not contracting when we made an agreement," she brought her hand back across the other cheek, "That was for contracting without asking me."

Erwine felt that she deserved the pain, but did not quite understand everything, "Why are you mad that I contracted, when you were mad that I did not?"

Nada shook her head, "I don't know," she admitted, "There is so much that I am feeling right now that I don't understand."

Erwine remembered what Adrianne had told her about the reason Nada was so afraid. She felt like she could speak on that, but was unsure.

She decided to be brave, and said, "Nada, do you consider our life a machine that does its job very well?"

Nada shrugged, "We've made the comparison before, why?"

"You are a piece in that machine," Erwine said, "Why are you happy?"

Nada nodded as she caught on. This made Erwine happy, knowing that she had confirmed what Nada's fears were. "Because everything stays the same," Nada said, "Because I know everything that will happen, and even though I have no power, I am quite safe in this machine,"

She continued, "But if a piece goes missing, no, that is wrong. If a piece leaves my part of the machine, to go to a place where it can be of more use, then everything will be changed."

"There are no other pieces to fill the place of the one that left, so I am now alone. Even though I did nearly nothing in the first place, I am now forced to face that fact without knowing that I put a smile on the face of my best friend," Nada explained, "I don't mind being a cog in a machine, but I don't want to be a lonely cog in this machine,"

Erwine nodded, "I know, and I am sorry that I am doing what I must,"

"You should not be," Nada said, "You're going to do great things, and save lots of people. You'll be like a hero, and see all these amazing things, while I'll be stuck here, alone and with no one to see in the morning,"

"Don't worry," Erwine said, "You'll do your part, we're both just cogs, but both of us matter, even if I'm a bigger cog than you are,"

"I know," Nada said, although her voice suggested that she did not like that, "But I wish that I could go to the stars like you are,"

"I wish that I could go to the stars and see all the amazing things out there, to find a place where I could really matter, instead of being here, not knowing what my place in the universe is," Nada said,

"That's why you are angry when I contracted," Erwine said, "Because you knew that I would be getting the thing that you wanted so desperately?"

Nada nodded, "If I could contract, if I had potential, then I would make a wish instantly, and I would be the best I could be," she said, "But unfortunately, I am not a person who is capable of contracting, so I must stay here,"

"Don't worry, Nada," Erwine ordered, "You'll do great things here, you'll be a great person, even without magic,"

"I doubt that," Nada said, "I really do,"

"I don't doubt that," Erwine said, "Because you're a smart person,"

Erwine smiled, "Turn the sadness into determination," she said, "Turn the sorrow you feel into hope that you will achieve even without any form of magic,"

"I'll try," Nada said, "But…it will be hard,"

"I don't doubt that it will be difficult," Erwine said, "But I doubt that you will fail, you've always been stronger than me,"

"Now you're just sweet-talking me," Nada said, "Don't do that,"

"No I'm not, I'm really serious."

"Sure," Nada said, crying, "I'm sure that I'll somehow become a great person here, I'll just somehow become a genius and go from there,"

Erwine took a step forward and gently embraced her friend. She said, "Even if you don't do anything here, even if you live out the rest of your life in this same place, then I can assure you that I will always remember you,"

"When you die, I want you to remember that you're the one who allowed me to get this far, without another cog like you, I never would have kept my sanity," Erwine said, "I will tell everyone who follows me to remember your name, because it is the name of the girl who was with my for so long,"

"I'll tell these followers to tell their followers, when they become inquisitors," Erwine promised, "You will live on, if only as a name. You will live on in the minds of hundreds of people eventually. Maybe even thousands,"

"What?" Nada joked, "You gonna make me a saint or something?"

"Saint Nada the Worthless," Erwine decided, "That has a nice ring to it,"

"The worthless? I thought I had some worth?" Nada complained,

"You do, but that is the point, you call yourself worthless, when in reality you were the one who drove the greatest inquisitor ever!" Erwine declared.

"Now you're sweet-talking me," Nada said.

"I don't know," Erwine said, "Apparently inquisitors have a lot of power,"

"No one but the Goddess herself can make a saint," Nada said, "So unless she owes you a favor, what you say is not going to happen,"

"True, but I'll do my best anyways," Erwine promised,

Nada pulled away from Erwine, still crying. "Be sure to save a lot of people, alright?" she said, "And don't forget me,"

Erwine nodded, "Of course, maybe one day, I'll have to save you!"

Nada smiled, "I don't know, a lot can happen in our lives," she said.

The two girls stared at each other for a time, until Erwine moved forward and embraced Nada once more. She hugged the girl close, "I'll miss seeing you every morning," she said.

Nada agreed, "I'll miss seeing you." Before she left the embrace, she reached into the pocket of the coat she wore. She removed a small, folded piece of paper. She handed it to Erwine. "Wait to open this until you're off-planet."

They were both constants in the other's lives. Each of them had kept the other sane for so long, and now, they were to be split for what might be forever.

"Please," Nada begged, "If I ever need protecting, the best inquisitor in the universe better know about it,"

Erwine broke off the hug, and walked towards the door, slipping the paper into her pocket as she went, "I'm sure that I will," she promised, "And I'll fix whatever problem there is,"

It took several minutes for Erwine to say goodbye to her parents, who were more content with her going. It made sense, as all parents with a daughter hoped that daughter would have potential, and a reason to contract.

Erwine felt a stab of pain as she thougth about that fact. _Was I ever anything more than a vehicle for them to ascend? _Erwine didn't think about that, not wanting to taint her mind with such thougths as she left these people.

They'd get their compensation, courtesy of the Imperium. They'd get prestige, as siring a magical girl was considered by all to be a great achievement. Nada would have no shortage of people wondering about the whole process, and what it was like. _If I do nothing else, then at least I made the lives of my loved ones better. _Erwine thought contently.

Adrianne had of course given money to Erwine's parents, and Erwine was happy to see the look on their faces when they received the small pouch, containing a large amount of the sector currency, which was a form of paper notes.

As Erwine and Adrianne walked down the hall, Erwine looked back and saw a smiling Nada. Their eyes met for a long few seconds. Erwine felt she was going to burst into tears again. Then she waved goodbye. "See you later," she said, not wanting to say something as final and absolute as 'goodbye'.

_I know I'll see her again, _Erwine thought. She knew that it had to be the truth. But as soon as they stepped out of the building, Erwine once again broke into tears.

Despite her more hopeful thoughts, she felt that she had been putting on a show to make Nada happy. Now, she revealed her true emotions. _I'll never see them again. I might die and they won't know. They might die and I won't know._

"You almost died in there," Adrianne said softly. The smile was gone from her face. Erwine turned to her. She let go of her hand.

_Died? What does she mean?_

"What are you talking about?"

Adrianne opened her left hand. The one she wasn't holding Erwine's with. There was Erwine's soul gem. Surrounding it were ten small, black cubes. The cubes were glowing as they surrounded Erwine's gem.

"I burned through these inside, and had we stayed longer, I may have had to get more," Adrianne shifted her eyes from her hand to Erwine's eyes. "Were I not doing this, you would be dead right now."

Erwine's eyes widened in shock. Her breathing sped up. Her heart was racing. Her brain was trying to comprehend what she had just been told.

Adrianne placed her hand on Erwine's shoulder and gripped firmly. "Calm down, Erwine, calm down," But she wouldn't; she was incredibly terrified to the point that she was suddenly questioning her decision to go with this girl.

"But, I'm going to die if I'm just sad?" Erwine cried. Tears streamed down her cheeks making craters in the snow wherever they landed.

"No, that's not true," Adrianne used that calming voice again. It was strange how she did that. Erwine tried to stop crying. But tears kept coming.

"What did you just do, Erwine?" Erwine didn't understand.

_What? What is she trying to do?_

Erwine managed to gasp out "I just said goodbye to my family and my best friend."

"So wouldn't that make you sad and regretful?" Adrianne embraced Erwine with both her arms.

"Yeah, it would,"

"So, therefore, as long as that doesn't happen again could you say that you won't die from sadness?" Erwine suddenly saw the logic. Adrianne was right. This situation might never happen again.

Adrianne was embracing her tightly before she could react. It was the motherly embrace the inquisitor liked to put people into. Erwine did not mind having a caring person like this one act like her mother at times.

"I'd like to say that this happened to me," Adrianne whispered.

"What do you mean?" _Did Adrianne not say goodbye_, Erwine wondered, _what caused that? Did she not have anyone to say goodbye to?_

"I didn't like my parents; I was born into a noble family. The best I would have gotten was to get married off to someone else as part of an alliance or agreement. Becoming a magical girl was the only way out." Adrianne let go of Erwine slowly. She stifled her tears, seeming surprised that she was letting any out at all.

Erwine regained control of her panicking mind, and did her best to stop crying. She knew that it was alright to cry, but she did not want to show any more weakness.

"Well, at least I have a family that I want to say goodbye to." She laughed. It was a slow, soft chuckle at first that slowly evolved into something that resembled the mad cackle of a maniac.

She was scared, and this was her way of letting it out. She had no idea what was going on with her soul gem, and what had happened to it because of what she felt. All she knew was that she could die if she was too sad.

And that scared her to death.

"What have I done?!" exclaimed Erwine, "I say goodbye to the people I love, and leave happy, but then I find out that I may have died there! Because I was feeling sadness!" She fell to her knees, clutching at her head.

She thought Adrianne would look at her as if she was a psychopath. But she was completely unfazed. Adrianne knelt down beside Erwine as the younger girl sat there crying.

The inquisitor placed a hand on the shoulder of Erwine, "You made the right choice," she assured.

"The choice to die-"

Adrianne cut her off, "You do not at all understand what a magical girl is, and that is a problem," she said, "If you come with me now, I will explain everything to you, otherwise, you can sit here in the snow while I replace you and take away all the money I just gave your family,"

Erwine considered her options briefly. Then she let Adrianne help her up. "Thank you…" She whispered, sticking tightly to the inquisitor.

"Come on, you have to meet the rest of your team." With that she started walking, still tightly clutching Erwine's hand in her own.

Erwine briefly turned her head back to see her hab unit for one last time and then turned back. _I have to let go of the past. This is my future now and I will make the best of it and do the most I can._

Adrianne noticed this "Don't worry about them, they'll be fine and you'll be fine as well,"

"It's just, I don't know how to move on, and clear my head,"

Adrianne chuckled for a second. "Here's an important lesson,"

"What?"

"The only way to move forward is to move forward," Erwine turned her head to Adrianne and put on a puzzled look.

"That doesn't make sense,"

"Yes it does, if you keep thinking about the past, you can't move forwards into the future, just remember that,"

After about 20 minutes of walking. Adrianne finally stopped. "Where did you bring me?" Erwine wondered. Adrianne looked up and turned in a full circle. She seemed to be surveying the area.

"I brought us off of tonight's patrol routes. There shouldn't be anything around here tonight." Adrianne responded. She still glanced about. _What is she looking for? _Erwine wondered.

"What do you mean, patrol routes?" Erwine was interested. "What were people patrolling for out here?"

"I'm surprised we didn't run into any a while back," She turned back to Erwine. "I mean wraiths, the things the PDG teams hunt."

"PDG?" Erwine wondered with a frown.

"Planetary Defense Girls," Adrianne explained, "The girls stationed on every single Imperial controlled world that handle the defense of the world's people from the wraiths, and any other threats."

"Oh, I didn't know those existed." Erwine was puzzled. Why didn't they learn of local magical girls? That would be something important to know.

"Good, you shouldn't," Adrianne replied.

"But why?" Erwine asked.

"Let's get off the street first." Adrianne pulled off the ring on her left hand and transformed it into its gem form. With a flash she appeared in her magical girl outfit. She had been wearing it before, but resummoning it simply removed the coat she had been wearing.

The outfit consisted of a long-sleeved leather coat which buttoned up.; colored charcoal. On her hands were fingerless gloves colored red. She had a somewhat short black skirt on, but that was covered by the six long coattails which came down to her feet. On her head was the same kind of hat she was wore with the coat. Her somewhat charcoal soul gem on a gold bracelet going around her wrist. Her hair was still tied back in a ponytail.

"Alright, now you do it," Adrianne said, smiling.

"Ok" Erwine removed her ring from her finger, and transformed it into soul gem mode. Breathing deeply, she intoned it to transform. Instantly, she felt herself stripped of all clothing. She felt her feet covered by silver high-heels, while her legs were covered by white leggings, going all the way up. Coming next was a wide knee-length skirt that seemed to have small plates of armor woven into it, colored silver-blue. Her torso and arms were covered by a white coat whose sleeves stretched to her hands. Her fingers were covered by silver. The blouse and the gloves had the same small plates of armor woven in. The collar of the coat was high, done upwards, leaving room around her neck. A white scarf was wrapped around her neck, and came down just a few inches in front of it like a tie. She felt a silver cape be attached to her back and finally a crown be placed on her head. It wasn't a very intricate crown. Just a small one with her soul gem in the exact center of it.

"That's pretty," Adrianne commented. Her voice was dry, however. "What did you wish for?"

Erwine didn't want to reveal what her wish had been. It was close to her. "Do I have to tell?"

"Yes, you do, it'll be easier to understand you powers that way,"

"Are you sure?" Erwine said ashamedly "I don't really want to reveal something so personal,"

She really did not want to tell her wish. It was very personal to her, and the talk with Nada had made it mean so much more to her. Sharing it would be like sharing her soul itself with Adrianne.

_Well, _Erwine thought, _I already did that, and it was taken care of well, so maybe this is a good idea. _She had to think on it.

But Adrianne did not like this hesitation, "Come on," she said, "It's not like I'm going to tell the whole world about your wish,"

Erwine understood that she should be listening to Adrianne, but found it rather difficult to tell something like this.

Eventually, Erwine nodded, "Alright," she said, "I wished that I was no longer a cog in the machine, to have power and be able to make a difference." She said the last part with a sense of determination that Adrianne had not yet seen in the girl.

"Well then, that's a good wish, it explains the royal and military motifs going on here, you know what your ability is?"

"What do you mean ability?" Erwine was beginning to dislike the fast past Adrianne was moving on, both in terms of conversation and movement.

Adrianne didn't respond. Instead she leapt up to the roof of one of the buildings around them. It was about ten feet above the ground. _Come on, Erwine, _she said, _just focus, and magic will do the rest. _Erwine jumped a little at the telepathic communication, but obeyed.

"Alright," Erwine bended her knees and jumped attempting to add some of her magic to the jump. To her surprise she easily leapt up to the roof. Erwine felt a slight spell of dizziness as she looked down, but blinked and turned away from the edge. Adrianne was standing in the middle, looking at Erwine.

"Your ability," Adrianne explained, "A rather generic name for the specific thing that your magic lets you accomplish, due to your wish for power, I imagine it has to do with controlling people."

Erwine nodded, listening intently. _I'm a servant of the Goddess, a true one now. I can't afford to slack off. _No matter what, Erwine was determined to do her very best in the service of the Inquisition.

"Wishes generally bring it about in any girl, but some are merely specialists in some form of combat, rather than bearers of an ability. I wonder what you can do, did the Incubator tell you anything?"

Erwine shook her head. "I left rather quickly, I was excited." She felt a bit ashamed.

"Don't feel bad, it's not your fault." Adrianne glanced around, "Probably one around here…"

"You called?" the monotone voice echoed about, the Incubator scampering up the side of the building.

"Happen to know what she can do?" Adrianne immediately asked, gesturing to the girl in silver beside her.

"Ahh, Erwine, correct?" The Incubator didn't wait a second. "Limited control. By issuing voice commands imbued with her magic, she can force those she directs the commands at to follow them, even against their own will."

Adrianne nodded. She waved the thing away. "Go away, run along and rui-help somebody else's life." There was more than just a hint of malice. Erwine was too focused on thinking about what the thing had said to catch anything more than that. She turned to Erwine. "Now to test it's power. Use it on me. Just a simple command."

Erwine hesitated, a little afraid of a power she didn't understand. Adrianne spurred her on, assuring her no harm would come to her, so Erwine breathed deeply, and sternly ordered, "Raise your hand,"

Adrianne's arm twitched, but nothing more, "It's telepathic, so a trained magical girl like myself will be able to resist it more,"

Erwine nodded, not quite understanding anything. She just followed what Adrianne said. "Let's keep moving, more will be explained later,"

Turning around Adrianne leapt away to another building. Erwine sighed and followed her. Adrianne continued until she finally stopped, far from where they started. Gasping for breath, she asked "I asked you two questions, where are my answers?"

"Ok, question one, in every city, town, and village on every planet in the Imperium, there are magical girls who hunt wraiths." Adrianne ran and hopped over to another building. Erwine followed her, almost stumbling over now after such a trip.

"Wraiths are creatures born of negative human emotions, especially grief. Local girls hunt these wraiths and collect the grief cubes. Most of those are going to be shipped off to the Mage Knights or the Inquisition." Adrianne ran and hopped to another building.

"Where are we going?" Erwine asked. "And what are grief cubes?"

"Forgive the cliché, but you ask too many questions." Adrianne said "One at a time, first of all, we are going to go meet the rest of my team."

"Team?" Erwine asked.

"Yes, team, you'll see." Adrianne had temporarily paused, but now continued jumping from roof to roof. "Now, on with the explanation, grief cubes are what allow us to purify our soul gems, you saw me use some back at your house"

"We keep the patrol girls secret so everyone isn't worried about them, if people knew of these girls, then they would not be able to have as much freedom as they do. The patrollers live relatively normal lives, disguised as a normal members of whatever community or area they are inserted into."

'I understand," Erwine said. She did, it made sense to keep them secret so everyone wouldn't be worried about them every single day. "You also keep wraiths secret so people won't be worried?"

"Exactly, especially because the wraiths will feed on that fear and become stronger." Adrianne said, "The PDG also acts as the first line of defense against a threat posed by xenos or heretics," They'd gone a long way traveling across the buildings. They seemed to be going towards a small commercial spaceport, closer to the inner city, but still far from anything too important.

"Almost there," Adrianne declared. "In a city like this one, there are probably around fifteen or so girls,"

"Really?" Erwine was surprised. Were there people in her school who were also magical girls?

"Perhaps, you may know one. I'm not sure, honestly," Adrianne shrugged, as though the matter didn't entirely concern her. It didn't, in reality.

"Why haven't we seen any tonight?" Erwine questioned; looking around at the other buildings.

"I ordered the local commander to direct all patrols away from this path, I can handle any wraiths that come," Adrianne responded. Finally, she paused on a building, about seven meters from the low wall of the spaceport Erwine had spotted earlier.

It was a long jump over the wall and into the port, but the height of the building would help. However, as Erwine saw the distance, she started to shiver. Adrianne grinned at her, "Don't worry," the inquisitor said, "It's not like you can actually die from this jump,"

The inquisitor got a running start before leaping through the air. Erwine watched as she sailed through the air to land a few meters in front of the wall. Adrianne somersaulted as she landed, before spinning around to gaze back up at Erwine.

Erwine gasped, her body shaking as she tried to calm herself through deep breaths. She closed her eyes, ran forwards and jumped as she felt herself reach the edge. She understood the need for secrecy and held back the urge to scream in terror, but her stomach turned as she flew through the air.

The landing was rough, both her legs screaming in pain as they impacted, causing Erwine to fall to the ground clutching at her wounded limbs. Adrianne immediately looked concerned, and picked the girl up off the ground. She effortlessly lifted Erwine, even though they were about the same weight, and carried her over to a small shuttlecraft.

"Get used to things like that," Adrianne said, she had looked amused when Erwine first landed, but it was clear that she still cared, "We do it a lot,"

"That's really lovely," Erwine sarcastically said. "I feel like I'll love it here,"

"You will," Adrianne proudly declared, and Erwine could tell the girl was not being sarcastic. Adrianne stopped close to the rear of the shuttle, and after a couple seconds, a long ramp descended form the back, revealing an interior compartment.

A dark-haired woman stood there, staring at Adrianne as she walked up the ramp. "This is the new one?" Airi asked, her voice critical.

"She may have come close to breaking her legs," Adrianne said, as an explanation for the way she carried Erwine, "Don't think I'm the kind of person to hit on someone who's thirty years younger than me,"

"Can you blame me?" Airi asked with a smile.

"I'm not sure who I have to cheat on," Adrianne replied, wary of another girl in the compartment, "But I guess I'll do my best to stay out of anything,"

Erwine was horrified. Her face was petrified in an expression of absolute shock. Adrianne saw this, and asked, "What's wrong, Erwine?"

"Aren't you all part of the Inquisition?" the girl replied.

"Yes," Adrianne confirmed, "And?"

Erwine was put down in one of the chairs on the side of the compartment, and Adrianne started to heal her leg. "Aren't you people supposed to be ruthless, brutal, and…"

"And all the other adjectives people have applied to us?" Airi asked, before shaking her head, "Turns it we're still magical girls, just like the glorious mage knights,"

Adrianne looked up, "Don't expect to find what you've heard about. Most of that is born from the more ruthless inquisitors, whose tales are more widely known,"

Erwine nodded, before taking a deep breath, mostly out of relief. "Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not widely known," Adrianne said with a mischievous grin.

Erwine tipped her head back, staring upwards, and wondering what the world truly was like. _I guess that I get to learn about that now._

But still, Erwine wondered if even what she saw now was nothing more than illusions hiding truths more deeply buried than most.

* * *

There is certainly a science behind the raising of a new contractee. It requires careful manipulation of the girl's psyche. Careful to the point where failures to properly guide a contractee have resulted in catastrophes. The biggest part is undeniably reacting based on the development already experienced by the girl. A girl who knows much about the larger world shall require little assistance in the matter, but a girl from a backwater hive will need all the help she can get. Their personality will also factor into their development, as will their wish. Ultimately, there are too many variables to create an exact way to explain how all of this can be done effectively. This text shall explain perhaps the best way to approach thinking about this idea. It is worth highlighting the fact that this is by no means an all-inclusive guide to the process. This is merely suggestions, developed after thousands of years of research. The committee that wrote this hopes that readers find this at least somewhat helpful.

As always, copy this book into your memory, then annihilate all physical copies.

-Introduction to the Ordo Psychatus's _Raising an Angel. _

The Inquisition is entirely responsible for the management of magical girl-related internal affairs, and the collection and distribution of grief cubes is one of the most important tasks. With over thirty million magical girls in operation at any one time, an estimated three billion cubes are required every week, on average, and that number does not account for the ebb and flow caused by major campaigns and crusades. As such, the system must be entirely refined to absolute efficiency.

PDG units operate on every world in the Imperium. These units eliminate the wraiths that appear every night, using teamwork and tactics refined over thousands of years to destroy the creatures in the most efficient manner. The grief cubes are then split eighty and twenty, the former number being stored for shipment, the latter being used by the PDG. It is the responsibility of the Sects within each sector to handle the collection of these cubes, where they will be brought back to distribution sites, then shipped off to other locations in the galaxy, on some of the fastest craft available.

A single misstep or interruption in this complex dance could cause an entire Mage Knight Company to be lost, or many other tragedies to occur. I feel the need to remind the gathered inquisitors, especially Her Highness Grand Inquisitor Schrader, of this fact, so that I may press for the distribution of additional Inquisitors to handling the needs of the system. More and more, magical girls are going rogue. Purely for their own reasons, most of them, while a few specifically align themselves with chaos. With the Incubators being less and less forthcoming by the year, we have to act. The lifeline of the Imperium's warriors must be preserved at all costs, and I know you all know that fully. But we cannot sit back and merely push back the cancer when it appears. We must annihilate all traces of it. The term Inquisition implies that it is constantly active. And while it wipes out many threats, this threat sits at the core of our existence, yet we continue to ignore it.

-Excerpt from speech given by Her Ladyship Lord Inquisitor Klya Iscvo at the M41.30 Inquisitorial Galactic Summit


	4. The First of the Revelations

Siothea: A relatively average world when it comes to the Hadiens Sector. Cities are not quite hives, yet are highly populated, and necessitate a strong PDG presence. Grief cube output is slightly above average, most likely because of the above-average crime rating. The crime rating has often been complained about by the Adeptus Arbites, but Lord Inquisitor Eskel has issued specific orders to leave it alone. The Administratum and Ecclesiarchy presence on the world is rather strong, so the PDG and Inquisition tend to keep things quiet. However, this also provides a justification for the lack of crime-fighting conducted by the PDG. The current strategy is Lord Inquisitor Eskel's method of turning the groups against each other, with the Arbites squabbling against the others, pushing for more direct involvement by us, thus allowing us to do more.

The issue is that there is presumably a significant criminal underground. This could be easily exploited by a rogue girl for her own advantage. The administration has done little to solve the problem, so they are presumably in on the operation as well. However, there is no reason to solve any of this. The grief cube rate greatly contributes to the overall production of the Hadiens sector, and the planet is maintained by a tight, well-disciplined group of girls.

Other than this situation, there is nothing the Inquisition needs to worry about. Due to the normalness of the planet's situation, there is little incentive for contracts, so a lack of potential. The Incubators themselves have testified that Siothea is not a very viable breeding ground for new girls.

However, there is a valid plan in the works to convert the world into a grief farm. Given the relative lack of anything vital, it's a sensible plan. Lord Inquisitor Eskel plans to move forwards, unless given a reason not to, within the next ten years or so. Lots of logistics are of course involved, but the plan is certainly viable. Of course, it is ultimately the MSOC's decision.

-Excerpt from Report to the New Committee Chair, M, Pacificus Four Toella(Previously Melange) Multi-Sector-Overwatch-Committee.

* * *

Erwine had always wondered what her world would look liked from the air. She'd dreamed of the sprawling cities and the beautiful plains that lay outside them. She had hoped that they would be beautiful.

_Why had I ever thought that? Was it because of my environment? I feel like I'm too hopeful sometimes. _These particular thoughts ran through her head because of what she currently saw. The actual look of the planet was very different from what she'd dreamed.

The city wasn't too beautiful. The ugly masses of metal served only as testaments to human ability, no beauty could be found. Erwine didn't think that, though. She'd never seen anything besides that. For her, such ugliness was her life.

The plains outside of the cities were desolate stretches of wasteland. Except for the occasional town that connected back to the cities via maglev lines, the plains only features were mountains and valleys. The plains were inhabited by native creatures, but devoid of human presence.

She turned away from the window to look at Adrianne. The two of them were sitting in the passenger hold of the ship. Adrianne called it the "yacht". Erwine had no idea what a "yacht" was or if it even related to the ship.

It consisted of a main body, and two pods off to either side of the rear. The main body was flat in the rear, but the sides curved to make the front consist of an arc rather than a line. The main body was about eight meters long, and about four meters wide.

Each of the pods started five meters from the front, and stretched for eight meters towards the rear, meaning that they stuck out from the ship. Four meters of their length were devoted to additional engines, while the rest seemed to be storage space. The pods were two meters wide, and Erwine had no idea what might be stored there.

The interior design of the main body was simple. The rearmost room was storage, and was two meters long. The compartment after that was four meters long, and was a seating area. Two rows of seats were on either side.

The cockpit was in the front, and was two meters long. Erwine had yet to see that, but she had been told that was what was up there.

Erwine could see why Adrianne had a liking for it.

Erwine had no idea how fast it was going, but the landscape was racing by at an incredible rate. She could never pick out individual features of the landscape, and everything seemed to devolve into a single blurred line.

The land was very far below the ship, so it was not like she would have seen much anyways. Clouds commonly obscured Erwine's view from the window, but she did not care, as she was never missing much.

Adrianne noticed her movement and asked "Admiring the view?" Adrianne seemed a lot more relaxed now. She sat with her arms resting on the backs of the seats to either side of her and with her legs crossed. She was clearly enjoying herself.

There was another girl in the room. She was more somber than Adrianne. She sat with her arms crossed across her chest and her legs crossed as well. But the look on her face was one of deep contemplation. Her blond hair reached down past her shoulders a few inches down her arm. Her green eyes covered by the glasses she wore stared out the window on the other side of the cabin.

She was wearing a dark black scarf around her neck. She also had a long coat on, colored dark blue with white patterns sewn into it. On her legs was a skirt that ended a few inches above the knees. It was colored in alternating strips of blue and white. Her hands had bright blue gloves on them. The coat was buttoned to cover the lower half of the torso and just past the waist; the coat was unbuttoned at the top so her chest was visible. Judging from what Erwine could see of the girls' chest she wore another lighter coat that was colored lighter blue than the long coat. Her soul gem could be seen on her chest attached to the middle of the lighter blue coat. It was in the chest of an eagle pattern that was sewn into the lighter coat.

Her name was apparently Laelia Aemilina. Erwine had no idea what kind of name that was. She'd never heard of even the most extravagant nobles having a name like that. But apparently Laelia was no noble girl. Or at least that's what Erwine guessed from the way the girl carried herself. Erwine had only seen her for about thirty minutes and she didn't act as stuck up as Erwine thought she would with a name like that.

Erwine realized Adrianne had asked her a question and nodded in response. "It's a lot different than what I thought," Erwine said nodding to the plains below.

"Yep, what do you know about the history of the world?" Adrianne wondered.

"I know that it was a point of conflict during the Heresy," Erwine took care not to say whose heresy it was.

"That's all?" Adrianne sighed. "Well here's a history lesson for you, these plains used to be rather fertile and filled with forests, despite the pollution of the hives, but orbital bombardment conducted by Imperial forces ended that,"

"Really?" Erwine was surprised; she didn't know the fighting was _that _major. "I had no idea!"

"Of course, wouldn't want anyone, especially teenage girls questioning their place in society," Adrianne replied. She seemed serious too. _That's strange. She's seemed rather sympathetic up until now._

"What do you think about the state of the Imperium, Adrianne?" Erwine asked. She instantly regretted asking. She wasn't sure if Adrianne would be angry.

But the Inquisitor just shrugged and said "What I think? I think that we need to reevaluate the strategy of burning worlds when we don't feel like trying hard enough, but don't tell _anyone _I said that,"

Erwine was shocked by this answer. She had been told that Exterminatus, whatever that name meant, was not something that was done lightly. But what Adrianne said made her believe otherwise.

"What is it? Never heard of the concept of Exterminatus?" Adrianne questioned. "I know you have, because that is what you say in your dream." She then explained the reason for it, "If a planet is occupied by forces that must be immediately and completely controlled, and are too strong for any conventional army, an inquisitor may order Exterminatus on the world, which is conducted through a variety of ways, but in the end, everything on the planet dies." Erwine gulped. She remembered the dream she had.

"It's a horrifically, beautiful sight," Erwine's head turned to the side as Laelia spoke for the first time in Erwine's presence. Her eyes narrowed and she began to move to the left, suddenly worried about the girl's sanity. A shudder ran through her body, as if she'd felt the emotion before.

"LAelia, always incapable of smiling," Adrianne said. Although Erwine laughed at first, the girl quickly realized it was less of a joke, more of a true statement.

Laelia then immediately proceeded to turn her head to Erwine and smiled. "And Erwine, you'll find that I'm the smartest person around here."

"Oh, that hurt, Laelia," Adrianne made a show of crossing her arms and frowning. Erwine was extremely confused; she didn't really understand the relationships in the group, even between her and Adrianne. She said as such and Adrianne replied.

"Well, we certainly do like to have fun, but we do become serious when we're in a operation, this has to do with the fact that in the end, we all got mixed up in this odd world when we were thirteen or fourteen years old," Adrianne explained. She got a look of sadness in her eyes. "That's another thing I wish is different,"

"What?"

"That we didn't have to contract at such a young age, I mean, humanity would be long dead by now if it weren't for us, but I wish it could be different." Adrianne looked down at the floor. She seemed as if she was about to cry.

"Is that why, you all act so…?" Erwine asked, wanting to know why everyone acted like teenagers even though Erwine knew they weren't.

"Childish? Yes, it is, we all have our own ways of coping with this universe, and for many magical girls, it's acting like we were before we signed up to fight an eternal crusade."

"I'm sorry," Erwine said. This scared her. Was Adrianne just like she is? Did she enter this world, unsure and asking questions, thinking she can be great? Only to turn into a hardened killer? It shook Erwine to her core, simplu thinking about such an occurrence. _Adrianne can't be like that, _Erwine decided.

"You did nothing wrong" Adrianne said reassuringly "I-I just-" before she could say anything she broke into tears. Erwine got up and went to comfort her, but was stopped by Laelia. The other girl paused and a second later, Airi came in.

Erwine was even more worried. This was clearly more than just what Erwine brought up. Obviously something from her past had been brought up by the conversation.

Airi looked at Adrianne and then at Erwine. "You should go up front," she said. "Sorry," she added afterwards. Erwine took one last look at Adrianne before she began to walk forwards. Laelia sat down next to Adrianne and put a hand on her shoulder. Erwine wanted to stay, but knew that she should go.

Erwine had wondered what the final member of the team would be like. She couldn't place Adrianne's personality, Airi was cheerful and obedient, and Laelia was clever and somber. But Ayelen Nita was less of a personality type and more an indescribable force of nature, at least in Erwine's opinion.

Ayelen made Airi look like a mortician. It was that simple. She was obviously a very useful person, as Erwine believed she would drive Adrianne or especially Laelia completely insane. She went on long speeches about the glories or certain pastries or sweets and then switch topic in the middle of a sentence to her favorite operas by people Erwine had never heard of. It was almost like she was _too _happy to be real.

In terms of her physical appearance, the first thing Erwine noticed was her hazelnut hair. It was split in the back with the rest pulled to both sides and tied in braids. The lime-green soul gem of the girl could be seen as being one of those braids. Those braids reached down to her waists. Erwine wondered how much hair the girl had.

Her magical girl outfit consisted of a long sleeved _very frilly, _greencoat. The collar, which was frilled, went up to the top of her neck and curved up the bottom of her head. The sleeves, whose ends were frilled, ended at the knuckles leaving her hands uncovered. The bottom of the coat went down to her thighs and ended in more frills. But that coat was only below another smaller, sleeveless, also green coat with _even more _frills. Her green skirt reached below her knees and was multilayered with each layer featuring_more Goddess-damned frills!_ The rest of her legs were covered by knee-high green boots who had no frills, strangely enough.

_I'm going to refer to that outfit as frill hell. Because that is what it is._

Erwine was fairly certain Ayelen would never stop talking. When she'd finally had enough of the chatter, Erwine cut in mid-sentence "Would you please let me speak?" She cried out.

"Of course!" Ayelen exclaimed. She instantly ceased talking and gesturing with her hands and leaned back into the control seat she was in.

Erwine suddenly realized she had no idea what to say. All she wanted was for Ayelen to stop talking. After a minute of awkward silence she finally found something worth saying.

"Why did they send me up here" she asked "What's wrong with Adrianne?"

Ayelen got a more serious look on her face. She looked straight into Erwine's eyes and took a deep breath. "Adrianne has a rather bad history, I won't say anything about it because she'll want to tell you when she's ready, but don't push her about it," She breathed out and looked at the floor.

"That seems kind of stereotypical," Erwine replied. She didn't mean any insult, it was just that was what she'd always thought of when she thought about people with duties like Inquisitors.

"Have you ever read a fictional novel?" Ayelen asked.

"Yes, I have, several," Erwine replied, wondering where the conversation was going.

"Well then, you'll find it is considered a cliché in literature to have a main character have a dark past. However, that cliché is commonly proven true by many people in this odd world," she looked up at Erwine again.

"I understand," Erwine said. "Do they do this with every new member?"

"I don't know, I used to be the newest until you, so I have no idea how they operated before," Ayelen replied. She then turned to face the windows again. They were both silent for a long minute before either of them spoke again. Erwine decided to ask another question to pass the time and take her mind off of Adrianne.

"What is your magic specialty?"

Ayelen's face lit up. She began to speak in her usual fast manner. "Oh! Me? I'm a healer!" She jumped up and stuck her arm out. A flash later, and she was holding a long javelin in her hand.

"I summon these," she explained.

Erwine nodded "So healing is all you do?"

"Yes, but it's a different kind of healing," Ayelen explained, "I'm really only classified under healer, because that's what I'm the most like. It's hard to explain, I'l just show you,"

Erwine realized what Ayelen was implying, and the gears clicked in time for her to scream, "No need to-ahhh!"Ayelen responded by stabbing the spear into Erwine's shoulder. Erwine almost screamed but realized there was no pain. She turned her head to see the shoulder and saw the spear impaling her shoulder. She looked questioningly at Ayelen, all thoughts of criticizing the girl for stabbing her forgotten.

"My healing affects only the nerves, I can vary the level of pain one feels," she explained in her cheerful voice. "Do you get it?" Erwine realized one of the connotations of that question and immediately responded.

"Yes! Yes, I do understand! Please don't give me an example," Ayelen smiled and nodded and pulled the spear out of Erwine's arm and with a flash, dissipated it. Of course, as soon as the spear came out Erwine felt the full force of the pain. She screamed, only to come to a stop as soon as Ayelen laid her hand on the shoulder.

"See how useful it is? I'm sure you were wondering why they keep me around and that is why, mainly cause Laelia can't stand any pain, but don't' tell her that," Ayelen laughed and hopped back to her seat, leaving Erwine clutching her shoulder as the pain returned.

'You're a lovely person," Erwine grunted. She was managing the pain now, as her healing kicked in, but it still hurt a lot.

"Isn't she?" said a voice as the door opened. Laelia walked in to stand in between the two chairs. Her melancholic, bordering on somber, tone hadn't changed. In fact, it seemed to get worse now that Ayelen was in the room.

"Laelia!" Ayelen shouted and jumped up to hug the other girl. Laelia proceeded to generate a barrier directly In front of Ayelen's face as she jumped up. The frill-covered girl smacked her face on the magical wall and fell back into her seat.

Erwine was becoming seriously worried. She was of the belief she had been recruited by an inquisitor, but found herself surrounded by people who seemed to take nothing seriously. She understood what Adrianne had just told her, but Erwine suspected that they must have some serious psychological issues.

"Why did you come up here?" Erwine asked, still clutching her bleeding shoulder.

Laelia looked at the shoulder and sighed "Ayelen, introducing yourself by stabbing someone is not a good idea,"

"I know that!" Ayelen said matter-of-factly "I wasn't introducing myself; I was showing Erwine my magical ability!" She seemed proud that she proved Laelia wrong.

"I apologize for her, Erwine; I think she was dropped on the head as a child." Laelia teased. Erwine chuckled, her shoulder having completely healed finally. She looked out the window and saw a huge city far below them, which looked familiar.

"Look, there's our destination," Ayelen said, pointing at the city. Erwine was shocked; she knew it wasn't her home, but it looked similar. But from what she knew of hive cities, not any concern was put into aesthetics.

Ayelen took the controls of the ship and began to descend towards the city. Erwine was surprised Ayelen was the one who flew the ship. She'd thought it would be Airi or Laelia, not Ayelen.

But the girl showed great skill at handling the ship through the hundreds of others approaching the hive. Erwine could only stare in awe at the sheer number of craft coming in and out of the city. "Impressed?" Laelia asked. Erwine nodded.

"This is nothing compared to more industrialized planets," Erwine couldn't begin to imagine what Laelia spoke of. "A whole world covered by huge cities, stretching kilometers into the crust, the atmosphere is clogged with smog, and millions of people are crammed into a few dozen square kilometers." The girl shrugged, "A necessity, not a pleasant one, though."

Erwine sat there in silent awe, her mind struggling to picture what the girl said. _A whole world? _She shook her head a little, silently denying the possibility of such a thing. "You'll find a lot of things you thought to be impossible are reality." Laelia said. The girl was the happiest she had ever been, at least in Erwine's eyes. Yet even this high point was comparatively low to what Erwine thought of as happy.

"What are we doing here?" Erwine asked. She turned her head as the door opened again. Laelia stepped to the right as Adrianne entered the room with Airi walking beside on the left.

"Here," Adrianne began, smiling proudly at the city "Here, your service truly begins,"

* * *

Erwine had returned to the main compartment when she was told to. Adrianne told her to wait there, as she will not be doing much for some time. Laelia offered to give Erwine one of her many books she had.

It was an offer that Erwine gladly accepted. So she sat there for a few minutes, beginning to read a fiction novel, when two people she did not recognise walked in. They were headed for the door.

Laelia paid no attention to them, continuing to read her book, while Erwine was amazed. She had no idea where they came from, as there were no doors anywhere but in the main compartment.

"Who are you people?" she hesitantly asked.

One of them was a woman, who must have been nineteen or twenty. She had long brown hair, which was tied in a bun on the back of her head. She wore a long, black dress, and looked ready to go to a fancy party.

The other one was a woman of similar age, and wore a long dress as well. But she had gold hair that flowed loosely, and her dress was covered in…frills?

It looked like a more formal version of Ayelen's magical girl uniform.

The one with golden hair turned to Erwine, and spoke in a rather deep, mature voice. She said, "We're Ayelen and Airi, of course!"

Erwine shook her head. She thought that she had fallen asleep during the time she was sitting in the chair.

"But…" Erwine began, then said, "You're older,"

"They're not in their own bodies," Adrianne walked in and said this, coming from the cockpit, "They swapped with some of the bodies we keep in the storage bays,"

Erwine felt like she suddenly the victim of a cruel joke. "But…you can't just move yourself from-"

"Yes you can," the brunette said, in a more high-pitched voice. Her tone said that she did not like being in a body with such a voice. Their voices were certainly not native, but they seemed to be acclimating.

"How?" Erwine asked.

"I'll explain it to you right now,' Adrianne promised, then to Airi and Ayelen, "Go on, you've work to do,"

The two girls nodded, and left the ship.

Erwine continued to stare at the door in awe for a full minute after they left. Adrianne sat down across from her, and looked at her, "Well, you have questions, I'm certain, so ask away,"

Erwine's eyes were wide. "They were in different bodies," she said, astonished, "What…how…did they do that?" The girl was trembling, her entire body was shaking in fright, and a growing sense of horror was inside of her.

Adrianne sighed, "You shall not like it if I explain, but I must explain at some point," she said, crossing her arms, and staring into Erwine's eyes. The inquisitor was silent as the girl across from her shook in fright, and the young girl was even more scared by the glare that Adrianne gave her.

In an instant, that glare was gone. All hints of scrutiny and intimidation had disappeared from Adrianne's face, and all that remained was pity. "I don't want to do this," she admitted, "But I must,"

Taking a deep breath, she smiled sadly, removing her soul gem from where it was on her hand. Holding it up, she explained, "This is my soul." She pointed to the gem in the small tiara on Erwine's head, "That is your soul," she said.

Erwine shook her head. She kept shaking it, back and forth. "No, no, no," she said, "This is not how it is supposed to be, it's not at all how it's supposed to be,"

She started to tear up, her hands going to her face, covering her eyes as she tried to stifle her tears. "They took my soul from me?" she said, "It's not in my body anymore?" Erwine tore her hands from her face, and stood up, "What am I?!"

Adrianne did not move from where she was. She continued to smile sadly, and answered, "You're a magical girl. An angel."

Erwine shook her head, "I'm a human, a soul gem is just a source of power. That's what everyone said, that's what I was always told!"

"I've already showed you how humans are lied to in order to preserve the safety of the Imperium," Adrianne said, "Would you have contracted had you known that you would no longer be human?"

Erwine shook her head, and opened her mouth to say something more. Adrianne stood up, and a stomp of her foot upon the metal floor shocked Erwine into shutting up. The younger girl took a step back in the face of the older inquisitor. "You are still a magical girl," Adrianne said, "You still have duties, duties that you cannot back down from, so I expect you to overcome this, as we all have,"

"But you did not have to lie to me!" Erwine shouted, "You did not have to lie, telling me that I would be a hero, and that I would save so many, only to turn me into something else!"

Adrianne brought her right hand up and slapped Erwine's face with the back of her hand. The blow was hard enough to knock the girl back into her seat, where she sat looking up at Adrianne in shock.

"You are a fool," Adrianne said, "I never lied to you. No one ever lied to you. The topic of what type of creature you would become was never brought up by anyone, not even yourself."

Erwine's mouth opened, but Adrianne stepped forwards. The inquisitor's right fist twisted Erwine's head to the side. "You still have a chance to be a hero, to save thousands and thousands, if not millions," Adrianne growled, "You still have that chance, but no one has time for your complaints,"

Erwine stared defiantly at Adrianne, trying to display a sense of not backing down. It did not work, and Adrianne easily saw that Erwine was lying to herself. "You act courageously against me?" Adrianne asked with a smile, then growled, "Then act courageously against the fear you are feeling now!"

Erwine had things to say, but none of them left her mouth. Both of her cheeks still throbbed with pain from the blows she had been dealt, and there was no desire within her to experience anymore pain.

"I am an inquisitor, and one day, you may be an inquisitor as well!" Adrianne shouted, leaning down and directing her voice straight at Erwine. Her eyes bored into the girl's soul, and although Erwine knew her soul was on her head, it still seemed like Adrianne was staring right into it.

The inquisitor continued, her anger growing by the second, "That means that we both have responsibilities that we must respect. We cannot shrink away from our duties because we have become someone else!"

"The Imperium is composed of countless worlds!" Adrianne shouted, standing up straight, "And on those planets lives countless hundreds of trillions of people, and millions of those people die every day from the countless forces which threaten the Imperium from within and without!"

"It is our job to protect those countless numbers of innocent lives, even though we are not part of their race anymore!" Adrianne turned around, taking deep breaths to calm herself, "We must fight for them, and we must suffer for them, and we must die for them, because that is our duty as magical girls, and as members of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition,"

"I don't care what you are scared of, or what you regret, and neither does anyone else in the entire galaxy, save the Goddess herself. She cares for us, and you must understand that in the end, you will still have hope," Adrianne said these words sternly, but Erwine sensed that there was more. She certainly said her words to Erwine as if they were true, but did she truly believe them? Did she just want to give Erwine some kind of hope? As Erwine sensed that what she was hearing was not being believed by the person who was speaking.

Erwine wanted to nod. She wanted to just agree with Adrianne and be alone in her sorrow. Trying to talk to the inquisitor anymore would clearly do nothing to help anything. So Erwine nodded, and said, "I understand." She tried to put as much sincerity into her words as she possibly could, but she was never a good liar.

Adrianne sat down next to the girl. She was a seat away, but Erwine still found it rather close. "What is it?" she asked, trying to act genuinely confused, as if it was not obvious that Adrianne had seen through Erwine's poor attempt to deceive her.

"I've been a magical girl for a long time," Adrianne explained, "I've been fighting this war for about forty years now. Were I a human, then I would be old by now, and not very useful to anyone."

"But I'm a magical girl, and so are you. I didn't expect to become this either, and I did not like learning of it. So I cannot blame you for your sorrow, and I should not be too harsh on you." Adrianne sighed, then her voice became more serious, "But you are far too important to not do this to," She bit her tongue in that moment, as though she had spoiled a secret she shouldn't have revealed.

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked, "You keep acting like I'm important, but here I am, crying about a fact that I, nor anyone else, cannot change?"

"You are important because you a strong girl, and you learn quickly," Adrianne said, "You see reason easily when it is put before you, and you have a drive that I do not see even in myself,"

The inquisitor stood up. She turned to look down the room at the door leading to the cockpit. She reached out with her left hand and patted Erwine on the head, "I promise you that you'll get over this. I did, as did every other magical girl you've seen so far. You're stronger than you think, trust me,"

Adrianne walked towards the cockpit, opening and then entering through the door as she approached. Erwine watched her go, and then fell silent. She leaned back against her chair, and said nothing more. She was still crying softly, but she did not feel like making a bid deal about her condition.

Not after what Adrianne had done, and how she had reacted. It had made Erwine scared. She did not want to be scared of the person she was serving, not after the way she had been made unafraid by the same person, but the fear was there.

Adrianne had changed. That was all Erwine could think. _She was so kind, caring, and warm before. Now she's cold and demanding. _Erwine looked around warily, wondering if all was as it seemed. _It wasn't. Even before, just a few hours ago…ther was something else in all those smiles she gave me, wasn't there? _

_Who is that girl? _Erwine asked, as she asked herself at the same time, _who am I?_

* * *

Body-swapping is a technique practiced by almost all in the Inquisition, save for the most diehard of Puritans, and even by some in the Mage Knights. Uses range from entirely work-related, to purely recreational. This report is intended to analyze in depth the usefulness of the practice and the morals of the practice. The latter shall be examined while taking all works into consideration.

The technique can be done in two ways, but the key to understanding both is understanding how the technique is accomplished. Since a magical girl's soul is located outside of her body, within a gem, it is possible for that soul to be interacted with on a much deeper level than a soul within a body. So, through careful concentration and focus, along with a bit of applied thought, a magical girl can enter a trance-like state, and reattach her soul to another body.

For the soul to take hold, the new host must be free of a soul itself. As such, it is possible for magical girls to swap bodies with each other, or put their own souls inside a human corpse. In the case of the latter, the corpse can be regenerated by the magic of the soul gem, which will then implant the magical girl's mind in over the regenerated brain. (Mathematical proofs included later, reference Section 3 and further for the more detailed explanation)

While in a human body, the magical girl will be unable to use her magic in any major way, only being able to regenerate and perform the most basic modifications. Generation of weapons and use of abilities is impossible, at least at this point. However, while in the body of another magical girl, the girl is able to act normally. It is unknown why this occurs, though there are many theories. (See Section 4 and onwards.)

The reason this practice exists is the inability of humans to see little girls as normal anymore. Anytime they are seen, magical girls are thought of. Another way to approach criminals, traitors, and heretics is needed, and it is needed now. There is no other way to deal with the problem, at least not in a way applicable by all girls.

With countless people throughout the entirety of the Imperium, it is entirely impossible to believe that the usage of a few million corpses by the Inquisition is somehow unethical. Even if people must be killed to procure the proper corpse, it cannot be considered entirely detrimental to the greater good.

However, the question of ethics and morals comes in at this point. Her Holy Majesty teaches that all humans should be saved, all being just as deserving of salvation as we are. Yet based on the founding charter of the Inquisition, we have the right to do what no one else can do. This charter was finalized by Primarchs after Her Holy Majesty was already laid to rest.

From there, it depends on whether one is Puritan or Radical. The former group will find this practice rather disagreeable, while the later will agree with it. However, Puritans, save for the Agnela Group, do not actively speak out against this practice, and engage in it when needed.

This is mainly because they do not kill humans for the sake of acquiring bodies. Corpses are mainly used by Puritans, while the more Radical inquisitors may go about acquiring the proper bodies in less savory ways.

Ultimately, the practice of body-swapping itself cannot be considered a violation of the human form. The Goddess would not give us such abilities if it was, and this committee believes it is the responsibility of magical girls to properly use this ability.

-Excerpt from Nilanzig Research Committee's Report on the Practice of Body-Swapping. Circa M33.

They are coming for me. I don't know when they're going to come, where they'll come from, nor how they'll get me, but they're coming. Everyday, I see them, walking by my house. The same two girls. They always spend at least one second looking. This is insanity, the Inquisition isn't supposed to be real, right?

Then what happened to Nicolaus? He disappeared in the middle of the night, never seen again! Those crazy girls took him, I'm telling you! You have to fear magical girls. They call themselves angels, but they're not really. They're all monsters from hell, sent to claim our souls.

Ever since that guy came up to me, and I tried those drugs-IT WAS JUST ONCE-I mean, I feel like someone's been watching my mind. I bought it, and then I saw a girl staring at me. She walked away after a couple seconds, but I think they're still watching me. Even when I'm huddled in a corner hiding, I feel like something's creeping into my brain. It's not the drugs, they were depressants, not stims or anything like that. Something else is wrong, and I don't like it one bit.

That girl…I have to find her. She sometimes walks by too. There's so many of them here. By the Goddess, what are these things? This can't be real, can it? I'm afraid of what I'm going to do, but I have to do this. The Inquisition isn't going to watch me forever.

If they kill me, then farewell. With any luck, I'll take 'em by surprise, and then they'll know.

-Excerpt from the diary of one Galieus Copem, fifteen-year old student, Iluke, Siothea. Later convicted guilty of the murder of the human girl Metria Healsen. Confirmed to be free of any mind-altering drugs upon autopsy following execution. All evidence submitted to Committee for Investigation of Socio-Cultural Attitude towards Magical Girls.


	5. Beginning of Bloodshed

Magic Theory is based on a very simple principle. This is of course the Magic Particle Behavior Principle, which states that magic particles do not follow the laws of physics as present within this universe. Originally conceived through observation, the principle has been proven via Magic Theory. However, with the original development of the principal, during the days of the Heresy, it was thought that because magic particles do not follow the laws of physics, there is no way to rationally express their capabilities in a way similar to mathematics.

In fact, it would be found to be possible. Her Ladyship Kanna would first propose the basis of Magic Theory. Her research was disrupted by the Heresy, but the Magic Theory Committee was soon founded by the newly-born Inquisition, with the purpose of establishing a way to regulate grief cube supply and demand, and create the perfect fighting force.

Over the course of several decades, Magic Theory came into its own as a legitimate science. Consisting of mathematics far beyond the understanding of all but the greatest, the only way for it to be learned in any efficient amount of time is via telepathic implantation. Standard protocol does of course call for contractees acting working as active Inquisitorial agents or Mage Knights to learn Magic Theory before entering full deployment, as time allows.

Through Magic Theory, the grief cube system that currently serves as the lifeblood of the Imperium and her fighting forces was developed, with hundreds of Magic Theorists, 'Mathemagicians' as they sometimes call themselves, constantly working to update the real-time model. At least one is present on every sector capital, working for that sector alone, while dozens might be found on each Segmentum capital world.

_-On Magic Theory, _by Lord Inquisitor Deleana Gleese.

* * *

Airi hated dressing up. She hated pretending to be someone she wasn't. She hated having to pretend that she was some stupid noblewoman. But she did it anyways because she had to. And because it was especially fun seeing the looks on people's faces when they find out that she's actually an Interrogator.

All she'd done was extend her costume's skirt down past her ankles, remove the cuirass, and make the blouse underneath look fancier. Add to that a more noble-looking hairstyle, courtesy of the dead Mrs. Cataleria, deceased as of one month ago from a political assassin's blade, and she looked like your average stuck-up noblewoman.

And that was how she carried herself as she navigated her way through the party. She'd easily placed her soul in the body of a dead noblewoman. She had died at nineteen, a victim of political assassination.

But now, her body was as good as new. She looked like a healthy nineteen year old. Certainly old enough for the man she was trying to get.

The man was Elias Stenger. On the outside, he was a well-respected businessman. However, he was suspected of certain corrupt dealings. Not in xenos merchandise or in heretical artifacts. Far worse, he was believed to be involved in the highly illegal trade of grief cubes.

Such activities consisted of hijacking ships carrying the objects to clandestine distribution centers, or directly to the mage knights. Or possibly the theft of cubes directly from their holding places on planet, but that carried a greater risk of discovery, at least if most of the magical girls onplanet were still loyal.

Magical girls assigned to local security teams had only slight tendencies to go rogue when tempted with large amounts of wealth and power, and were more often forced into it due to their families being held hostage.

No matter what the means were, the end was that grief cubes were not getting into the hands of magical girls. They were getting into the hands of mortals.

Mortals handling grief cubes would only lead to more wraiths. And more wraiths caused more problems. It also caused massive shortages in grief cube supplies for both Inquisition and the Mage Knights. Which meant that it was the job of the Ordo Hereticus to sort the problem out.

Fortunately, most of time it was just as easy said as it was done. The mortals were bad at covering their tracks or easily cracked under interrogation. But, sometimes a major organization would be involved and that meant cutting all the heads off of the hydra without killing it.

Osbeorne was well-known name in this sector. It was a major trading organization that transported all kinds of goods. But it was under suspicion. However, making any major movements against it would only disrupt the entire sector. So the war had to be fought in the shadows, with Inquisitors taking the battle straight to the business partners of Osbeorne.

The hope was that eventually, all traces of corruption could be wiped out, but that was unlikely. The only chance was generally that enough evidence could be found to convict the entire corporation.

Airi thought were disrupted by a hand on her wrist. She'd realized she'd been standing and thinking for a minute. Which looked rather strange in the party she was at. There was a man grabbing her wrist. She controlled her reflexes and smiled at him.

"Hey there beautiful," he said, leering at her. Airi suppressed the urge to tear this man's throat out and replied.

"Sorry, I'm looking for someone else," she smiled. She brushed his hand aside ad continued walking. She figured she'd encounter several more of those dumb perverts before she got to the one she wanted.

But she wasn't worried. The thing Airi was really worried about was Ayelen. Ayelen was assigned to run cover for Airi. She had no idea why Ayelen had been picked. The girl was a bit of a flake, and had a tendency to be a bit crazy at times, so she was not the best pick for this job. Laelia could have easily filled her role. She could have done it better, too.

Unfortunately, Airi was stuck with Ayelen, so she realized that she would have to deal with her for the time being. _All I can do is hope and pray she won't mess this up by getting drunk or something. _The entire idea was silly, seeing as how it was effectively impossible to get drunk as a magical girl, but Airi figured Ayelen would forget to neutralize the alcohol or something like that.

So Airi continued to maneuver her way through the throng of people, looking for the one man that she was looking for. _If I find him faster, than that's less time Ayelen has to keep herself together. _And while Ayelen had made sure she would not be a threat over the course of this event, caution had to be taken.

Better safe than dead, after all.

Ayelen was the exact opposite of Airi. She loved to dress up. She loved to go undercover. She was an actress by nature. She was fairly certain that if she wasn't a magical girl, she'd be performing.

She waited for the day when she got to stop covering people and actually be the one operating. Because leaning against the wall in the corner of the ballroom was not very fun._That's silly, though, _Ayelen thought, _I've done plenty on my own. After all...there are concerns about me to think of…_She dropped the thought, not wanting to follow it to the darker corners of her mind.

She had lengthened her frilly skirt so it extended down to the floor and changed her blouse so there was now a v-shape from her neck to the top of chest. She had completely prepared herself mentally. She'd rehearsed everything she'd say and everything she'd do.

However, she was supposed to be covering Airi if things went bad. So she couldn't socialize with the partygoers. But she discovered she didn't want to. There was no one of particular interest. That was incorrect. _No one that was not absolutely disgusting. No one can catch a signal that I'm not wanting to talk to them._

Except the last one who had walked up to her. Ayelen expected another old man who wanted her in bed but what she found was something very different. He'd asked her what she was doing and she recited one of her cover stories. Or lines, rather. A simple one, "I'm waiting for someone else" she said, smiling.

"Would you care to pass the time with me?" he inquired. It was sincere, there seemed to be no double meaning. Rejecting him would look strange, especially since he was clearly so kind in this question. He also had an inkling of intelligence, as if he really had a good reason to be asking Ayelen this question.

So Ayelen nodded and walked off beside him. They walked out onto the balcony and found a quiet spot overlooking much of the hive. The party was located in one of the tall spires in the center of the hive, so there was an incredible view of the rest of the city.

"What brings you here?" the man asked.

"Oh, like I said, just waiting for a friend," Ayelen wasn't lying. She knew a very important piece of a good cover story was that you were actually not lying. If a telepath was scanning her thoughts, they'd find she wasn't lying. She _was_ waiting for a friend, she just didn't provide any details.

"Where are you from?" he asked. He was leaning against the railing, a few feet in front of the railing was a faint force field guarding the balcony from the cold of the high altitude. He glanced down at her left hand, which was being covered by her right.

Ayelen paused, temporarily unsure of what to say. She had prepared for this, but she noticed his gaze and realized an opportunity. She moved her right hand off her left and said "I'm from around." Ayelen slid off the covering on her finger exposing her wing-shaped tattoo.

He immediately noticed this "I see, you like parties?"

"Indeed I do," She replied; smiling. Adrianne had sent Airi after one specific person. But there was a chance one of that man's associates would be here. The fact this man wasn't surprised meant he was expecting something like this. Perhaps he expected someone to meet him here tonight.

Ayelen decided it was best to play along. "So who were you looking for?"

"Well, I heard of a certain man who could provide…assistance," Ayelen chose her words carefully. She was unsure if there was some sort of special phrase that was necessary. If she was correct in her assumptions about this man, and in her assumptions about the company she was going after, then she could pull something of her own off while Airi was occupied.

If she was wrong, then she would be disrupting Airi's part of the mission, and possibly disrupt everything about this mission.

Her fears were alleviated when he smiled and said "I think you've come to the right place,"

Airi was still searching for the man she was sent to find. She'd been navigating her way through the party for almost an hour. She'd spotted him several times but by the time she got to his location he was already gone. She finally leaned back against the wall, exhausted.

"Well hello there," A voice said. Airi looked up ready to drive another idiot away, only to find that the universe had finally taken mercy on her.

Standing in front of her was Alaster Stanger; the man she was supposed to find and interrogate. Airi put on a smile and said "Hello, need anything?"

Airi had intentionally left her soul ring exposed so it could be seen by this man. Which is why he responded "No, but I think you need something," he heartily smiled. He took her hand saying "Come on, let's discuss in private,"

He led her through the crowd and down a hallway off to the side of the ballroom. At the end of the hallway was a door flanked by three men on either side. One pulled out a key and unlocked the door. Airi and Alaster walked into a luxurious penthouse.

Alaster led Airi to the couch and walked away to pour the two of them drinks. Airi took a second after sitting to admire her surroundings. The couches and rugs were of very high-quality materials and incredibly comfortable. There even seemed to be a second floor of the penthouse. She considered all of this wasteful. She considered the logic of spending money on a place that you would use to make illegal deals.

That reminded Airi of the stupidity of this man. No matter how high-ranking he was in this smuggling ring, he was still an idiot. Sure, she might be a local patroller, but she might also be an Inquisitor!

Any criminal worth his salt would have brought Airi her unconscious and in chains so she couldn't do anything no matter what she was. Or maybe he was just drunk. Airi didn't care; a traitor is still a traitor.

"So why would a person like you want to get involved in this?" Alaster asked; handing Airi a glass of wine. Airi took a sip of it. It was good, but not as good as others she'd tasted.

"Well, I just want to have an extra supply, that's all," Airi replied. She'd sued that response before and it always had worked.

And it did again as Alaster bought her, honestly, transparent disguise hook, line, and sinker. "So, how much were you thinking?"

"Well, just give me the best offer," Airi didn't actually want to buy anything from him; she just wanted to see how much information he would reveal.

"Alright then, here you go," he took a piece of paper and wrote something on it. Afterwards he folded it in two and handed it to Airi. "Give that to the person at the specified location. He'll know what to do"

"Thank you," Airi said. She placed her glass of wine on the table. She was ready to go, she didn't want to make a scene and she could always report the man to the local Arbites anyways.

"It'll cost you, but I'm sure we can find out a way to make it free," Alaster said with _that _kind of smile on his face. Airi was sure he didn't expect her to suddenly transform, teleport in front of him, and knock him off the couch with a kick to the face.

Alaster tumbled backwards onto the floor, grunting as his back hit the hardwood floor. Airi jumped towards him, leaping over the couch and landing a punch in his gut as she came down. Her other hand went to grab a pistol from a holster at this side.

With her left hand, Airi put the gun to his chest, burying the muzzle in the folds of cloth, to suppress the noise as much as possible. Hopefully, this room was well soundproofed, or she she would have some problems when she fired.

Alaster grunted, and tried to leap up and strike back at Airi. Both her hands were occupied trying to get as much material around the gun as possible, knowing that security guards had been at the door. So she fell backwards onto her rear end, pulling the gun away from his chest, but it gave her legs the chance to come up and kick into his face.

The heels of her boots kicked into Alaster's face at high speeds with plenty of force behind them. He screamed as one heel buried itself in his right eye, and the other knocked out a couple of his teeth. At the same time, the door burst open. Airi did not need to look to know that trouble was coming, so she fired off a quick shot at Alaster's head.

He was frantically clutching at his bloody eye, which had been partially crushed, and trying to get the teeth out of his throat. A single bullet stopped those motions. The pistol was large, and the bullet blew out the back of his head as well. _A shame, _Airi thought, _the floor is quite nice._

She scissored her legs, bringing herself off the ground with ease. As she jumped up, she saw a volley of bright ruby beams coming towards her. A millisecond before they would have impacted, she was no longer occupying that space. She was in the air, just under the ceiling, about three meters above the ground.

There were seven guards, and all tried to switch their aim to track her in the air. But with a flash of silver light, she was gone from there as well. The leftmost guard cried out for a split second as his neck was snapped through his armor. Such a thing was impossible for a human. Even the task of snapping a neck took massive effort to do in one motion. Airi did it effortlessly through riot gear.

The other guards were snapping around to fire at her, but she was already moving before they could single her out. Lasgun fire scorched the ground behind her as she slid towards the next guard in the line. Her left leg, which she slid on, kicked out one of the man's feet, knocking him off balance, and her right foot kicked upwards to strike the man's other knee.

He fell forwards on top of Airi who, by the time the body of the guard reached her, was already on her knees. Her fists drove upwards into his chest, and the man was pushed back into another man. Airi had angled her strike to move the body in that direction.

As she punched, she used her legs to jump two meters into the air, and a long kick out to the side killed the man she had just punched. Her kick was not responsible for his death, not directly. Instead, it was the arrow which she had materialized in front of her foot which punctured his head and killed him.

However, Airi was now in midair. She was seen by all of the guards, and although one was being blocked by the dead body of his comrade, the other four all targeted Airi. But she had something in her hand all of a sudden. Alaster's high-caliber pistol, placed in the space between her cuirass and the coat she wore.

The black pistol felt good in her hands as she fired four times. Although the weapon was high-caliber, it could not unfortunately pierce the armor being worn, and Airi did not want to fire too many times. So she aimed careful shots at the lasguns held by the men.

Before Airi's height in the air had reduced to one meter, and before her kicking leg was fully retracted the weapons of all four men were useless. The fifth was still struggling.

Airi turned towards him, her empty left hand flicking out like a lightning bolt. With a single motion, the magically-sharp arrow was pushed through the skull of the guard and into the skull of the man he was on top of. However, the wound was not deep, only serving to delay the living guard's progress.

Which was why Airi had turned herself towards that man in order to strike out. As she came close to the ground, she reached out and transferred her momentum into a roll. She came out of the roll landing on the dead body, but she stayed on her back and kicked forwards. She pushed the dead man's head forwards, which resulted in the arrow being moved forwards as well.

Now there were only four living beings in the room. And all four had drawn their pistols and were ready to open fire. Airi smiled as they pulled the triggers of their ballistic weapons as fast as possible, desperately hoping to stop Airi.

_At least they have the courage to try, _Airi thought, as she disappeared in a flash of light. Her right hand was brought across her body, and the blade of it slammed into the back of one guard's neck as she appeared behind him. Her arms then looped under his and he was turned to face his friends as they saw Airi and turned to fire.

The next dozen shots all hit the torso of the man Airi held. He screamed in pain, calling for his friends to stop, but their fear acted faster than their rational minds. Airi removed the knife from his belt, and pushed the guard forwards. Her leg kicked him into another guard, and Airi was jumping over the body before it impacted.

The hop was only barely enough to clear the man, and she accelerated herself with magic to kick the head of the next guard. She knocked him down onto his back, and he then had the dead body of the other guard fall on him. Airi spun in midair to bring the knife down through the faceguard of the live man on the ground.

The other guards had tracked her, but were now out of ammunition. As they hastily tried to reload, Airi spun around, her leg flying up to kick one in the face. This moved him to the side, and as she dashed past him, her knife switched to the left hand to slit his throat as she passed, before she held it with both hands to shove it into the chest of the last remaining guard.

She was smiling as the man died, lifting him up on the blade of the knife. He choked for breath, groaning as his heart failed quickly. When it was over, Airi let the knife fall from her hands. She looked at the practical massacre that occurred.

She sighed, annoyed that she had gotten blood on herself. She shrugged, hearing voices from outside the room. Clearly more guards coming to investigate. From the number of footsteps, it was about three times the previous number.

Airi stood by the window as they opened fire at her back. She only wasted a second spinning around before she was outside the window. The volley of lasfire and ballistic rounds from heavier weapons slammed into the window. The glass did not break, and Airi started the very long fall towards the ground.

_I killed Alaster, a bit hasty I guess, but I got what I needed, _Airi thought, _we easily have enough to move on from this point, and those idiots above me have no idea who I am._

Airi closed her eyes, calming her breathing as she plummeted towards the ground. She just curled her limbs into a little body, and let gravity and magic do the rest.

* * *

Ayelen had followed the man back into his luxurious apartments. He was clearly an important figure. She had hoped to play along for as long as possible before she had to make her exit, but things had quickly become complicated. The man was very obviously involved in criminal activities.

The problem was that he wanted to share some drinks with Ayelen before they made any deal. He probably expected to get her drunk and rip her off. Ayelen didn't fell like playing around. She had tried to convince him, but he kept insisting.

And that was why he was currently pinned to the wall by a spear in his right shoulder.

Ayelen had begun to slowly amplify the pain at such a rate that he could never adapt to one level before it had increased. He'd tried to call for help, but before the words left his mouth, Ayelen had cut him off with a punch to the throat. She'd told him he should no longer try to talk, lest she permanently remove that ability.

"Alright then, mister," Ayelen cooed "You don't want to talk to me, so I'm going to talk to you, do you know what I'll talk about?"

The man, Ayelen hadn't bothered to ask for his name, shook his head.

"Well then, I'll enlighten you, I'm going to talk about _extremes_," Ayelen grinned maliciously "One extreme is you tell me everything I need to know and I give you a quick, peaceful death."

His eyes widened with fear. Ayelen paused to let him think about that for a minute.

"The other extreme" she began, her voice filled with even more malice than before "Is that you continue to resist and I hand you over to an actual Inquisitor, who will tear your mind apart, learn everything she needs and leave you a walking vegetable,"

The man started to cry. Ayelen scoffed; it was pitiful. Sometimes she really did wonder what she was fighting for. "Well then?" she asked "Which extreme would you like? Cause the in-between is this torture continuing for a _long_ time,"

Tears ran down the man's cheeks and he tried to produce words, but found himself incapable of action. Ayelen's anger flared up and she summoned another spear which she jabbed into his left shoulder. He tried to scream. But Ayelen was faster.

Another spear stabbed through his throat. He began to bleed out as his blood vessels were cut. He would bleed out almost immediately. He died with is face pleading for assistance from Ayelen.

Ayelen didn't bother trying to help. She walked away instead. She went off to search the rest of the apartment. _The first time I try to do something myself, and I screw it up!_She had to find something that could help the investigation, but it was a big place and she would have to move if Airi ran into trouble.

So she vented her rage upon the furnishings of the apartments. Entire fortunes were smashed to pieces as she attacked every object she found with an unbridled rage. She worked her way through the lower floor before moving onto the second, leaving a trail of destroyed beauties.

She figured Laelia would kill her if she found out that Ayelen had violated art in this manner. But that was the last thing on Ayelen's mind as she rampaged throughout the suites. She stopped for the briefest second, worried about someone else hearing her, but she realized that there were no bodyguards around and that the party would help to conceal the noise she made.

Coincidentally and not surprisingly, in her mind, this rage led Ayelen to finding what she was looking for. As she was busy breaking some expensive vases into bits, she discovered several maps that seemed to plot magical girl patrol routes throughout the city. _So that's how they find the cubes._

They were the exact maps too. That was what disturbed her the most. These maps were marked with the official seal of the area commander. "So they have a contact amongst the local girls," Ayelen thought aloud. She didn't want to believe it. But it was true. That meant Erwine would have to encounter one of the hardest parts of her new life; right at the beginning of it.

She paused for a second; not wanting to move. A tear ran down her cheek. Eventually, she folded the maps up and stuffed them into her pocket. She began to walk back down to the first floor. Every step was just another reminder of what had happened, that first time, all those years ago. She tried to suppress it, but she couldn't.

Even as she worked her way out of the building, her memories surged back. They were things she never wanted to remember. Not now, not ever.

* * *

_T_he sun had long since set over the small town. It was a farming community, a backwater. In the long run, it didn't matter. Even a major decrease in its grief cube output wouldn't matter. Most of the area it took up was farmland. That didn't matter either. There was no reason for an Inquisitor of Adrianne's status to deal with a problem here.

But Adrianne wanted answers from someone there. Answers she knew that Ayelen could help provide. That was why the two walked the deserted streets alone. Both Airi and Laelia had been left behind.

Ayelen had no idea why. She didn't think she was that useful to Adrianne. Adrianne had never brought Ayelen on anything like this before. Not had Ayelen heard any talk of this from Laelia or Airi. She did notice that they seemed more edgy around Ayelen in the hours before she left with Adrianne.

They'd landed far outside the town and Adrianne and Ayelen had spent hours walking to their destination. They wore clothes typical of the region in order to remain unnoticed. Ayelen estimated that they reached their destination around midnight.

They approached a large farmhouse. Adrianne snapped Ayelen out of her thoughts. I'm going in, she called, follow me when I say. With those thoughts, Adrianne transformed and leapt up to the second story. Ayelen stood there for a minute waiting. She thought she heard a small commotion, but she thought she was imagining things.

A second later, Adrianne called her up. Ayelen transformed and jumped into the window Adrianne had left open. She saw Adrianne standing next to a bed. She stepped aside. What Ayelen saw was something that would become the start of her nightmares.

The sight that confronted her was another girl, a magical girl, Ayelen could see, nailed to the wall with Adrianne's knives. They impaled her palms and her shoulders. Blood ran from her wounds down onto the bed. A gag was in her mouth to stop her from screaming. Adrianne faced away from Adrianne, staring at the girl.

Adrianne tilted her head backwards and then to the side at Ayelen. The look on the Inquisitor's face was one of pure contempt. Her gaze made Ayelen shudder. What is going on here!? Ayelen exclaimed telepathically.

Adrianne chose to speak with her mouth, "Ayelen, you are a healer, correct?" Ayelen nodded. "And, is it correct that you can change the levels of pain someone feels?" Ayelen nodded again, shuddering.

"Well then," Adrianne muttered, pointing to the girl on the bed "Make her talk," Ayelen shook her head.

"No!" she shouted. She muffled her cry the best she could, but her voice still rose.

"You refuse a direct order?" Adrianne said. The look on her was clearly because of the other girl in the room, but now it was aimed at Ayelen. "I will consider you the same as her," she declared, still pointing at the girl.

Tears began to run down Ayelen's face, "Why? Why should I torture her?" she begged for an answer, despite everything in her mind telling herself that she would not receive one that truly satisfied her.

Ayelen expected a response that would be typical of one's superior. Instead Adrianne told her the truth "She is the services of heretics, they have done things far worse than this, it is hard, I know, but it will stop more deaths," Adrianne fully turned her body towards Ayelen. She extended her arm towards the bed as if to show the way to Ayelen.

Ayelen gulped and approached the other girl. The girl began to cry. Ayelen wanted to help this girl, to betray her master and save this girl. But Ayelen trusted Adrianne; she knew that Adrianne wouldn't tell her to do this because she liked watching people suffer.

There was a reason. Ayelen would find out, but now was not the time. She kneeled on the bed. She firmly grabbed the knives in the girl's hands and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she whispered "so sorry." Those were the last words from Ayelen the girl would hear.

* * *

Erwine walked alongside Laelia as they headed to their destination. They slowly made their way through the empty streets of the lower hive. Erwine didn't know where they were headed.

The streets were, in general, deserted. In the distance, Erwine occasionally heard the noises of battles breaking out. She knew that many were wraith hunters, but others were probably criminals or gangs. She wasn't worried, but not because she knew that she would be fine. She wasn't worried because Laelia wasn't and that ws enough for her.

She did know that some information gathered by Ayelen or Airi had sent them out. Erwine hoped the two of them were alright. Adrianne had stayed behind, apparently to debrief the other two girls when they returned.

Laelia had been mostly silent the entire time. Erwine had been as well. She still had so many questions, but no idea where to start. So she started with the one that she probably shouldn't have started with.

"Where did you grow up?"

Laelia tensed slightly, but visibly. Erwine saw this and reacted. She was a bit afraid of questioning seemingly quiet person as Laelia, but Adrianne trusted her, so Erwine did as well.

"You don't have to tell me, if it's bad memories," she said quickly.

"No, I think I'm capable." Laelia stated. Her voice seemed to contain regret.

"Alright," Erwine responded. She stayed silent as Laelia took a deep breath. Erwine felt as if there were indeed bad memories that should not be awakened.

She knew of many places and horrible fates one could suffer. She could only imagine what had happened to Laelia, what kind of cruel planet had the girl grown up on?

"I was born on a starship. A grand cruiser, no less. Technically it was forbidden, but with about 112,000 crew, it was hard to keep track. I shared the space with other kids my age, I still remember them." A solitary tear fell from her eye. Erwine did not understand how over one-hundred thousand people could fit on a starship, but she did not try to question this clearly intelligent girl's words.

"It was an Exorcist-class, called the _Regina_. As far as I know, it still serves with the sector fleet. Its job was long-distance patrol. Not very many massive fleet battles. But when it fought, the children suffered." More tears began to fall. But she kept walking forwards.

"I still vividly remember the long hours spent huddling in the near-total darkness, praying for the battle to end. Every time the ship would go into combat, we would all go and hid in the places where we slept."

"I would never know what was going on then. None of us would. We could only hope that our parents would be able to make it out alive. One time, my mother didn't. I still don't know how she died, but I was alone with my father." Laelia kept walking. She didn't seem to mind the memory.

Laelia tilted her head towards the sky. "I never got much to eat; living off what my parents could spare," She moved her head back down to look at Erwine. "But now, starvation was a constant threat. I am honestly amazed to be talking to you now, it was tough surviving till I actually made the contract."

Erwine could only feel sadness. She became teary-eyed. She realized that she had an amazing background compared to Laelia. "But I persevered. I don't know when my mother died, all I know is that she did, I don't know how many years I spent suffering like that, but when I was of age, I contracted." Her voice seemed to harbor…regret? Did Laelia regret leaving her father behind?

Erwine wanted to ask, but didn't want to cause Laelia any more pain than what she already felt. So Erwine stayed silent. Laelia began to walk again. It was slower than before. Purpose had been overtaken by uncertainty. It was almost a stumble.

Erwine turned and began to walk alongside Laelia. After a few minutes, Erwine decided to speak. "I'm sorry I asked," Erwine said; turning to look at Laelia. The other girl took a deep breath and stopped for a second to straighten herself up.

"It's fine, I don't mind, it's just memories that I have to confront," Laelia reassured her. She started walking once again. It was now the same pace as she originally walked at. Erwine followed once again. "And…and you just remind me of someone I used to know." She said, as if that was explained everything.

"We are almost there," Laelia said. All hints of sadness had been dropped from her voice. All the confidence in her stride had returned. Erwine nodded.

She realized that she seemed to have a good past. She hadn't experienced any scarring event like Adrianne or Laelia had. That event had made them who they were. _Adrianne had become the person she is because of that. So did Laelia. _Erwine theorized.

But as she thought it, she knew it wasn't a theory. It was fact, it was true. These two girls had traumatic scars. Erwine didn't. She had an advantage. She noticed them approaching a building. It looked to be a small medicae office. Erwine knew she had to finish her thoughts quickly.

Now, Erwine knew what she would do. _I'm going to do the best I can. I have no horrible event to mess up mind. I can move forwards without having to avoid the past. I will be better than any other inquisitor. But maybe I won't be able to…if I can't. I will do my best._

* * *

Airi had been waiting for Ayelen in a nearby car when Ayelen finally exited the spire. Airi had immediately hit the accelerator and began to make their way back to where they landed. They rode in silence for a bit before Airi said "You were supposed to cover me,"

"I know that," Ayelen responded. She hated doing what she did with that man, whoever he was. Torturing and killing someone was not one of her favorite things to do.

"Well, why weren't you covering me?" Airi asked.

"I was interrogating someone else," Ayelen replied, thinking she had the upper hand.

"But of course you were," said Airi in a clearly sarcastic voice.

"I was!" Ayelen cried. She reached into her boot to retrieve the maps she had found. She showed them to Airi who nodded approvingly.

"I'm impressed," Airi admitted. She continued driving but spared a few quick looks at the maps. Her frown curved to become a smile, and she nodded, "You did well,"

"So we're going to be paying a visit to the local girls?" Airi said rhetorically, "They won't like that,"

"True, but thanks to the wonders of magic, Adrianne is most likely already doing so," Ayelen explained.

"Is she now?" Airi asked.

"Yes, she told me that she'll be back within the next few hours, it's only a simple visit to the local office," the brown-haired girl explained.

"She knows that could be a little risky, right?" Airi asked.

"You know her, they won't even know she was ever there,"

Airi chuckled, as she hesitantly glanced around. She didn't want to be followed, but it looked like the initial confusion of several deaths had prevented anyone from trying to track down the killers.

_Of course, it's not like we did anything wrong, _Airi thought to herself, as she glanced over at Ayelen. The girl looked a little down, but Airi did not say anything about it. She could guess what had happened. There was no need to push Ayelen for details.

The inside of the car was silent as the vehicle drove through the night, and as events unfolded elsewhere in only one of many cities in the universe that was never entirely sleeping.

* * *

Helene Raskoph had a nice life. She had good parents, who despite not being the wealthiest, insured Helene got things she wanted. She had plenty of friends. Her grades were great and she seemed as if she had a bright future.

However, these were just simple pleasures compared to her current occupation. She was a magical girl. She'd chosen to remain on the planet and hunt wraiths. It was boring at first, but she'd met lots of new girls from all over the city. And now, she was commander of all of the magical girls in the hive.

Her life was truly amazing. She didn't even worry about Inquisitors showing up. As far as she knew, everything was in order. There were no traitors amongst her forces.

Which is why she was completely unfazed when an Inquisitor did walk into her office. Helene had just finished compiling the patrol routes for the next month and was ready to call it a night. She had a date in one of the high-class restaurants in the upper hive.

But Adrianne had plans as well. She had walked swiftly into the building that was concealed as a hole-in-the-wall store and brandished her rosette. Everyone immediately stepped aside and allowed her passage through to Helene.

Adrianne walked up to the desk and transfixed Helen with a gaze of pure malice. "My lord? What is the matter?" Helene calmly asked. Adrianne stayed silent for a few seconds before responding.

"There is a traitor in this patrol force," Adrianne said. Her tone was semi-neutral, not wanting to give away any emotions except anger.

Helen shot up from her chair. "My lord, I had no idea, please, I would report such a thing if I knew," She was worried. Not about her career. About her life.

"Calm down," commanded Adrianne "I'm not here to accuse you, I've read your record, it is as clean as a record can get," Adrianne sat down in the chair in front of Helene's desk. Helene calmed herself and sat as well.

"How can I help, my lord?" Helene asked.

"One, stop calling me 'my lord', call me Adrianne, we're both magical girls," It was Adrianne's policy to be friendly with those girls who deserved it. She didn't consider herself superior to other girls because she made the choice to be an Inquisitor. Some inquisitors did and they never got very far.

Helene nodded and Adrianne spoke again "Two, I need a list of everyone you send patrol maps too," Helene nodded again and wrote down several names. She handed the paper to Adrianne who placed it in her pocket.

"Three, I need a list of all soul gem shipments in the last six standard months," Time was measured by Terran standard as opposed to separate systems of time for each planet. It made everything easier.

Helene nodded a third time and handed Adrianne another piece of paper. This was followed by several more. "Um, Adrianne, will you be requiring any grief cubes for personal uses?" Adrianne shook her head.

"We were just resupplied a month ago." The inquisitor replied, "But thank you." She stood up and prepared to leave.

"Anything else?" Helene wondered.

Adrianne shook her head, "But…there is one thing," Helene's eyebrows went up, asking a silent question, "I was never here," Adrianne then turned and left. Helene blinked several times. She stared at the clock. _Where did the last few minutes go?_

She had been sitting there going over reports, and now…it was a couple minutes later. That was impossible. She asked the others telepathically if anything had happened to them. All of them had repots similar to hers.

_I'll have to send this one to someone bigger than I, _Helene realized, before trying to recall the list of inquisitors on planet. She recalled something about an Adrianne Azure…

But that was a mystery, and a report, for later, Helene decided. She still had that date.

* * *

Erwine followed behind Laelia, ready for her first assignment. Erwine clenched her right hand, feeling the grief cubes attached to her fingers. Adrianne had given her a webbing with grief cubes strung on and had told Erwine to put it on her hand. She had a similar web on her head to directly absorb the grief from her gem. The thin silver netting fit neatly around her head, intertwining with her hair. It even came in various colors for different types of hair. The grief cubes were buried in her locks of hair but still held by the netting.

The combination of the two nets meant that Erwine would not have to worry about accumulating grief during battle. The cubes would automatically solve all her problems, and there was apparently enough cubes to hold three soul gem's worth of magic.

Erwine was worried about this outing ,and not only because it was her first. _Will I have to kill someone? They may be a traitor, but they would still be a human being._

Erwine took several deep breaths as she followed Laelia. _Don't worry, just do what I say, and you'll be alright. _Erwine knew not why she was using telepathy, but Erwine eventually tried to just do it, and the process worked well.

Erwine responded. _I just don't want to kill anyone._

_Unfortunately, you will eventually have to do so, and today is as good as any to start._ This made Erwine shiver. Laelia was right, eventually, it would have to happen. So why not start right now? Erwine didn't want to. But she wouldn't whine or fuss about the duty that she accepted.

The building they entered looked like a medicae's office on the inside and the outside. As they entered the solitary person inside looked up. He was busy sorting through a pile of papers. But when Erwine and Laelia entered he immediately took interest in them.

"Hello," he said happily, "how may I help you?" Laelia smiled and walked forwards. Erwine followed closely behind.

_Say what I tell you to say. _Laelia commanded. _I need to see Gertens._ Erwine said this and the man nodded.

"Of course!" He turned and pushed a section of the wall. This caused the wall to slide to the side; revealing a hidden passageway. "Go on through," he said. Laelia went first followed by Erwine. She descended the steps quickly forcing Erwine to focus.

Erwine clenched her left hand even tighter than before. They were headed into the belly of the beast. She knew that Laelia had been in more dangerous situations, especially after hearing the story of her childhood, but for Erwine this was riveting.

The two of them reached the end of the staircase and found themselves confronted by a door. It opened as they approached it; revealing a small room. The only furnishings were two couches and a small table in between. They approached the nearest couch which faced the opposite direction and sat down.

Behind the other couch was another door. Within a few seconds that door opened up and three men walked in. One was dressed in an expensive business suit. The other two had body armor and lasguns.

The man sat down on the couch. He scanned his eyes over the two girls before speaking, "Normally there's only one,"

_Well, it's different today. _Laelia said to Erwine. Erwine repeated the message and the man laughed.

"What would you two like?" he smiled at both of them.

_Give us a little tour of our options._ Erwine repeated this message. She understood how someone like Ayelen, who loved hearing herself talk, would be fine with this. But Erwine didn't like being Laelia's puppet.

The mad started to go through all of the amounts of cubes and the prices for each amount. It was all very tedious for Erwine. _What are we waiting for?_ She asked was getting impatient. She was scared too. She knew this wouldn't end with the two of them just walking away.

_Be patient, we need to learn more about this; ask who gives them the cubes._

"Where do you get all these grief cubes?" Erwine asked.

"Well, I have to keep the name of our provider secret, you understand," he replied. He was about to continue on his previous talk, when Laelia abruptly stood up. With a blue flash she transformed into her magical girl outfit.

She raised both her hands pointing them at the two gun-wielding men. Two large guns materialized in her hands. Laelia pulled the triggers. She worked the line of bullets up from their stomachs to their heads; resulting in messy explosions of gore that made Erwine sick.

The man on the couch couldn't even open his mouth to call for help before he was kicked in the face by Laelia. Erwine realized that all of this had happened in under five seconds. Time had seemed to slow down. She felt something wet on her face.

Erwine reached her hand up and discovered it was blood; but not her blood. The blood of one of the men who just died. Erwine opened her mouth to scream, but all that came out was vomit. She emptied her guts onto the floor.

_Don't worry, you'll get used to it. _Laelia said with a hint of laughter in her telepathic voice. Erwine was horrified by this humor. It scared her to think that someone could actually get used to this.

She stared at the corpses for several more seconds. Whatever Laelia's guns were, they had almost completely torn the torsos of the men to pieces. Their heads didn't exist anymore. Their organs were spilling out onto the floor and blood still ran out of the bloody ruins. She could see their insides amidst the carnage; partially smashed to ruins.

She felt herself getting sick again, but she was distracted by Laelia. She put a hand on Erwine's shoulder _come on, we got company. _Eriwne heard noises on the to her side of the door the men came in from. Laelia raised her guns towards the door. Suddenly a blue field formed around the two of them. Erwine could see it was formed out of hundreds of small hexagons.

They all created a half-spherical shape around Erwine and Laelia. For a few seconds, Erwine was like a five-year old marveling at the beauty of the dome. She was snapped out of that by the opening of the door. Several more men marched through; all wearing body armor and holding lasguns.

They collectively opened fire; only to have the shots be absorbed by the shield around the two girls. Erwine figured that Laelia must be a shield generator. She then realized she hadn't actually transformed yet; so she immediately did so.

But Laelia seemed to be doing alright for herself; she opened fire with her two machine guns and cut down everyone who entered the room. They all went died as before, their deaths so bloody that Erwine instantly blocked the images of them to the depths of her mind, but she did her best to control herself this time. She suppressed her urge to vomit and prepared to move.

Laelia waited a second and then dissipated the shield. She then motioned for Erwine to follow as she ran out of the room. Erwine followed; brandishing her sword, unsure of what to do.

The two of them entered another corridor; at the end of which was another door. This one was open and there were several men in the doorway. They too held lasguns. The weapons cracked and a tirade of red light was sent streaking down the hallway.

But Laelia had already raised her shield. All of the beams deflected off the tiny hexagons forming the shield. Laelia showed no signs of stress. Instead she grinned playfully and depressed the triggers of her guns. Erwine looked away.

The lasguns made a sound like the crack of a whip. But the machine guns wielded by Laelia made a sound like the bark of an enraged dog. The sound of the lasguns was somewhat loud, but compared to the sound of Laelia's weapons, they might as well be silent.

Erwine continued to avert her eyes as she heard the impact of the bullets. She heard a brief scream of pain. One of them was still alive. Another bark and the scream stopped.

_Come on. _Laelia dropped the shield and cautiously moved forwards. Erwine followed as before. Her heart was pounding. Her adrenaline was racing. She couldn't believe that she was actually here. She'd been a magical girl for a bit over twelve hours and now she was in her first fight. She knew that she wouldn't die. Erwine just wanted things to slow down a bit.

As she neared the end of the corridor, she tried to avert her eyes from the corpses, but failed. She controlled her stomach once again, but the sight still horrified her. There were four men. Now they were none. One of them…his body was no longer a coherent mass. Another's torso was a mess, and Erwine did her best to contain her stomach.

A third lay there with his body sawn in two at the chest. The fourth man was the one who screamed. Several rounds had taken him in the gut; leaving him somewhat alive. He would've died shortly anyways, and it what was clear that what Laelia had done was out of mercy, not cruelty.

And despite Erwine's best efforts, as she exited the corridor, she could not help but curl down and empty her stomach onto the ground once again. For thirty seconds she retched and coughed, finally ending when she was too tired to continue and had nothing else to throw up. The grief cubes on her head glowed brightly as they worked to remove all contamination from the quickly-darkening soul gem.

Laelia stepped back, and cast a concerned glance at Erwine. But Erwine felt rather dedicated at the moment, dedicated to at least trying, and doing her best. She fell to one knee, but held up a hand to stop Laelia when she offered help. "I'm fine," Erwine muttered, and managed to stand up on her own. Laelia could see that attempting to say anything would be pointless, and moved on.

The two girls advanced into the room beyond the hallway. It was unoccupied. The floor stretched for about 5 meters before reaching the next wall. In the center of the wall was a large steel door. To the side of the large door was another, smaller door.

There was evidence that the room was previously occupied by the guards that Laelia killed in the hallway. There was a metal table in the middle of the room; surrounded by six chairs. Several were knocked over. Playing cards and drinks had been left in the table.

Laelia walked forwards. She dissipated her guns as she moved, not seeing any other threats in the area. Erwine found that strange, but didn't ask why; figuring that Laelia knew what she was doing. The blonde-haired girl approached the large door and placed her hands on it.

_Stand back._ Laelia concentrated for a second, and then with a flash projected her shield. But she focused it at the center of the door. The field of hexagons began to push against the massive door. The initial impact left a large crater that only deepened by the second.

Erwine could only stare wide-eyes at this feat. She knew that a magical girl's power would begin to exponentially increase as she aged. But…this was just incredible. After about ten seconds, Laelia's shield had created a huge bulge in the door. She materialized her guns and opened fire. _Easier than using the guns, _she said, although Erwine was surprised to find that there was something those guns could not pierce quickly.

After about two seconds of firing, a hole large enough to fit a girl Laelia or Erwine's height was created. Laelia bent down and carefully stepped through. She motioned for Erwine to follow her.

The girl slowly approached the door but only looked through the hole, preferring to stay outside, and upon noticing the small space within, she was thankful she made that choice. Inside she found Laelia staring at stacks of small black boxes. _That's what I thought_. Laelia called.

"What?" Erwine asked, still forgetting she could talk telepathically.

_These are the boxes used to transport grief cubes. They're cracking them open; which means that they have someone who can open them._

"Can't they just break them open?" Erwine asked.

_No, they boxes are filled with small amounts of high explosive. If it gets forced open, it detonates killing those around it, and causing wraiths to form. _It was the standard procedure for anything that transported vital materials like grief cubes. They were far too dangerous in the hands of humans, as they would always get into the hands of traitor magical girls, and that meant serious problems if someone had big plans.

_And in this case, _Laelia thought, _big plans are certainly involved._

"That seems very dangerous," Erwine commented.

_That's the point. We don't want anyone messing with them. But they're being opened by someone, and without tampering from the looks of it. So there's someone on the inside. It looks like about half of the missing boxes from this city are here. Which means that they are also paying someone else. This would smell like Hydra Legion, but we already know who's behind this._

"What are you talking about?" Erwine asked. That name seemed like the name of a Mage Knight chapter. In fact, Erwine realized, it was, the Hydra Legion was one of the nine traitor legions.

_We're tracing a single person's actions. Everything I have seen so far suggests that she's been the one behind all this._ Laelia replied, _the whole thing is a bit sloppy for her, but we can assume she's moving quickly at the moment._

_Adrianne is chasing her for…personal reasons. As well as more professional ones, but she's driven by her own problems. Don't ask her about it, she'll tell you when she wants to._

Erwine was a little annoyed by how she seemed to be locked out of the loop in terms of important information about the motivations of her superior, but she just sighed, knowing that she had not the will to ask Adrianne about it.

Laelia was coming back out of the storage room, _there's no point staying here, but I get the feeling that somebody just fled the scene. _Laelia gestured to the door in the corner of the room. She walked over to it, and found that it was unlocked, "I also have a feeling I know who it is,"

"That person Adrianne's looking for?" Erwine asked.

"Yes," Laelia nodded, "It would be strange, but she's already got an escape planned out for sure."

She gestured for Erwine to follow her as she turned and ran up the stairs, "Stay close, we may have a fight on our hands, "

Erwine froze on the stairs as she heard those words. She was by no means ready to actually kill people. She had managed to bury her initial trauma at seeing the killing easily enough, but she was nowhere near ready to actually start killing people. Erwine shook her head, "No, I can't do this," she insisted.

Laelia nodded, "Yes, you can, now come on," she said, before adding, "We may not even have to do anything at all, so hope for that,"

Erwine instilled that hope in her mind, and found the strength to move forwards once more, surprised at the amazing power of hope. It made sense. After all, she was a magical girl. Hope was supposed to be what they brought to all.

Yet so far, Erwine had experienced very little of it during her time as a magical girl.

* * *

For a long time now, various committees established by the Inquisition have tried to collect a complete encyclopedia of every single magic ability in the past and present. Not only the broad categories, but every little deviance is counted as a separate ability. This project, the rather dramatically-named _Grimoire Ingenium, _is ever-expanding, and of course is a project that cannot be completed.

By the Wish/Ability Correlation Theory, a girl's wish determines what ability she receives. The wish also includes the motivations, emotions, and background to this wish. Since the chances of these being all the same for even just two girls is astronomically small, the project will most likely never reach a point where it can successfully catalog every single ability in existence.

Nevertheless, the _Grimoire _will continue, carried on by one committee after another. It's become much less of a rational goal, and more a theoretical perfection to strive towards. However, it is definitely true that it will probably take till the end of the world to actually finish the project, and event which shall hopefully never come.

Ahead lies what would, if printed out, be some five hundred million pages of case studies and reports on the abilities of over two hundred and fifty million magical girls. However, this is vital reference material, and a telepathic copy should be kept by everyone. There are multiple physical copies in existence, filling entire libraries, but they are much harder used.

Introduction to the 20th Edition of the _Grimoire Ingenium _


	6. Night of Agony

Over the past few millennia, it has been increasingly evident that there is a significant weakness in the way we handle new magical girls. Times have changed from the way they were. The enemy is no longer surprised by the Inquisition, they have not been for thousands of years. Everyone expects the Imperial Inquisition, and they prepare for it accordingly. There is no way for us to prevent them from knowing, lest we somehow convince the galaxy and the Imperium's foes that we do not exist.

Therefore, we must prevent them from preparing for us. They have always expected girls who have been slowly taken into the fold, carefully taught the secrets that only magical girls may know. This cannot stand. We must not, we cannot, continue this practice, as it does not create inquisitor's capable of action. It creates inquisitors who become conservative, safe, refusing to change, willing to do things by the book.

No one save for a few understand that the enemy, or at least most of the enemy, has read this metaphorical book. They know how we work, they know the signs of our presence, because inquisitors have been raised to be safe, lest they fall to corruption.

I will not deny that raising a girl quickly a ruthlessly can easily lead to corruption, but it will certainly lead to an inquisitor who will cut down everything that opposes her. It creates a girl capable of action, not just words and following the rules.

-Excerpt from Lord Inquisitor Halschia Naglera's paper, _To Win a Losing Fight._

* * *

Ayelen silently waited for Adrianne to return. Only an hour had passed since she and Ayelen had returned. Erwine and Laelia had been sent off on the information gathered by Airi. Ayelen hoped they'd be ok. She knew Laelia would be fine, but she wasn't sure how much Erwine would question her.

Laelia would be fine if Erwine did, but Ayelen knew she'd be silently distressed. Ayelen would have to talk to her later; not that she'd mind. She just hated seeing Laelia hurt.

She worried about Erwine because it would be the younger girl's first taste of combat. Ayelen still shuddered thinking about her first kill. Erwine would be fine physically; Laelia would protect her. But mentally, there was bound to be some damage.

Airi had dozed off on the opposite side of the cabin from Ayelen. She seemed to be skilled at waiting. Ayelen figured it was necessary. Unfortunately, her energetic nature prevented her from mastering it.

She knew where Adrianne had gone and what she'd be doing. She also knew what she'd be doing once Adrianne returned. But what Ayelen didn't know, was where Adrianne would be going after she returned. She hoped that what she thought was wrong.

Because if it wasn't, then Laelia would not be the only one who needed talking to.

Eventually, the Ayelen heard the sound of the door opening. A second later, Adrianne entered the cabin. She strode in and looked at both Airi and Ayelen to see if they were awake.

Seeing that Airi wasn't, she stomped her foot on the metal floor. Airi shot up in surprise and looked around quickly. She saw where she was and calmed.

She glared at Adrianne "I told you not to do that anymore." she complained.

"And I told you not to sleep anymore." Adrianne replied. She pulled two pieces of paper out of her pocket. She unfolded the two of them and handed them to Airi.

Airi looked at them and immediately understood her and Ayelen's task. "What will you be doing?" she wondered.

"I'll will go and ensure Laelia and Erwine are alright, then I'll send Laelia back here, I hope you have the answers for me by then." she explained. She turned to leave, keeping the conversation swift and effective.

"Where will you be taking Erwine?" Ayelen asked, with false confusion. Adrianne clenched her fists.

"I will be taking her on an important mission," Adrianne said; trying to dodge the question.

"Oh yes," Ayelen said with false excitement as she stood up "I'm sure it's _very _important. Care to share the details?"

"No, I think you get the idea already," Adrianne growled; her voice dropping down into a threatening tone. Airi remained silent; knowing it wasn't her place to interrupt.

"Yes, I do," Ayelen said, in a voice truly filled with sadness. "You know what that did to me," she said. She wanted to protect Erwine. Maybe it was protecting her from reality, but she should be allowed to dream.

"I do know what I did to you, and I have concluded that it is best to show them the truth of the galaxy immediately," Adrianne explained.

"She hasn't even been a magical girl for _one day_!" Ayelen yelled. The images of that night, almost ten years before, flashed through her mind. The horror of being forced to torture someone that Ayelen knew nothing about.

It wouldn't happen to Erwine; not on Ayelen's watch.

"She doesn't deserve this!" Ayelen screamed.

"None of us deserved what has happened to us!" Adrianne said. Her voice was not as loud as Ayelen's, but it was filled with hate, not anger.

"You're just doing this because you feel guilty about what happened to you!" Ayelen accused.

"Yes I am!" Adrianne admitted "I'm not letting that happen again!" She was breaking down. Tears began to slowly fall from her eyes.

"Then you have learned nothing, what have you been doing with each of us? Testing exactly when to do certain things? So you can make the best inquisitor possible?" Ayelen questioned. Airi still wanted to intervene, but knew that this was something Ayelen would need to work out with Adrianne.

"Yes, I'll admit that, I have," Adrianne said, in a voice filled with regret, "but you have no idea what I've been through. You don't know true sadness. When you do, you will understand," Adrianne turned around, but stayed in place, frozen by remorse.

"I'll never understand." Ayelen declared. "I'll never be the ruthless killer you are." But as she said those words, Ayelen realized she already was. She had just killed somebody after torturing them. Was that not what Adrianne had made Ayelen do?

Adrianne was silent, knowing the conclusion Ayelen would come to. She thought at first she would have to force Ayelen to shut up, but it was clear that was no longer necessary.

Adrianne began to walk out of the ship. Ayelen began to whisper. Adrianne thoughts mirrored Ayelen's words. At the exact same time, in perfect unison. They both repeated the same quote.

It was the quote of a supposedly great man in the past, a philosopher. His words had somehow survived to this very day.

_"_He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

Erwine raced up the stairs behind Laelia. She figured that they would be running into trouble soon. Trouble that she might have to solve herself. Erwine braced herself for the combat that would follow when they got out of where they were.

A telepathic communication came from Laelia. Adrianne told me about your ability. I suggest combining a verbal command with a telepathic one.

Erwine nodded and tried to understand. How should I send them a telepathic message?

Laelia sighed. That's right, you haven't been shown how to send to humans yet. Then just command them to do something.

Erwine nodded and took a deep breath. They were nearing the end of the long staircase. At the top was a door. Laelia materialized her machine guns and pointed them at the door.

A few seconds of gunfire and the door was spotted with holes. She leapt and did a flying kick to finish the job; extending her shield as she did.

As soon as Laelia cleared the door way, a barrage of gunfire opened up from all directions. Erwine leapt into the shield to protect herself and assessed her surroundings.

Erwine and Laelia had come out of the door into what looked to be a deserted building. Erwine was surprised it hadn't been torn down already. All that was there were the support columns of the building and the couple dozen armed men opening fire.

They stood in a semicircle around the two girls. They were all equipped with lasguns that seemed to be higher quality than the guards down below. They looked to be fitted with better armor as well.

Of course, neither of those factors would help them survive against a magical girl. Laelia extended her gun forwards and opened fire. She slowly moved her arms to the sides hitting everyone in the circle.

Erwine looked away. She heard the impacts, the cracking of bone, the tearing of flesh. The wet thump their bodies made as they hit the dry, dust-covered floor. She managed to completely control her urge to vomit this time.

She managed to look up and see the torn bodies. The wet, bloody piles of flesh that remained. She knew that Laelia's guns weren't normal. They were magic, functioning as guns larger than what they were.

She stomached the sight of the broken bodies and looked at the other men, expecting to see them cut down.

But they were smart and hit the floor as soon as they saw Laelia's tactic. They still fired from their positions. Several threw small, black, sphere-shaped objects. Erwine realized that they were grenades. She worried that they would break the shield. But their detonations were like pebbles against a fortress.

But most weren't designed to kill. The massively bright and loud detonations produced by them blinded both Erwine and Laelia. Use your gem! Heal the damage! Laelia yelled telepathically. Erwine tried to concentrate on being able to see again and imagined her damaged retinas and eardrums repairing.

The next thing she felt was a sense of discomfort; like something was moving around in her ears, but only a second after the blind grenade went off, Erwine could both see and hear. She glanced around again trying to see where the shooters had gone.

She saw them all retreating to behind the support columns or prebuilt barricades Erwine had just noticed. Laelia opened fire again and cut a few down, but most managed to escape. Erwine estimated there were at least over a dozen left.

Laelia rested her guns on her shoulder. She turned to Erwine smiling. "Well, looks as if you get to do something." Erwine's heart began to race, she began to breath faster. "You take the ones on the left and I'll take the right." Laelia decided.

Erwine nodded, hyperventilating. Her entire body began to tremble, as she realized that she would have to kill people. Laelia noticed and said "They are trying to kill you and they have killed many other people, you have every right to slaughter them."

Erwine twitched at Laelia's use of the word "slaughter". She didn't want to kill them. But she realized that they would kill her otherwise. And that she wouldn't be the first that they kill.

So Erwine held her hands out and focused on summoning her weapon. In the blink of an eye, a greatsword appeared in her outstretched hands. It was about four and a half feet long. Erwine knew it should weigh a huge amount, but it was relatively weightless in her hands.

The blade alone was over three feet. The rest of the sword was the massive grip. But for four inches from the start of the blade was a large guard to block opposing weapons. At the end of that were two large parrying hooks; extending for about two or three inches from the guard. The other eight inches or so was the handle of the massive blade. Erwine believed she'd seen the blade in a book before. It was called a zweihander.

The sword lay flat across her two hands. Erwine slowly shifted it down into a grip and gave it an experimental swing. It was incredibly well-balanced, Erwine could swing it with ease, despite the fact she was only thirteen.

"You done?" Laelia cut in. Erwine realized she'd been examining the blade for a minute. Gunfire still flickered off of the shield. Laelia still took occasional snapshots at men ducking in and out of cover.

Erwine looked down at the sword in her hands. She breathed in deep. She exhaled. She turned to Laelia and nodded. Laelia smiled "You can do this."

Erwine focused on her first target. A man behind a pillar; he was about ten yards away. She could easily make the distance. She swung the greatsword behind her to her right; still grasping it with both hands. She crouched down into a lunge, like a cat waiting to pounce. I can do this. I am an agent of the Holy Inquisition. I can do this. For the Goddess.

"Erwine," Laelia said quietly, "I need you to do something very important. Focus, breathe deeply, and tell yourself to enhance your body."

"What?" Erwine asked, not understanding the order.

"Just give your mind the instructions to start to enhance your body, tell it to-never mind," Laelia with a shake of her head. Then, Erwine received what could only be a large block of text telepathy, she was overwhelmed by the number of words that were being streamed into her mind.

"Recite every single line of that to yourself, but focus them as commands to your mind. Don't speak out loud, think them, and focus them on your magic," Laelia said, then explained, "Magical girls, since we are just souls within bodies, can use magic to enhance our bodies, improve their functions. You can make effectively every single part of your body's functions more efficient, to maximize the energy you can use in combat."

Erwine looked at the long list that Laelia had sent her, and started to think of those sentences as commands. She started to feel a difference, as her breathing changed, her stance changed subtly, and she just felt…different in general.

Erwine called upon her soul gem to enhance her body. To increase her focus, as she knew she could. The clutter of her other thoughts cleared from her mind. She was focused only on the battle she faced. Her muscles felt stronger, her adrenaline seemed to increase. She could breathe less, with every bit of air being used to its maximum potential.

Erwine had always read about this being done by Mage Knights, in one of the books she had the chance to read while on the shuttle, but she thought it was just propaganda. But when she tried it herself, it worked. It worked wonders. But the downside was that it hurt. She was changing her body for a specific situation. But even the pain and discomfort were quickly taken way as she willed he magic to block that part of her mind.

The soul gem. The magical girl. They were truly miracles. They were real. Miracles and magic, they were real. Erwine could feel it right now.

She was torn out of her thoughts as Laelia leapt off towards the right without warning. Erwine realized she was no longer covered by the shield. She sprang forwards with all her might; barely avoiding a barrage of beams. She could feel her own magic pushing herself forward. At the same time, at the top of her lungs, she yelled "Stop!"

The command was laced with the magic Erwine knew she could use, and for some reason, the calm comforting nature of Laelia had given her the power, the will, to actually use that magic. It may not have done much, but it certainly gave her an easier time dealing with the first few men she killed.

She jumped about fifteen feet before landing. She ducked and spun in a full circle to throw off the gunmen. She watched as several beams stabbed through the space she previously occupied. She noticed all of the shots came from the shooters besides the one in front of her. That meant her power had worked.

As soon as she faced her target, Erwine leapt again. This time she made it. As she neared her destination, she began to swing. The man ducked behind the pillar once again. But that wouldn't save him from four feet of magic metal.

Erwine put her own mass into the swing. As she landed she twisted her feet to follow the arc her blade transcribed. She ended looking back towards where she had come from. The movement gave extra strength to her swing. Even Mage Knight power armor would've struggled to hold it back.

Against the comparatively flimsy armor and flesh of this man, it sliced him clean in half. The upper portion of his body hit the ground with a wet thud. The lower part leaned against the pillar, slowly sliding downwards. The blade continued halfway through the solid ferrocrete pillar.

The turn also saved Erwine from having to look at the man she just killed. Her soul was filled with regret, and she could feel the grief cubes sucking the grief out of the gem on her head. She had told herself she could do this. She thought she would be ok. But she wasn't. She paused for the slightest second, reflecting on what she'd done.

But in a close fight like this one, every second was a minute. Erwine realized what she was doing and hit the ground. She left her sword stuck in the pillar. Not even a millisecond later and hundreds of bright red lances tore into the air above her prone body.

Erwine almost panicked. She thought she was dead. All those men and to do was angle the guns downward and Erwine would be dead. But her primal reactions kicked in. Fight or flight. Fight was the only option. So she fought. In a scream that made her own throat hurt, Erwine cried out "STOP!" This roar was directed at the five men currently firing upon her.

For a second the fire stopped. They stumbled back as though struck in the head. Erwine capitalized on this chance. She leapt up and grabbed the hilt of the massive sword. She ran counterclockwise around the pillar; pulling the blade out using the pillar as a counterweight.

When she finished, she was behind the pillar with her back to it, on the other side were the five men. She could hear the crack of their weapons as they opened fire again. Erwine looked at her options. Eventually, she decided on what she thought was the best plan.

She turned to the right and sprang forwards. Except this time she pushed her magic to the limits. She could feel her gem straining to keep up with the demand. But she cleared the thirty feet in almost a single leap.

Erwine landed with her left foot forward. She pushed off of that foot stabbing the greatsword ahead of her. The man tried to jump to the side, but he was too slow. The tip of the blade caught him in the shoulder. He screamed in pain.

The massive force behind Erwine's strike drove the blade all the way through and even came close to pushing the guard of the sword through. She quickly held the body in front of her own. A volley of gunfire proceeded to tear into the hanging body.

The man shook and screamed as he was killed by his own comrades. Erwine tried to shut out the noise, but failed. The sound of his screaming would haunt her for a long time.

Erwine let the body slide off of the blade and leapt off towards the next two men. They crouched behind a barricade positioned in between two columns. Both of them were perfectly lined up.

Erwine already had the blade pointed towards the ground, so she moved it in an upward slash. Hopefully, the man would be perfectly bisected. But all of a sudden, Erwine felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

Without looking, she knew that she had been shot. Her gem moved quickly to suppress the pain, but there was only so much it could do in its current state. Erwine gritted her teeth, but a scream still slipped out. Had her feet been on the ground, she would've stumbled.

But she was still in flight towards the one who shot her. If Erwine was unsure of killing before, this had shown her reality. She would have to kill these people, or they would kill her. She poured all of the pain-generated rage into her strike. When she did hit the ground her sword flew true and the man was cut in half.

The shot had brought reality to Erwine; and that meant the other feelings along with that. She could feel the hot blood slashing onto her body, and realized that most of her body was specked or covered with blood.

It made her want to scream in terror, but she suppressed the urge. If she screamed, then she would waste time. And if she wasted time, then she would die. It was very simple.

Erwine saw the man in front of her. She saw him pull the trigger. The shots went into Erwine's left leg causing the girl to fall. She used her sword to hold herself up, but she had fallen. The three remaining shooters all had easy shots at the gem on her head.

Unless…unless Erwine could do what might kill her. She felt her soul gem filled with grief. This was its first battle. It was already strained. She could try to use her command power again. But that would cause her to fill with grief and die.

Unless Erwine could compensate. So she stopped suppressing the pain. She stopped suppressing her other thoughts. She even stopped healing the cauterized holes in her stomach and leg.

The pain slammed into her like a battleship. She screamed as everything hit her at once. The pain, the fear, the anger. She took that anger and poured it into a command. She turned the scream into a single word "NO."

It was not a scream. It was not a yell. It was not Erwine begging them to stop and letting her magic do the rest. It was a command. And it worked.

Even as Erwine struggled to stay conscious amidst the pain, the three men that had wanted to kill her a second ago found themselves struggling to remember how to pull the trigger. Erwine looked upwards; she yanked her sword from the ground. She stood and took a single step; swinging the greatsword over her head.

The man in front of her was split in half. The two parts fell in opposite directions. Erwine no longer felt remorse. She felt only hate. She struggled to keep upright, the pain make her delirious. She thought about how it would be easier to die. If this was to be her life, why not just die? But that wasn't what Erwine had promised herself before, she realized. She had promised to fight for the good of the Imperium.

Dying would accomplish nothing. So Erwine stood tall; defiantly facing the two left alive. The nearest to Erwine overcame the command and pointed his gun, ready to fire. He was fifteen feet away.

Erwine knew that with her damaged leg, she couldn't make it. So she dropped to the ground and avoided his initial shots. She reached and grabbed the lasgun of the man who she had just bisected.

She grasped the gun in her hands. She aimed upwards and pointed the barrel at the man who had opened fire. Erwine held down the trigger. There was no recoil, which surprised Erwine. But why would there be? It was only firing beams of light.

Erwine's aim was not very accurate, but the rate of fire compensated and the man was lanced into by the dozens of bolts. Erwine pulled the trigger until the man fell to the ground, his torso a smoking mess.

The other man, who was around forty-five feet away, was also beginning to recover. He began to aim his gun at Erwine. The girl knew she couldn't make it in time and that her aim was nowhere near good enough to make the shot.

So instead, she grabbed the greatsword and threw it. Clutching the hilt with both hands, Erwine hefted it with all her might, magical and normal. The massive sword flew through the air. Had the man been at his full senses, he would've tried to dodge it. He would have failed, the sword was traveling faster than Erwine could see.

But he wasn't, so the massive sword flipped through the air and struck him. The sword was balanced, so he was struck with the blade pointing straight out.

The edge lanced through his lower torso and came out the other end. He was knocked back. The momentum of the blade was enough to launch him back a couple meters, where he landed roughly on his back, slamming into the ground. Erwine could hear him crying out in pain. The Nosie was enough to make her wince. She walked over to him, looking down at his dying form. He looked up at her, begging for her to finish him off. Erwine found herself frozen by fear, unable to do anything whatsoever. After a minute, his cries ceased. He died staring up at the blood-covered Erwine, his hand reaching out to beg for a quick end that Erwine was unable to give.

Yet the girl felt no remorse. She didn't care that she had just killed six people. Until she looked down. She saw that she was covered in blood. It was not her own blood. It was the blood of the two people she'd cut in half, the blood of the man she'd stabbed and used as a shield, it was the blood of the man she'd ran through like he was a pig.

Erwine screamed. She fell to her knees and screamed. She curled into a little ball and screamed. She cried. She cried uncontrollably. She cried at the realization that she'd just killed six people. She'd killed them. Killed. Killed. Killed. Killed. Killed. The word kept repeating over and over and over. And it wouldn't stop.

* * *

Airi had been working ever since Adrianne had left. She had gone over the lists of names and shipments; trying to discover the traitor. But she had gotten nowhere. It didn't help that Ayelen wasn't even trying to assist Airi.

Around an hour ago, Adrianne had forwarded her a message form Laelia. Apparently, whoever the traitor was, she was capable of opening rather large shipments. That would mean she was higher up.

That significantly shortened the list of possible suspects. Airi was coming close to finding some gap in the reports when she decided to speak to Ayelen.

The girl had buried her face in her knees. She sat there, curled up like an insect. She hadn't moved for an hour. Airi wasn't surprised. Not after what Ayelen had done.

Airi would have preferred to let Ayelen overcome the problem herself, but she needed to be ready to help Erwine or possibly Laelia when they returned.

"You know, Adrianne is trying her best." Airi said. Ayelen didn't move.

"That's news to me." She replied, her voice full of regret.

"You really don't understand what she's been through." Airi said, in a neutral voice.

"You're right," Ayelen said "I don't understand at all, I can only be told over and over again, but that gives her no right to do what she has done,"

"I guess you're right," Airi replied. "She has no right, but you have to accept that this is who Adrianne is."

"And how would you know that?" Ayelen asked, her voice dripping with venom.

"You know how I know," Airi scolded "She found me only a year after she became a full inquisitor. I know how she sees the galaxy."

"I know," Ayelen admitted, she finally looked up, "It's just that I feel as if you might be able to help her, seeing as how you know how she thinks." That comment was aimed to hurt Airi. And it did, the black-haired girl shot out of her seat.

She screamed, "Don't you ever say I haven't tried to help her!"

"I didn't say you never tried, I just meant that you can't help her," Ayelen said, looking away from Airi once again, as if she was bored by her anger, "So I suggest you just stop trying,"

Airi began to cry. She was startled. Why was she crying? Because of what Ayelen is saying, or was it because of her feelings?

"I can help her," Airi declared. "I have been!" But she knew it was a lie. As the words left her mouth, she knew that Ayelen would not believe her.

"You…you are a pitiful excuse for an interrogator," Ayelen hissed.

"What is wrong, Ayelen? I have tried, ever since I met Adrianne, to stop her from doing thing the way she does." Airi fell back down into her seat; hopeless.

"I know…" Ayelen said; looking away from Airi. She realized that she had been cruel. "I have no right to judge you." She admitted.

Airi stayed silent. "I have no right to insult you because you can't succeed; even though you tried." Ayelen continued.

Airi still showed no signs of movement. "I won't go after Adrianne like that again; I'll let you try to help her, you know her best." Ayelen promised. She thought it was pointless. She'd clearly severely wounded Airi's pride. She didn't think there was a way to fix the situation.

She got up and grabbed the list provided by Adrianne. She intended to continue where Airi left off. But as she walked back to the other side, a hand latched on to Ayelen's hand.

"I'm sorry." Airi said, smiling. "I honestly shouldn't be getting over this so fast, but I think something in this world should have a happy ending." Airi pulled the younger girl down next to her.

"Come on, I was almost done." She said. Ayelen couldn't help but smile. The two of them set to work, both believing that everything would work out in the end.

* * *

Killed. Killed. Killed. Killed. Killed. Killed. That word kept repeating over and over. Erwine tore her soul gem from its place on her head and held it in her right hand. She could see it beginning to fill with grief. How funny it was, she though, that she fight for her life only to lose it because she fought.

She had only been a magical girl for less than a day. And here she was, about to die. She wondered where Laelia was. Was the other girl dead? It didn't matter, there was nothing Laelia could do to help.

Then a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder. Erwine didn't pay attention; too fixated on the soul gem in front of her. The cubes attached to her hand were helping to decrease the grief, but eventually it would be too little, too late.

Another hand was placed on her soul gem. The hand lifted it out of Erwine's hands. The hand lifted from her shoulder and clasped Erwine's gem along with the other hand. Erwine could see soul gems beginning to heal the grief. So Laelia was alive, maybe she could help. Erwine didn't believe that Laelia could help.

Then Erwine recognized that those hands didn't belong to Laelia. They belonged to someone that Erwine trusted far more. Adrianne kneeled above Erwine. Her hands held Erwine's soul gem in a firm, yet gentle grip.

Erwine opened her mouth to speak, but Adrianne spoke first. "Don't talk, just relax, you'll be alright." She had the same soothing voice that she had before, when they first met.

Erwine did as she was told and waited for Adrianne to finish. She noticed Laelia walking over to the two of them. She was not as covered in blood as Erwine was. "Sorry Erwine, I would've stepped in, but you seemed to have things under control."

Erwine's anger rose slightly at Laelia's words. _She was there all along, yet she let me get shot up?_

"I also would've healed your gem for you, but Adrianne seems to have taken on that duty." Laelia smiled. It wasn't one of joy, but one of pride.

Erwine ignored Adrianne's instructions and asked "Why are you proud of me? I just killed six people."

"You know why I'm proud, Erwine. I'm proud because you managed to do it on your own, with no assistance from anyone else. And you have to remember that they would've killed you," Adrianne was smiling, it was strange that she would do such a thing in this situation, but it only made Erwine feel better, that Adrianne was proud of her.

She thought that if Adrianne was proud of her, then she could not have done anything wrong. Erwine felt her hear swell as Adrianne brightly smiled at her, the simple gesture being enough to rejuvenate Erwine.

Erwine came close to shaking her head, refusing to feel better, but then she realized the kind of world she was in. "I have to get used to this, I guess," Erwine said softly.

"Unfortunately," Adrianne confirmed, but then said, "It does get easier after a while, but I doubt that helps,"

That fact both helped and horrified Erwine. She never wanted to feel that killing a human being could be easy, but she didn't want to go through this same amount of pain each time she had to in the future.

Erwine thought back to the pain in her stomach and leg, and realized the pain was still there. It was subdued, but it was still present. She remembered the rage that the pain gave her. She remembered the reason to fight that the pain gave her. And she came closer to realizing how it was right to kill them.

"Laelia is right." Adrianne agreed. "You need not worry about morals, not anymore. We do what must be done."

Erwine swallowed. She was only beginning to realize the true extent of the burden that had been placed upon her. Behind her, Adrianne stood up. Erwine realized she felt much better. Her wounds were healing once again.

So she slowly pushed herself up and tried to stand. But her leg gave way and she almost hit the ground. Adrianne caught her and stood her up once again. Erwine leaned into Adrianne's shoulder to support herself.

"Should I be going?" Laelia asked. Adrianne nodded. Laelia immediately turned and headed off in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" Erwine wondered. Adrianne looked in the opposite direction from Erwine.

"We…we are going somewhere very important." Adrianne said. Her voice was stained with regret, but Erwine was not able to entirely catch the undertone. Erwine did feel that Adrianne was hiding something. But she stayed silent.

"You might want to do something about that." Adrianne smiled, changing the topic. She pointed at Erwine's greatsword, still impaling the corpse. Erwine nodded and focused on dissipating it. A second later and the blade dissolved into blue and silver particles.

Adrianne began leading Erwine off in the opposite direction of the way Laelia had gone. After a few minutes, Erwine's leg had healed enough so she could walk on her own.

"You should give that thing a name." Adrianne said. Erwine figured it was about her sword.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it's fun," Adrianne said, as if it was obvious. "It gives a sense of character to the weapon."

Erwine was positively mystified. "But, why would you give a name to something that's not alive?"

"Why do we name starships?" Adrianne responded.

Erwine mentally smacked herself for not thinking of that. "Ok, but what should I name it?"

"I don't know, pick a name that you think fits it well." Adrianne said. The two of them were about to exit the building. Erwine looked around wondering where they'd go.

"We are going up," Adrianne said, as if she read Erwine's mind. As soon as they exited the building, she transformed and leapt upwards. She grabbed a ledge before leaping again. Eventually, she got to the top. Erwine sighed and followed her; albeit at a slower pace.

When Erwine reached the top, she immediately looked around. The first thing she noticed was that she was very high up. The ground seemed very far away. A gust of wind came by, and Erwine stumbled. She caught herself and glared at Adrianne.

"Why are we up here?" she demanded.

"We need to talk." Adrianne said as she sat down, her legs hanging out over the edge of the building. Erwine proceeded to do the same. She stared down tediously at the ground, wondering if a randomly strong gust would send her tumbling off.

"What do we need to talk about?"

"We need to talk about you."

Erwine was taken aback. She'd just gotten over the problems involving her killing people. What else was there to talk about? _I didn't exactly get over them, I guess, _Erwine thought, _I suppose I just forget about them for the time being._

"What about me?" She questioned.

"You just killed six people, right?" Erwine nodded at the question. "Well, how do you feel about helping me get answers from someone?"

"What do you mean by that?" Erwine asked.

"I mean that there is a traitor in the ranks of the local girls." Adrianne responded. Her voice had become serious. Very serious. "She knows who the girls who have interacted with the enemy are, I need to know those names."

Erwine put two and two together. The answer was not something she liked. "You…you want me to help you t-t-torture someone?" Erwine asked, bewildered. Her eyes were wide with fear, her voice stuttering in shock.

"No, not torture, I prefer the word 'interrogate'." Adrianne said. She gazed into Erwine's eyes.

"It doesn't matter." Erwine declared. "I refuse to help you do that!" She paused where she stood, not moving another inch from her position.

"Unfortunately, you have little choice in the matter." Adrianne stated.

"No-no-no, I can't!" Erwine exclaimed.

"Yes, yes you can." Adrianne responded. "It is the same thing as before, whoever the traitor is, she is a threat to the security of the sub-sector. You said that you will fight for the many, not the few."

Erwine understood. She was the few right now. And the countless inhabitants of the sub-sector and all its worlds were the many. She breathed in deeply. "I understand that, but I can't, I don't have the will." She admitted.

"Unfortunately, you must have the will, this is not an option, it is not a test, it is a wake-up call." Erwine was shocked by Adrianne's cruelty. Why did this girl who had been helping her minutes before, now want to put Erwine through such a thing?

Adrianne tilted her head. She nodded. She focused her eyes on Erwine once again. "I have the name and the location. Come on." It was a command. Erwine realized she had no choice. Head tilted down in sorrow, she followed Adrianne as she leapt off the roof.

The two accelerated downwards before breaking their fall via magic. Both landed in a blast of wind and light. Adrianne ran off. Erwine followed after her. She was slower, but unfortunately, she realized that she had little choice. And besides, had Adrianne done anything to intentionally hurt Erwine so far?

The run took them through the winding streets and alleys of the hive. Adrianne seemed to know exactly where she was going. Erwine barely paid attention to her surroundings, focused only on what she knew would happen.

What was Adrianne going to do, bust in the door and drag the girl out? Tell her parents the truth? Lie and say she was a friend from the city guard? There were many possibilities. But only one was the correct answer.

After what seemed like half an hour, but was most likely only ten minutes or so of actual running, probably even less, Adrianne and Erwine arrived at their destination. They were in front of a hab complex. Erwine realized it was very similar to the one she lived in. _Used to live in_,she reminded herself.

Adrianne approached the entrance. Erwine followed several steps behind. They entered the building. Adrianne started to ascend the staircases; taking several steps at a time.

Erwine did the same. She kept denying the truth. They weren't really going to torture anyone. It was just a cruel prank. A very cruel joke, but a joke.

Erwine wished that was true. Because she knew it wasn't. Adrianne wanted her to see the truth of how things worked. And this was how she would see it. As Adrianne began to home in on a door, Erwine began to become misty-eyed.

She had no idea what role she would play, yet she still cried. Even watching, even knowing it was happening would be too much.

Adrianne brought her hand up and rang the doorbell. She waited a few seconds and the door was opened. Standing behind it was a black-haired middle-aged man.

"Hello," he said "Who are you?"

Adrianne put on a smile. It terrified Erwine because it was so sincere. It was almost sadistic. "Hello, I need to see your daughter."

The man looked confused. He narrowed his eyebrows "Do I know you?"

"No, you don't," Adrianne replied, "But that doesn't matter." Adriane removed her soul gem from her costume and showed him the inquisitorial 'I'. He shuddered in fright.

"I…I understand," he replied. He turned and walked back into the hab. A minute later a brown-haired girl came back out. Erwine regained her composure. The girl was taller than either Adrianne or Erwine. She wore a nightgown. She rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"What is it?" she wondered. She glanced at Adrianne and Erwine and realized exactly what. "Wait, you aren't from this city are you?" Her look of sleepiness turned into one of horror.

"Indeed." Adrianne said in a tone filled with malice. She reached behind the girl, grabbing the door and slammed it shut. She grabbed the girl by the collar, "Let's go for a little walk, eh?"

* * *

Laelia walked alone through the hive. She looked down; not paying attention to the world around her. Remembering her past was hard. It wasn't Erwine's fault. The girl was just curious.

There was nothing wrong with that. Humans were naturally curious. That was why the Inquisition was needed. To restrain that curiosity. But sometimes, lines were crossed. And innocents were killed.

Laelia didn't know if she'd ever killed an innocent. Maybe she had, she didn't know. There would be no point lamenting about it now. Not when the future was still ahead of her.

Laelia always wondered what her fate would be. It was a question that drove inquisitors and philosopharchs alike insane. Did some great being, like the Goddess set their destinies? Or was it the job of the person to choose what paths they follow?

Laelia had almost gotten into an argument with a Puritan once on the issue of fate. It ended with Adrianne having to convince the other girl's inquisitor that Laelia wasn't having 'heretical thoughts'.

Laelia hated the Goddess-damned Puritans. The Inquisition is given power, rights and freedom equaled only by the Mage Knights and its response is to not do anything with that power? The idiots.

She looked up from her thoughts and saw that she had gone off-course. She didn't recognize her surroundings. She wasn't worried about wraiths or gangs. She could easily dispatch both of those. But a problem could come from people in the employ of the Osbeornes; whose men Erwine and Laelia had just killed.

Laelia assessed her surroundings; it seemed she was near her destination, as she saw signs pointing her towards the landing fields. But where she was exactly was unclear. She heard footsteps in the distance. Laelia ran and crouched against a wall; in a patch of darkness not lit by the streetlamps.

She could hear the steps of about a dozen people. Laelia could dispatch easily them in this open space. As they came into view, she saw it was just a bunch of workers, headed home from manufactories.

They were too tired to notice Laelia and walked by her hiding spot. The girl stood again and checked the signs. She soon figured out where to go and started walking in that direction; following the path she had been.

However, before her foot could lift off the ground, Laelia was stopped by a voice. "What are you doing all alone out here?" it cooed.

Laelia froze. Slowly, she turned to see the girl behind her. The girl was somehow in the exact same place Laelia was a second before. Laelia cocked her head to the side; trying to recognize the girl. "I don't know? Who wants to know?" she sternly responded.

"Oh, I think you know," the girl took a step closer. Laelia's crossed her arms as the realization hit her. The last person Laelia had wanted to see had found her. She wore what Laelia recognized as her magical girl costume. It was a dress; a rare occurrence.

"Why are you here, Celestine?" Laelia sighed. The other girl was too obscured for Laelia to make out details.

"I asked first." She responded.

"What do you think? I'm here on a mission." Laelia explained proudly.

"Walking about in the dark? That's your mission?" Celestine asked. Laelia sighed. She turned around.

"I see no reason to keep talking to you." She stated. But Celestine took another step forwards.

"You know, skulking around without official knowledge isn't such a great idea." Celestine said.

Laelia knew very well that it was bait, but she still bit. "And let our adversaries know of our presence?" She countered as she swung back towards the purple-haired girl.

"Did you know of our arrival?" Celestine asked.

Laelia was forced to say that she hadn't. Her eyes scanned the girl in front of her, now more illuminated by the light.

Her black dress was ankle-length and decorated with strips of bright purple. Her upper body was covered by a double-breasted jacket of deep purple coloration. Her head was covered was by a wide brimmed purple hat that featured no additional decorations. Her lightly curled violet hair fell down to her shoulders. Celestine's hands were protected by a pair of black wrist-length gloves.

"That's what I thought. You see? Going through official channels can be better." She said victoriously.

"Did you know we were here? Or were you walking around in the dark'?" Laelia asked.

Celestine's smile was vanquished by Laelia's question. "I guess I too was on a mission." She admitted. Laelia smiled in victory. Celestine also smiled, for a different reason. "It's good to see you again." She said.

Laelia nodded. "Now that we've gotten the mandatory rivalry over with, how about we walk around in the dark for a bit?" Her smile turned into one of friendship.

Celestine ran up beside Laelia. "That's a great idea." She declared.

* * *

Erwine found herself staring at the spread-eagled form of the girl impaled to the wall. They had gone out into an alley a ways away from the hab. Adrianne had brutally thrown the girl against the wall and before she could react, the inquisitor had stabbed knives into the girls palms and shoulders.

Then the questioning had begun. Erwine wasn't involved yet. But she was sure Adrianne was only softening the other girl up.

After about five minutes, Adrianne had called Erwine over. Erwine had stumbled over crying. She stared at the girl hanging from the wall. "Well, look like's you got a trump card, but how old is she, she looks about thirteen, acts the same too." The brown-haired girl commented, then to Adrianne she remarked with a smirk, "Of course, you seem the same age,"

"Shut up." Adrianne commanded. The other girl laughed. She snickered on and on until the inquisitor punched her in the throat.

The supposed traitor croaked, but choked out, "You really expect me to listen to you? So who is she? What's she gonna do?"

"Make you talk." Was the short reply. Adrianne had enough of the girl already, and this rage was on display for Erwine to see. Erwine's entire body was shaking wildly, but she approached Adrianne and the girl slowly.

"Good luck. I know people who will find me and make me pay for talking." This sentence had just a bit of fear in it, as if the girl really did believe that she would be caught for her slip-up.

"I'm sure," Adrianne turned to Erwine "Do it, for the good of humanity," This brought another laugh from the other girl.

"I love hearing people say that, you need to realize the Imperium's dying." Adrianne didn't respond. Her muscles were tense. She wanted to strike back, but she waited for Erwine to act.

Erwine walked closer to the girl. She thought about if her power would work. Adrianne had made the girl angry, which might make her more susceptible to magical suggestion.

Erwine stood about a foot away from the girl. They looked into each other's eyes. A breeze blew through the alleyway. Erwine took a deep breath and cried. She turned her tears and all her rage at Adrianne into a command. "Tell me the names of the other traitors." Erwine growled, in a voice filled with hatred.

Behind Erwine, Adrianne watched as the younger girl performed the fist of her many interrogations. Adrianne had to admit, Erwine's ability would be very useful for that sort of thing. Her foolish morals were also easy to exploit.

Not that Adrianne had any feelings of ill will towards Erwine. The girl just didn't understand how the universe worked. This was her second lesson; the battle shortly before could be considered the first lesson.

The brunette shuddered; drawing a cry of pain from her. But she didn't talk. Adrianne had to admit, she was tough. Erwine was doing well. But Adrianne could tell she wouldn't hold out.

She noticed Erwine's gem filling with grief. This wouldn't go well if it continued. Every command took a great deal of power and Erwine's own grief only made it worse.

Adrianne didn't have enough cubes to rescue the girl again. She would have to do it on her own.

Erwine cried. She shook tears from the corners of her eyes. She turned around to glare at her master. "Why?"

"You know why," was the response. Adrianne sighed. She looked away from Erwine. "But you don't understand, I can tell you why, but you're too foolish to truly understand. I don't see how this isn't necessary. I don't understand why this is so hard for you to do."

"I don't think _torture _is necessary. Do you feel nothing at the idea of hurting someone else like this?!" Erwine cried, "Why can't I understand?!"

"It's necessary," Adrianne growled, "And I don't know why you can't understand. I don't know why everyone these days is incapable of understanding things like this. It's as though you're all a bunch of traitors, just masquerading as the faithful."

"No it isn't," Erwine declared. "This has nothing to do with me not understanding, just a hour ago, you were treating me like the person I am." Erwine paused to take a deep breath and stand up straighter. "This isn't about getting information or justice or saving the Imperium. This is about revenge, isn't it?"

Adrianne's head slowly turned back down towards Erwine, betraying no emotions. "You know nothing." She declared. "You don't understand anything, Erwine. I don't know why I was a fool to think that you were capable." She spat the words as though Erwine truly was a traitor.

"That may be true," Erwine admitted "But I am well read, I know that this is a personal vendetta against someone, like it walked right out of a book."

Adrianne looked down. Her face cracked into a grin. She threw her head upwards and cackled. Like a maniac. Erwine took a step away from the laughing girl. "This is why it is pointless," said the girl behind Erwine. "This girl's crazy, you should cut your losses," she suggested.

Adrianne calmed down. She brought her head back down; an insane grin on her face. "Oh shut up," she commanded "I am sane, I _don't_ consort with heretics, I deliver the Goddess's judgment."

"Of course you do," laughed the girl. "I'm sure you've said that every time you've had a little girl do this."

"They need to understand."

"Understand what? That you're a maniac on a revenge quest?"

"I am no maniac," Adrianne repeated. Erwine was stuck in the middle of the two. She wanted both to stop. But neither would listen to her.

"Tell that to your little pet,"

"And what are you? Nothing but a puppet of people far stronger than you." Adrianne accused. Erwine realized that she could make them stop.

"I agree, but they pay me well for my services." The brown-haired girl stated.

Erwine intervened before Adrianne could speak. She grasped her soul gem in her right hand; healing its grief. She opened her mouth and commanded "Stop, both of you!"

The arguing girls turned their head to Erwine. Both looked as if they were partially affected by Erwine's magic. Adrianne cocked her head to the side in interest. "I'm impressed, good work," she complemented. She raised her finger at the girl. "Now use that on her."

Erwine shook her head in refusal. "No, I won't help you satisfy your thirst for revenge."

"Well then, what will you do no-"The girl was interrupted by Adrianne lancing a knife into her gut. The blonde-haired girl twisted the knife slowly. The girl groaned in pain. But she didn't speak; her look of defiance was kept on her face.

"I'll do this," Adrianne responded, grinning sadistically. She released her grip on the knife and summoned six more, held in-between her fingers. She plunged the knives into the girl's ribs, laughing.

Erwine fell to her knees in horror. She almost began to run. She almost began to attack Adrianne. But she was too transfixed and horrified by the scene taking place in front of her.

Adrianne released the six blades and stretched her right arm out behind her. In that hand she formed a long straight blade. "I, Adrianne Azure, Inquisitor of Her Majesty's Holy Imperial Inquisition, judge thee, Katskya Fyodorov, guilty of heresy against the Goddess and Her Imperium, the punishment is..." She flipped the blade around into a reverse grip. "Death." She smiled once again. Her right arm swung in an arc. The blade stabbed directly into the girl's soul ring.

Katskya's face was temporarily transfixed with horror, before her eyes fell closed and her head bobbed downwards. Her mouth slowly closed. Her breathing just stopped. There were no last few moments of life; just instant death.

Erwine felt tears slip out of the corners of her eyes. She stared up at Adrianne. She seemed to be smiling. It wasn't a joyful smile. It was a smile of satisfaction. She was smiling at the death of this girl. Erwine realized she was right.

Adrianne wasn't someone out to save those who couldn't save themselves. She was a madwoman out for revenge. Adrianne looked up at the sky. The stars were obscured by clouds.

Adrianne dropped her blade. In its place she summoned a small notebook. It was no larger than her hand; about six by four inches. She then flipped it open. It was almost halfway used.

Adrianne then took her left hand reached down to one of Katskya's wounds in her ribs. Blood was still slowly dripping downwards. Adrianne smeared her pointer finger with blood. She then lifted it back up. Still moving slowly she moved the finger downwards and wrote something in the notebook.

With the blood. The blood of the girl she just killed. Erwine was simply horrified. _What is this?_ _Some ritual? Is she a heretic?_ Adrianne flipped the notebook closed. She closed her hand and it dissipated as she did so.

Finally, the girl stared up at the sky and smiled, her face slowly spreading into a victorious grin.

* * *

All should die with a smile on their face and hope in their hearts.

-Her Holy Majesty The Goddess


	7. Midnight of Conversation

Egnia Toella: "Why is she there too? What is it with those two?"  
Lola Opin: "Legitimate answer or no?"  
Ashiria Maleno: "Ms. Adramartis has been tailing Ms. Azure quite closely for the past several weeks. Arguably, Ms. Azure's sloppiness has been due to that fact."  
Egnia Toella: "I know that, I've read everything you've read. Catirin, why did Siothea PDG fail?"  
Catirin Akhme: "I apologize, the situation could have gone south had they gotten involved. However, this cannot be considered a direct violation of our orders, because Ms. Azure did not know of them."  
Egnia Toella: "And Helena didn't make the orders known to Ms. Azure because she knew that if she did, we would step in, and things would get worse. Especially because of Ms. Adramartis's attitude towards Ms. Azure."  
Ashiria Maleno: "Yes of course, she wants to catch Ms. Azure, but she won't let anyone else do it for her. There's something deeper going on between them."  
Lola Opin: "They both attended school on Egiyulam, an Inquisition-controlled World with a prestigious university. I've managed to convince the headmistress to send over some information regarding them. It should help."  
Egnia Toella: "Good, but Ashiria, get on digging up everything about the Khyllis case. Contact Ms. Eskel, she knows a thing or two about this. If possible, we might want to reopen the investigation, if merely to sate the raging beast that Ms. Azure has become."

-Log of Tempestus Four Toella Multi-Sector-Overwatch-Committee Emergency Meeting

* * *

Laelia and Celestine wandered about the lower hive for hours. They made sure to avoid all signs of wraiths and other people. Not that there were many. It was past midnight and the local patrols had done their jobs well.

Their footsteps echoed in unison; both having memorized the others walking speed long ago. By the time they caught up to the present, they had already been walking for some time.

"Aren't you wanted back soon?" Laelia asked; interrupting Celestine's story about the latest year of her life. Celestine cocked her head to the side. After a brief moment her response came.

"No, Estelle figured that I'll be out for a while," Celestine explained, a hint of naughtiness in her voice that Laelia found strange. _It's not like you're cheating on her with me,_ the girl thought, _the two aren't even that close, unless that's a cover and-_Laelia cut her train of thought off before it went too far.

"Are you sure?" Laelia asked, her memories going to the last time her and Celestine were found talking.

"No, not at all, we can only hope." Celestine said, but her voice showed that she did not exactly care if we were found.

Laelia threw her a murderous glare, "Seriously? The last time this happened, Adrianne and Estelle nearly killed each other!"

"I know, I still vividly remember that particular incident," Celestine spoke of it fondly, which once again brought a strange look from Laelia who could not understand how anyone sensible could enjoy an event which almost resulted in the censuring of everyone involved.

"You and me both." Laelia said. She tried to clear her thoughts of that time. It had been a few years back when she and Celestine ran into each other. They had been sent to the exact same place. They ended up getting into a long conversation that led to both Adrianne and Estelle showing up with the Arbites on their tails.

The disturbance was not appreciated.

"So," Celestine began "How have you been doing?" The last few hours had been accounts of the five or so years that had passed since their last meeting.

"Oh, the last few years have been pretty good; Adrianne just recruited a new girl yesterday." Her voice dropped down into a more somber tone.

"Really?" Celestine said, honestly surprised, "That's the most she's ever had."

"Indeed, she's moving her a lot faster too." Laelia added.

"Has she brought her along on an interrogation yet?" Celestine asked.

"As we speak." Laelia said; her voice filled with regret.

"Oh my…" Celestine's voice trailed off. "That soon? She was recruited just yesterday?"

"Unfortunately yes,"

"I feel bad for her."

"As do I." Laelia agreed.

"How do you think she'll react?" Celestine questioned. It was somewhat pointless; unless a girl had been deeply hurt by the Archenemy, then she would never like seeing a traitor get tortured.

"Not well, she had trouble with her first battle." Laelia knew it was common for that to happen. But to almost die from the grief? That was uncommon.

"How much trouble?" Celestine asked.

"She killed six," Laelia began. At those words Celestine grimaced. "And she almost died afterwards, in fact, if Adrianne hadn't shown up, I think she would've died."

Celestine released a sigh of frustration. "Well then," was all she said.

"I know," Laelia stated, "Unfortunately, I highly doubt she'll survive what is coming next for her."

"I hope that you're wrong." Celestine responded. Laelia didn't need to say she hoped the same.

"I wonder how some people can like that," Laelia stated, steering the conversation away from Erwine.

Celestine caught her meaning. "I know, maybe some people

"Does anyone have fun?" Laelia asked; somewhat rhetorically. The two girls were momentarily silent until Celestine spoke. But Laelia knew what she would say before she said it.

"I think Adrianne has fun doing it." Celestine commented. It was in a softer voice than usual, wishing to avoid Laelia's wrath.

And Laelia knew she should defend her master against such an insult, but she could not deny the truth. "I know," she whispered softly. _I was right. _Laelia thought. _I'm not surprised._

"Does it ever get hard serving under her?" Celestine asked; a hint of concern in her voice.

"Sometimes, she can be too obsessed with vengeance at times. Other times, you have to be careful of what you say around her, or she'll break into tears." Laelia admitted. _How many times has she nearly gotten us all killed by being too reckless? How many times has she shut herself down in response to something someone says?_ Laelia asked, to no one but herself. She thought of the earlier occurrence with Erwine.

She hoped that girl would make it.

"I'm sorry," Celestine said. Her right hand reached out and grabbed onto Laelia's. The girl turned her head to face Celestine, her eyebrows raised in a silent question. Celestine responded with a light smile. Laelia blushed and turned her head forwards again, but let Celestine's hand remain where it was.

The two girls were silent for a few more moments, until Celestine proposed "You know, you could always join me." She hoped it wouldn't sound too mean.

"No," Laelia curtly refused, but Celestine detected a hint of sadness in the other girl's voice.

"But why?" Celestine faked not knowing.

"Because then I'd have to deal with a bunch of damn puritans all the time," Laelia mocked.

"Oh, I'm hurt," Celestine complained before adding "We're right, you know."

"But of course you are," Laelia sarcastically admitted. She was being humorous, but Celestine could still pick out hints of regret.

She stayed silent. But Laelia did not continue the conversation. So she decided to tackle the problem directly. "Do you regret something?" she asked the girl whose hand she held.

"I may regret joining Adrianne," Laelia admitted quietly, as if the inquisitor was right around the corner, listening for any sign of betrayal.

"I don't see any problem with feeling like that," Laelia said, noticing the whispery voice Laelia was using.

"There is a problem. I can't just leave her, not with Ayelen with me," Laelia said, "I can't leave that girl behind,"

"I don't think Estelle would have an issue with Ayelen, as long as she doesn't cause any problems," Celestine said.

Laelia said nothing, instead choosing to turn around. She broke away from Celestine, tearing her hand away from the other girl's. Celestine said nothing as she the girl walked away from her. Laelia paused, calling back, "I should go. We're wasting each other's time like this, and our respective superiors may notice we are gone,"

"Those are the words of someone who's scared," Laelia said, before walking towards Laelia, "Afraid of Adrianne, I imagine?"

"Afraid of her failing," Laelia corrected her friend, "I don't want Adrianne to fail at what she's been trying to accomplish after so long,"

"You actually support her?" Celestine was very surprised by this revelation.

"Yes, I do," Laelia said, she turned to look at Celestine, "She has worked far too long to fail now. I don't know what Estelle wants out of all of this, but at this point, all she has done is oppose Adrianne, and I cannot help anyone who does that."

Celestine was silent, "I see," she whispered. Then she turned around, "I should go,"

"You replicate my behavior now?" Laelia asked, "Afraid of arguing with me?"

"I don't want us to lose our friendship because we work towards different goals," Celestine explained.

"What does Estelle want?" Laelia asked.

There was a long pause, with Celestine considering what she should say. Nothing seemed like it would be the correct answer at this point. "She never really says," the girl replied, "We just keep chasing after Adrianne, but the few times she has mentioned anything, she says that she wants to help Adrianne,"

"And she calls Adrianne crazy," Laelia said, her voice harsh, possible a bit too harsh.

Celestine winced at the sound of Laelia's voice, "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm only telling you what I have heard,"

"I don't criticize you," Laelia said, "Don't worry,"

"Then can we talk about something else, or should we part ways?" Celestine asked. Her voice told Laelia that she was not going to take anymore insults from the girl.

"What do you want from me?" Laelia asked, "Just sit down and admit you're right, and you have been all along? Is that what you want?" She walked closer to Laelia her voice growing harsher and harsher with each step.

"I see that I should go," Celestine said, before Laelia clamped down on her shoulder with her hand.

"Are you sure?" Laelia said, she leaned close to Celestine, and whispered in her ear, "Or should you talk more about how correct Estelle is compared to Adrianne?"

Laelia jumped back as long metal blade cut through the air where she had just been. Celestine's body was turned around, her head was tilted downwards, the brim of her hat covering her eyes. Her slightly bent right arm was crossed over her left, and an ornate rapier was clutched in her right hand.

"Are we going to keep playing this game?" she asked solemnly, "Because I'm tired of it." Her body did not shake at all as she held her sword towards Laelia.

"Are we really going to fight?" Laelia asked. Her confidence in the situation had decreased, and the sudden increase in feel she felt was shown by her voice.

"Yes," Celestine said, and Laelia jumped back once again as Celestine jumped forwards and fully extended her right arm with a lunging jab. The magic force of the attack created a brief gust of wind in all directions.

Laelia's hands were clutching machine guns, and her blue shield was around her body. Celestine was no longer anywhere around her, or at least that was what she saw. Laelia looked around, calming her breathing, and subduing her rampant mind. _She's not going to kill me, she's not going to kill me. _She had to repeat these words over and over again in order to remain calm and prevent herself form descending truly into the stage she only reached when actually engaged with an opponent as threatening as Celestine, who was capable of turning invisible, which had the added effect of eliminating all other traces of her, save for mental and magical ones.

Laelia heard the sound of shoes behind her. A strange noise, but her mind, worried by the idea of fighting her friend, was scared enough to react to it. Laelia spun around to face the noise, but found only a pair of Celestine's shoes sitting on the ground.

There was the sound of a balloon popping from behind Laelia as something burst her shield from behind. She spun and raised her gun at the same time she found a rapier barely tapping her chest. The muzzle of her gun was right in front of Celestine's face. It would be trivial for either one to move a tiny bit and end the battle.

"Always a scared one," Celestine said, Laelia noticing that her shoes were off her feet.

"Always a clever one," Laelia choked out, struggling to maintain a cool demeanor in the current situation.

It was obvious that neither girl truly had the guts to do anything serious to the other. So it now became a question of who would put their weapon down first. Celestine lowered her rapier after only a minute, a part of her mind urging her on more than Laelia's mind urged herself.

Laelia held her gun up for another couple seconds, before it too was lowered and dissipated as the rapier had been. "Sorry," she muttered, looking away from Celestine as the purple-haired girl smiled.

"Don't worry, I started it," Celestine said, before turning around, "Let's not talk about any of this,"

"I didn't say you could go," Laelia said, her voice suddenly assertive, but also a bit cautious.

"You have power over me now?" Celestine asked, "Who died and made you the Goddess?"

"You seem to be taking my words seriously, tonight," Laelia explained, "I guess that would be why I felt like trying to tell you something." She was doing her best to sound strong, but her voice still showed some fear.

Celestine spun around. A smile was plastered on her face. "You say you regret things, yet you still manage to act like this," she stepped close to Laelia, her hand reaching out to the girl's chin, "What are you really?" She leaned in close to Laelia.

Laelia stepped back, but Celestine grabbed her chin. She didn't try to resist. "What do you really want?" she asked, "Do you want to be away from Adrianne, or do you just want to toy with me?"

Laelia's eyebrows furrowed, "Are you making fun of me?"

"In a way I am," Celestine said, her voice becoming lower and softer by the second, "But, I'm also questioning your motives." She leaned in close to Laelia's ear, so close that Laelia tried to flinch back before she was stopped by Celestine, who asked, "Are you playing games with me?"

Laelia shrugged, doing her best to remain calm in the uncomfortable state she was in. Celestine had one hand on her chin, and the other arm was slowly beginning to wrap around her waist. Her head was close enough so that Laelia could feel her breath, and she was about ready to start the whole fight over again just to get Laelia off of her.

"What do you want?" Laelia asked, "Because right now, I don't think you're looking for a friendly conversation,"

Celestine paused entirely. Even her movements stopped. Laelia had the perfect opportunity to get out of Celestine's grip. She did not take it. She stayed where she was, staring Celestine in the eyes.

"I am wondering if you actually give a damn about me," Laelia said, "Or if you're just putting on this whole show to get close to me and learn all of Adrianne's secrets,"

Celestine gasped in a very exaggerated manner. So exaggerated that Laelia had to suppress an outburst of laughter at the display. "Why would I ever agree to such a thing?!" Celestine cried, her hand going to her mouth to continue the acting.

"Because you don't like me or Adrianne that much," Laelia answered plainly, "Now are you going to keep acting for the rest of our conversation?"

"Of course now," Celestine said, her demeanor suddenly serious again, "However, it is getting…late, I should be going now,"

"Seriously?" Laelia asked, "You think I am going to fall for that?"

"What?" Celestine asked.

"Trying to leave so that I call you back once again just so you can show that I really do like you," Laelia's voice was nearly monotone as she said this, "It is a low blow, and a terribly thought out one at that,"

"Then what would you prefer I do?" Celestine asked, then narrowed her eyebrows, and said, "Weren't you supposed to be regretful and sad about joining Adrianne, or were you really playing a game?"

"I don't know," Laelia said, before grinning a little, "Maybe you should figure that out for yourself,"

Celestine leapt forwards, wrapping her arms around Laelia's waist and pulling her close. It looked like a hug, and should have only been that. Instead, the two girl's lips met. Laelia embraced Celestine back, and the two stayed like that for a minute.

They eventually broke the kiss, before Celestine licked her lips, whispering, "I see, it was just a game,"

"Don't act like you didn't play any games either," Laelia said.

The two girls stared at each other's eyes for a minute, before they let go of the other. "We should really be heading our separate ways now," Celestine said.

"I'll see you later," Laelia said, "Hopefully soon,"

"Hopefully soon," Celestine agreed, before the two girls turned around, and walked away from each other.

A game had just been played. A great game between two people who liked playing games. Both had benefitted from this game, and these benefits would have to be reported.

In Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition, even love was just a means to an end.

* * *

Erwine's eyes opened. For a moment, she was scared, her stomach turning upside-down as the events she had just experienced came back to her. She was on a hard surface, at least her torso and legs were, while her head was on something softer. She had fallen asleep with her head on Laelia's lap.

She looked up at a metal ceiling. She was inside a shuttle. There was no light. The shuttle had windows. If it was the morning, there had to be some kind of light.

Erwine realized where she was. She sat up, her hand going instinctively to a certain spot. The light flickered on, barely lighting the entire room fully. Erwine was at home. In her own room. The place that she had called home for years and years. Before it had all been torn away from her by a single person.

That accursed name flashed through Erwine's mind for a split second, but she could not focus on it. All Erwine could tell was that somebody, somebody she had first met in a dream, had done this all to her. That somebody was a person she never wanted to see again.

To this end, Erwine tried not to close her eyes too much, afraid the face of the girl would come back to her. Even knowing the gender of the individual gave Erwine a sense of unease.

She went through her normal morning routine, acting as if nothing had ever happened. Erwine figured that she had an unusually lucid dream. Nothing to be worried about. Nothing she would dare report to another person besides Nada.

She did not want to end up being dissected because there was a daemon inside her or something. She was just sitting down on the couch with her book when Nada exited her room.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she came out, attracting a stare from Erwine. "What's the matter?" she asked, breaking their usual routine of staying silent.

Nada froze. She looked embarrassed, but managed to reply, "I had a dream…a bad one…basically a nightmare."

"What happened in it?"

"You contracted," Nada explained, "Instead of staying here, you went off with some horrible person. You did not have a very pleasant time." Tears were coming to her eyes. Erwine realized that they must have had similar dreams.

She stood up, rushing over to embrace her long-time friend. "It's alright," Erwine said, "I'm here now, and I'm not going to go anywhere." Just then, Erwine had a flash of something in front of her eyes.

A girl, with blonde hair and red clothes, sitting by her. Erwine tried to crush the memory, as it incited a sick feeling in her stomach. The stench of blood came to Erwine's nostrils, but she tried to stay calm.

She split apart from Nada, letting the girl go eat. Erwine paused where she was for a second, before turning back to the couch and sitting once more. For some reason, what Nada said seemed wrong to her. All she could think of was that…the girl, the one Erwine hated, was not quite so bad.

_Why? She made me feel like this. I'm being effected outside of the dream! What's going on?! How can she be a good person in reality?! _Then Erwine realized that she was assuming that a figure she met in a dream was a reality.

She felt a strange sense of compassion for Adrianne, as if she did not know what to really feel about the girl. "Who was the person who took me away in the dream?" Erwine asked.

"It was…some inquisitor. The inquisition was a real thing in that dream…but she had blonde hair, red clothes." It seemed to pain Nada to even remember the girl.

"What was she like?" Erwine asked.

"She was…harsh, but she was very nice to you. I…" Nada was confused. She shook her head. "It's nothing, just a dream."

Erwine nodded. She went back to reading, dropping the issue. If it was a dream, then there was no point in worrying about it. Truthfully, Erwine felt a sense of calm fall over her. _It was a vision of the future, _she thought, _the future that I avoided when I made the choice to stay here. I suppose I'm not really a coward, am I?_

_Perhaps, _a familiar voice said. The voice gave Erwine a weird sense of nostalgia. It was as though she had heard the voice at some point before, but she couldn't find it in any memory. Then she froze. It was _that _girl. The one who kept showing up. From the dream.

"Who are you?!" Erwine cried to the voice speaking in her mind. She stood up. Nada's head whirled to face Erwine, the girl leaping from her chair. "Who are you?! What do you want with me?!"

Erwine's whole body shook with anger and fear, as she looked all around herself. _Why are you so angry? What seems to be the problem? _The voice echoed around the room, but Nada didn't seem to hear it. The girl grabbed onto Erwine's arm, and Erwine collapsed into her grip.

"Erwine! Erwine what's wrong?!" Nada cried, tightly hanging onto the girl. Erwine shook fiercely, legs collapsing beneath her as Nada eased her down to the ground.

"I don't know," the silver-haired girl quietly replied, "I really don't know."

_Are you scared, Erwine? _Erwine swore someone was standing in front of her. She looked away, briefly glancing Nada's face as the girl followed Erwine's movement. _She doesn't see anything, _Erwine realized, almost crying.

Then she fell on the floor. Erwine's eyes darted around the room, wondering why Nada had let her go. But Nada hadn't let her go. Because Nada wasn't there. Erwine froze. She slowly turned to look at the cloaked figure in front of her. The girl's whole body was obscured from view.

"What did you do to her?" Erwine meekly demanded.

"Not much. I merely sent that part of the dream away." The girl explained carefully.

"What dream?" Erwine asked, "Nada is real."

"She is, but what you just experienced with her never occurred." Erwine shook her head. She backed away, pushing herself along the floor. She didn't want to accept that possibility.

"You're going to wake up, and you're going to be a magical girl." The cloaked girl walked forwards, slowly towards Erwine. Erwine found herself against the wall. She shivered, the figure standing there motionless.

"You're lying." Erwine denied her. "None of that can be how the world really is."

"Oh, but it is." The girl insisted. She reached out with her gloved hand. Erwine stared at the glove for a long time, feeling as though she should recognize it. But she took the hand, feeling that she could trust the girl.

Pulled up by the figure's surprising strength, Erwine stiffened, staring into the shadow that was her face. "What do you want?" Erwine wondered.

"I want to help you make the right choices." The figure explained. She took Erwine's other hand in her own, and gripped tight. "Listen, while Adrianne is most certainly too possessed with her vengeance to be rational, there is a bigger picture here. The Imperium of Mankind as a whole _needs _you, Erwine."

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked, breaking away. "How can I do all that? How can I trust you?!"

The figure reached inside its cloak. It produced a small gem. A soul gem. The gem bore a small symbol. That of the Inquisition. "Only inquisitors have these," The girl said, "And I assure you, I speak the truth."

Erwine found the voice. She found who had spoken like that before. "You don't exist," Eriwne shook her head, "You were all a part of my head."

"Oh, so you remembered?" The girl chuckled. She reached upwards, pulling down her hood. That same beautiful girl from before reappeared. "Yes, I definitely did want you to contract, but are you starting to see why?"

"I don't want to be a magical girl anymore." Erwine cried. Her mind was filled with regret, despair creeping up on her heart. "It's not what I wanted, this existence isn't what I desired."

"Yet it is the one you must continue living." The girl leaned in close to Erwine. "So many lives depend on you, Erwine. Don't lost all hope now. I promise, things will be better."

"Who are you, though?" Erwine asked, "Why do you care about me?"

The girl grinned a little. "Well, think of me like a guardian angel. _Your _guardian angel. It's my job to ensure that you walk the right path, lest this world be led to ruin."

Erwine nodded. "So I must stay with Adrianne? I have to work with her?"

"It will be hard. But it is for the sake of us all. You're just a tiny stone dropped into a huge pond, but the ripples you create will have a greater effect than any other." With those words, the girl was gone.

The room around her disappeared, and Erwine woke up.

* * *

The light of the dawn was beautiful the next morning. The pollution of the factories; despite being hazardous to everything on the planet, refracted the light and split it into a rainbow of wondrous colors. The horizon was lit with the pink and orange of the light beams.

Most mornings were like this. They were considered a good escape from the drudgery and ugly surroundings. Many people turned their gazes towards the sun to see this spectacle. If they could, of course.

But many couldn't, or didn't. Not because they didn't want to, but because they were otherwise occupied. Or trapped in a windowless cell that was the average home.

However, Erwine Braune did not turn her eyes to the sun simply because she still slept soundly, even on the rough seats of the shuttle. Ayelen and Laelia also missed the spectacle, for similar reasons.

Ayelen would be the first to stir from her somewhat light slumber. She never slept heavily; even when she was dead tired. And her lack of extreme activities the night before ensured a limited sleep.

Erwine lay to the left of Ayelen, having curled up in a blanket after her and Ayelen's talk. She breathed peacefully, and it was amazing to Ayelen how calm she looked especially taking into account the previous night's events.

Laelia had fallen to sleep to the right of Ayelen and now rested on the girl's shoulder. She had returned after Erwine had gone to sleep, and had almost immediately passed out from exhaustion. But she did promise she would tell Ayelen about what happened in the morning.

But it was clear that Ayelen would have to wait; seeing as how Laelia was effectively passed out on her shoulder. Ayelen sighed; she didn't feel like waiting a few hours for the girl to wake. So she carefully stood upwards while gently lowering Laelia's head to the seat. After waiting a moment to ensure that the girl was asleep; Ayelen moved to the other side of the cabin.

She sifted through Laelia's pile of books; looking for something to read. When nothing particularly interested her, she found herself content to sit and stare out the window. She kneeled in front of one of the small windows; her arms resting on the backs on the seats next to her.

_I hope that Airi managed Adrianne alright. I didn't hear anything too bad, so hopefully everything was sorted out. The last thing we need is a repeat of Ayelen…_Laelia trailed off, instantly finding something else to focus on before her mind went down a path she'd rather avoid.

The girl looked down at Erwine, laying on her lap. She carefuly stroked the girl's hair, smiling a little at how peaceful Erwine looked. "Sorry…" Laelia whispered, "But your suffering is necessary." She looked to the door, staring at it, hoping that Adrianne would come out sooner rather than later.

Laelia's eyes drifted to Ayelen once more. She didn't want to, but as tears came to her eyes, unhappy memories came back. For a brief few moments, she considered grabbing the girl and running. Maybe Erwine as well. _Perhaps it would be better that way. _Laelia thought for a long second. Too long of a second.

She shook her head. _My loyalties are with Adrianne. I can't leave now. I'll protect them on my own. _The door opened, Adrianne striding out. Laelia looked to her, a hand instantly going to Erwine. But right as the inquisitor entered, Erwine shot up with a shout.

The silver-haired girl instantly looked at Adrianne, as though she already knew where the girl was. Their eyes met, the two girls staring each other down. Erwine shook for a few seconds, till she slowly breathed, calming herself down.

_I have to follow her. Remember what the girl in the dream said. I have to trust her. It's the only chance I have. _"Are you angry at me?" Erwine asked meekly, trying her best to be strong.

Adrianne stepped forwards, eyes filled with something. Erwine couldn't find a word for it, till the girl was practically atop her. The little girl slowly backed away, as Adrianne bore down.

Erwine hit the wall, shivering as she did. Her eyes went back and forth from the door to Adrianne. Ayelen was awake, looking in surprise at the scene. Airi was in the cockpit doorway, motionless. She looked ashamed of herself more than anything. Laelia didn't seem to have any emotion at all.

Adrianne moved. Erwine jumped in fright. Yet she found that the inquisitor merely reached out her hand to the girl. Erwine looked at it, then shakily took it. The girl gasped as she was yanked from the seat, before being put on the floor. Erwine's hand went to her cheek, realizing that she had been hit after she was on the ground from it.

"You will not disobey me like that again." Adrianne said, "I will not allow it. You are a magical girl. I don't care what you were told. This is the truth of the world." The inquisitor turned around, "I don't see why you can't embrace that truth. Are you no better."

"I don't like hurting people," Erwine whispered, "I never did, before last night."

"People and traitors are different things." The inquisitor growled. She spun on her heel, staring down at Erwine. "Which are you?"

"I'm a magical girl." The little girl replied, struggling to stand. "And that means I want to protect people. We're angels, aren't we supposed to do that?" She stared Adrianne in the eyes, not sure what gave her the power to do that."

Adrianne's hand was once again extended. Erwine reached out for it. The inquisitor shook her hand, grinning. "You'll make a fine inquisitor, one day, Erwine." Adrianne promised, "You went from being a coward to standing up to someone you went once deathly afraid of in the space of one night."

Erwine didn't like it all. She wasn't sure that she enjoyed the way things were. Adrianne still scared her. _I have to stay with her. I can't leave. I have to stand up, and become stronger. How else can I protect people? _Erwine looked down, nodding, "Alright." She whispered.

"What's wrong?" Adrianne wondered, "Do you not want this?"

"I'm not sure what I want," Erwine was quiet, "I really don't know what I'm looking for with all this anymore." She looked up at Adrianne. "But…I'll stay, if only to find out what that thing is."

"Good," Adrianne nodded. She was still stern, but her pride was clear, "I hope you find what you're searching for. Part of being a magical girl is finding out who you really are. Maybe you can help me find what I'm looking for, one day."

The inquisitor turned around, walking down the length of the shuttle. "Understand that what you're doing, by being like this, it means more to me than you might think."

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked.

"I don't want to tell you. I don't trust you yet. Perhaps I will one day." Adrianne said. She looked over her shoulder, leaning back at a strange angle. "Erwine Braune, making that contract is perhaps one of the best things you've ever done."

Erwine didn't quite understand. She didn't really understand anything. _Perhaps that is what this world is. Just a bunch of things that are impossible to understand. _Yet, she did understand that she was now a magical girl. She _was _a magical girl.

And her fight was to be eternal.

* * *

Relationships between magical girls is a highly incendiary subject. More than a few wars of words have begun because of disagreements on the matter, and the intent of this is to avoid any of that. The main cause of problems in the past has been that the arguments involved morality and philosophy. No matter what conflicts emerged from this, they'd ultimately run into those spouting facts, and they'd attempt to deny the facts.

The intention here is to drop all sense of morality, whether or not homosexual relationships are inherently 'right' or 'wrong.' There's no reason to have such an attitude in the first place. Rather, the intention is to give only the facts, and explain carefully why becoming romantically involved can both be an advantage, and a disadvantage.

Relationships can give strength, emotional bonds do strengthen magic, and the thought of fighting on for someone else's sake is always inspiring. However, breaking up a relationship, or losing one partner violently, will result in hugely negative effects, that could extend beyond those immediately involved.

Before the real meat of these paper is reached, it should be made clear that the ultimate conclusion is that it is highly situational. Should the relationship be beneficial, with little chance of major fallout, then it should be continued. If there is a high chance of collapse and fallout, equal to or greater than the benefit, then it cannot be allowed. Ultimately, psychology will factor in too, and the answer is even more complicated than what is given here.

-_Resolving a Long Argument, _by Inquisitor Jene Loir.


	8. An Oath

In order to more closely examine the magical abilities possessed by magical girls throughout the Imperium, what must first be understood are the broadest categories of magic. These categories determine what exactly the abilities within these categories use magic energy to manipulate.

Note that these are not abilities in and of themselves. They are merely categories created to break down the research into magic theory. Unless one is specifically interested in magic theory, it is not necessary to go any further than merely understanding what each category entails.

Space Manipulation: This category of magical girl uses magical particles to make changes in the space around them. Magic particles are directed to affect the properties of an object. All properties of an object can fall under this category. As such, this is the most common category, and the majority of magical girls fall under it, roughly 96.85%. These magical girls range from relatively limited power to possessing extreme amounts of power. The ability spread is also massive. Space Manipulation was originally considered as an unneeded category, till it was pushed for to create a solid break between it and the next category.

Time Manipulation: This category of magical girl uses magical particles to make changes in the time-space continuum around them. Magic particles are directed to affect an object's position in the time-space continuum. 3.145% of magical girls fall into this category. These girls are almost always considerably powerful, even at the start, and do not have a wide spread of abilities. There are no sub-categories of Time Manipulation.

It is important to note that while the percentages given add up to 96.995%, the last 0.005% is merely uncatalogued girls, who have yet to be properly placed due to various reasons. This of course does not contain information on the girls never entered into the General Adeptus Magica Database, so many traitors and heretics are not accounted for.

-From the _Grimoire Ingenium, 20__th__ Edition._

* * *

Erwine watched the clouds race past her view, the corners of her eyes showing the ground moving by comparatively slowly. She did not exactly prefer to be sitting in the cockpit with Adrianne, given that she was only trying to follow what she had heard in her dream.

She could not even remember what had occurred. It was all a distant memory now. All Erwine knew was that she needed to follow Adrianne. Wherever she went, or whatever she did.

Erwine simply sat with the inquisitor now as a gesture of the reconciliation she had granted her. If Erwine had her way, she would be sitting in the back at the moment, as far from Adrianne as possible.

Her anger had gone, leaving only the legitimate dislike for the girl. Erwine caught glances of the smiling girl out of the corner of her left eye. She had a bit of a smile on her face as she guided the shuttle along. Erwine had no idea where they were going, but she hoped that it would be to a place that would not involve more of the activities she had already been forced to do.

However, Erwine had hoped for a lot of things in recent times, and unfortunately, few of those hopes had come true. She couldn't even see how she had the ability to make her own decisions, choose her own path. Of course, so little was revealed about the wish-making process that for all she knew, she might finally gain the ability the second before she died.

_I can't help but feel bad, though, _Erwine thought. She turned her head fully towards Adrianne, feeling a pang of guilt as she looked upon the inquisitor. _She's obviously been trying very hard to do something for a long time. I would like it if she told me…but I still failed her expectations._

And as much as Erwine was driven away by Adrianne, she was also attracted by the kindness with which the inquisitor treated her. She would have liked to experience more of that kindness, but things had gotten more serious exponentially quickly.

"A problem?" Adrianne asked, noticing that Erwine was looking at her. The inquisitor's tone was neutral, similar to the way it had used to be, hours ago. The sun had risen higher into the sky, and was now approaching noon as the shuttle shot through the sky.

"No," Erwine replied with a shake of her head. The attempt at lying was shoddy, and Adrianne saw through it easily.

"What's wrong?" Adrianne asked. Erwine almost blurted it out right there. Adrianne sounded so sincere that…that she was sincere.

"I messed up," Erwine's lips moved before she knew they were moving, such was the way she was struck by Adrianne's quick reaction to Erwine's seeming concern.

"What do you mean?" Adrianne asked, "You acted perfectly naturally, I was the one who 'messed up', if anyone is truly to blame for that."

Erwine almost lashed back at the inquisitor for attempting to shift blame off of herself with those final few words, but Erwine realized that she herself was not blameless either. "We could have gotten that information about whatever you needed," Erwine said sadly, "But I couldn't do what you asked me to. I didn't have the courage to do something…something that's part of my job now."

"Most girls aren't supposed to do those kinds of things for weeks after they've contracted," Adrianne said, guilt and shame in her voice, "I can't blame you for failing."

"But I did not fail just you personally! I failed the entire operation!" Erwine cried, "I messed up, and it's cost all of us!"

Adrianne shook her head, "Actually, you're failure has given us an opportunity that we are now going to exploit."

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked, recoiling a little. She expected something else, words of condolence that she could contradict, a gesture of kindness that she could refuse. Not facts that she could not refute due to her limited knowledge.

"We're going back to your old city," Adrianne said, speaking as if Erwine had left the place months, if not years, ago. "There's someone we need to meet with, who will give us the key to bringing down the smuggling ring on this planet, which will hopefully result in the obtaining of clue that will lead us to our next destination."

"Who are we going to see?"

"An aristocrat," Adrianne said, "You'll see when we get there, but until then, do not worry. This would not have occurred were it not for your failure last night. We could have made that efficient and quick, but we could not, due to many faults on everyone's parts. But that speed would have resulted in less being done and gathered, so this is better. We're about to be given a key which will let us right into the heart of the enemy."

Erwine was perturbed, not entirely understanding. But she asked no more, willing to let this go. She could at least trust Adrianne in terms of official matters. She turned her head to the side again, not really wanting to say anything more.

All she could think of was how much she had lost. She had gained more than she had lost, but she had lost a life of peace and quiet. Exchanging it for one of pain and battle.

_Why do I need to stick with Adrianne? _She wondered. Only the message from the dream was in her mind, not who gave it to her. She had no idea why she had to listen to that. She had just gotten the impression that she should.

Erwine's eyes went wide as she realized that she could have gotten out this morning, with Laelia and Ayelen ready to turn on the inquisitor. Yet something had told her not to. Something had gotten into her dream, made sure that she did not.

_What's Adrianne's power? _Erwine wondered, horror crawling across her face. She would have looked at Adrianne once more, but was afraid of attracting her attention once more. So she kept looking out the window, confident that she could rationally think this through.

_What do I do? What do I do? _The question repeated. Erwine came to the realization that she had to speak to the inquisitor. Not to question her. But to ensure that her intentions were certainly just. Erwine worried about her future. So that was what she could speak with Adrianne on.

"What is my future going to be like?" Erwine asked,

"Why are you worried?"

"I have a right to be worried," Erwine realized she was a bit too defensive, but Adrianne went on without noticing too much.

Adrianne let a sigh escape her lips. She wished that it did not, but she let it anyways. "Erwine," she said softly. Suddenly, her voice took on a different tone. It was lower in volume, and seemed somber. "I really can't say what your future's going to be like," she was not lying, that much was certain.

"Then give me an idea," Erwine needed a reason. She could not just follow a message gained from a dream which she had no memory of.

Adrianne shook her head. As it shook, Erwine saw a glint in the girl's eye. "I can't," Adrianne insisted, "I don't know, and I really would prefer to not discuss such things at the moment."

She was hiding something from Erwine. Erwine glared at Adrianne for a second, before Adrianne cost a somber glance back at her. Erwine's own animosity was defeated, and she ceased her visual assault.

"Erwine," Adrianne said, her voice solemn, yet also forceful. "Please don't do this," she begged, "You would not like this conversation were it to continue,"

"Then why am I here?" Erwine countered, "Tears coming to her own eyes. You've yet to give me a good reason for all this, only insisting that you'll tell me at some point."

"I will tell you," Adrianne insisted, before Erwine gritted her teeth and shouted.

"You keep saying that!" she was distraught, her face wracked with pain, "Just give me some reason. Don't cry for me, act like a child. I want to know, I want to know what's really wrong, a good reason as to why you did all that to me!"

Adrianne looked Erwine in the eyes. "As I said before, if I told you now, then you would not believe me. You would never forgive me."

"Let me just say that it does not justify what I have done, so I would prefer that you think up your own reason for all this, rather than I give you the cold, hard truth that will only work to drive us even further apart at this moment."

Erwine looked back, "You will tell me?"

"I promise I will," Adrianne said with a nod.

"Then I won't complain till then," Erwine said, "And I might be able to forgive you, you know?"

"That implies that I want you to forgive me…" the comment was almost an afterthought by Adrianne, but her expression made it clear she was done, so Erwine looked away once again.

She worried, but in her heart, she felt that Adrianne was a good person.

Erwine felt the ship slowing as her home city appeared on the horizon. They were still traveling thousands of kilometers per hour for thirty seconds, though, so much distance was traveled even as they slowed down.

The ship was still making a very fast speed as it came in towards the hive towers of the city. The cutter was unmarked, and carried no sort of identification. However, its arrival had been prearranged, only a few hours before, so it was not harassed by any sort of defense.

It came to land on a platform kilometers above the city below, and Erwine found herself amazed as she stepped out of the aircraft. The platform was protected by a force field that prevented the wind from knocking anyone off the platform, but it was still quite cold.

Erwine walked to the edge of the hexagonal piece of metal and looked down. She could barely make out the individual buildings several kilometers down and away from her.

"How high are we?" she muttered to herself.

"Two kilometers," Adrianne called, "And it keeps going for a bit more,"

Erwine had never really wanted to be in a hive spire, no matter how magnificent the lifestyle or view. She did not like looking down and realising that she was very high above the ground, in a seemingly thin pillar.

But she now saw the pillar was not very thin, and had only seemed that way in relation to some of the mountains around the city. It was actually quite wide, a few hundred meters, and had plenty of room on the inside.

She walked back over to Adrianne and the others, and they were lead inside by a serf. He guided them through the halls of the spire to an elevator, which they took up a floor.

Erwine was amazed by everything she saw and experienced in the place. It caused her to forget all traumatic thoughts she had, at least for the moment. The halls were wide, possibly just as large as her old home was, and taller than the short ceiling.

Every one of her steps was taken on beautifully woven red carpeting, with designs on them being in other, darker colors. This carpet was framed by the pristine wooden walls and ceiling.

She did not understand what the wood was. When she first entered the spire, she went up the wall and started knocking on the wall. She had never seen wood in her life, and had only heard it be mentioned.

She stroked her finger across the smooth surface, and tapped it as well. She did all sorts of things, trying to discover what she was looking at.

Laelia noticed this. "I take it you've never seen wood before?"

"That is what this is?" Erwine was surprised, she said, "I've heard of it, but I've never seen it in my life,"

Everyone laughed at this, much to the annoyance of Erwine. She got back to the others and kept following them, and continued to show her lack of knowledge of anything.

She did not quite understand what the potted plants that could be seen to the side of the hall were. She thought that they were plants, and had heard of the word before, and had it explained to her what a plant was.

But she had never seen one. Laelia gave a quick explanation of what they were, before everyone laughed at Erwine once more.

They finally made it to the elevator, in which Erwine continue to be amazed. "What…what is this?" she asked, looking around the large, rectangular space.

"It is an elevator," Laelia said, "And I know, you've never heard of one or seen one before,"

Erwine looked at the floor and nodded. She was quite embarrassed. It was only a few second ride up one floor, and when the doors opened, Erwine did not both to show any sort of amazement.

Laelia felt sympathy for the girl. She came from a place where she had not learned much about the rest of the world either, in fact, it was even less than Erwine.

She put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Don't worry," she said, "Don't be embarrassed, I knew even less than you did when I first contracted, but that gave me the urge to learn more,"

Erwine sighed, "I know, but I'd prefer to avoid this current humiliation,"

"They're not laughing in a mean way," Laelia said, "You're just funny, even if you don't mean to be,"

They came to a large door. The serf opened it for them, and held it as the five girls filed into the room beyond. Erwine tried to contain her excitement, but was hard-pressed to do so, after she encountered the amazing sight which awaited her.

It was a high room, about three meters, and it was very wide, stretching for four meters in either direction. Erwine was astrounded by the amount of space. She looked around, thinking that everything this family had must be in this one room, but found that it seemed to be quite barren.

There were a few couches, and some chairs around a few tables, but nothing else. "W-w-what is this?" Erwine stuttered.

"This is like an entrance hall," Adrianne said, "It is one of many rooms,"

"H-h-how?" Erwine asked. She knew the nobles in the spires had luxurious lives, but this?! _This is not possible! _She thought, _no one can have this much space!_

Adrianne turned to Erwine, "Welcome to the lifestyle of the rich and powerful of the Imperium," she said, "Expect to see this a lot,"

Erwine could only nod slack-jawed as she surveyed the room. As she stood there gaping, a voice called out, "Greetings, milady!"

A middle-aged man walked into the large room from one of the side doors. He was followed by a woman of a similar age. Both wore clothes only nobles would wear.

Erwine stared at them in shock, wondering how someone could afford such expensive clothing. _And jewelry, _she thought, _are they just showing off to Adrianne? _

It certainly seemed that way.

"Hello, Mr. Vivian," Adrianne said, walking to shake the man's hand. She then did the same with the woman. It was comical, the way the man and the woman treated the little girl with seemingly more respect than anyone else.

Vivian opened his mouth to say something more, but Adrianne held up her hand. "I have no time for flattery, and you will be rewarded more for getting this done quickly than showing off your kindness and generosity,"

The noble shut his mouth as fast as he opened it, nodded, and then turned around. His wife cast a wary glance at him as he walked off quickly, and then looked back at Adrianne.

Neither girl said anything. The entire room was in an awkward silence. Erwine wanted to say something to someone, and then remembered that she could speak telepathically.

_Is that normal? _She asked, broadcasting it the question to the entire group.

_Very normal, _Airi answered, _Adrianne was a noble herself, but has no time for their need to gain more than they have, and does not feed that desire in any way. _

Erwine was chilled when Adrianne turned her head and gestured for Erwine to come join her near the door where Mr. Vivian and his wife had first entered.

The girl walked up to the inquisitor, but she was slow. Adrianne simply turned her head back around, and waited for Erwine, while Vivian returned with someone else following him.

It was a young girl, about the age of Erwine and her fellow magical girls. She was dressed in the formal clothes of a young noble, as that was what she was. She held herself in a way that conveyed a sense of respect towards the other magical girls in the room, yet this same sense of respect was not displayed towards the man next to her, nor the woman who followed this girl into the room.

_Haha, _Adrianne chuckled, _this is quite typical. _

_What? _Erwine asked, watching the entering girl closely, and doing her best to not look like the uneducated, uncultured fool she truly was.

_Magical girls and their parents do not get along well, _Adrianne explained, _you'll see that after just a month, your view of humans will have changed. _Her tone told me that she was certain of this. Erwine had little reason to doubt Adrianne at this point. She may not have wanted to like her all that much, but what she had said had come true.

The young girl curtsied to the Inquisitor and her companions. "Greetings," she said, "I am Alexandria Vivian." She then dropped her more formal, noble attitude, and walked forwards to shake hands with Adrianne.

"I trust that you are prepared?" Adrianne asked.

"Of course…" Alexandra did not finish her sentence, looking unsure of what to say. It was as if she was unsure of whether or not to use Adrianne's title.

"No title, please," Adrianne explained.

"Adrianne," Alexandra finished, "Yes, I am all prepared, come this way,"

Adrianna waved for Erwine to follow her, so the young magical girl did so. Alexandra let the Inquisitor and her apprentice through a series of hallways, till they reached a large room. The first thing Erwine noticed was the massive bed, before her eyes saw the various other furnishings in the room.

She could not comprehend what she was seeing. She stood in the doorway, her eyes moving back and forth across the room. Her breathing started to become more and more rapid, as her face became more and more twisted in shock.

"W-w-what is this?!" she exclaimed, she walked into the room, moving to touch various pieces of furniture, as if she needed to confirm that they were all real.

"This is my bedroom," Alexandra explained, her tone being one that an adult would use with a child, before looking at Adrianne with a confused face.

"Lower city," Adrianne explained, "Shared hab, never had a single room where she could be guaranteed silence." Her voice was filled with a certain compassion and pity for the person she spoke of. It was the kind of compassion felt not by one who had experienced what they spoke of, but rather the compassion felt by someone who wished they could fix the problems they spoke of.

Alexandra nodded, "Yes, I imagine you've never seen anything like this?" she asked. It was rhetorical, yet Erwine did reply in a way.

The young girl spun around from where she had been staring at the bed, which lay against the right wall a meter from the window, she glared into Alexandra's face with such an intensity that the noble girl actually took a step back.

Erwine's face could have been interpreted as expressing many different things. One may have seen anger, hatred, sadness, envy, and many other emotions in her expression. Yet only one of those was the thing the girl truly felt.

She just did not understand. She did not understand what was going on. _Nobles live like this, in towers like this, with single bedrooms like this, yet there are thousands suffering below them! Are we cattle?! Do they not care for any of us?! We're just tools! Nothing more than tools! _

Alexandra tried to explain, tried to calm the girl down, "Erwine, please, understand me, I do not have anything to do with this. There is little I can do to influence my family and-"

Adrianne held up a hand which cut the girl off. Adrianne glared at the girl, giving Alexandra a look that demanded silence. And silence is what Adrianne received.

Erwine turned to now look at Adrianne. She looked like a dog that had just been kicked by its owner, who was now turning back to question what it had done wrong, and why it had been wrong. Except in this case, Erwine was wondering what society had done wrong.

Adrianne took a step forwards. Erwine did not move. Adrianne embraced the girl gently. Whispering softly, she explained, "The Imperium is a very unfair place, Erwine. Please understand that many of the people you encounter do not necessarily think you to be inferior, nor do they want you to be their slave. They simply take what they have for granted, and do not understand what it means to truly suffer."

"I wish that I could make things different, but I am only one inquisitor in a galaxy of millions of planets. I cannot even stop this from occuring on one planet, as I do not have the time nor the obligation. Neither do you. I am an inquisitor, and you work for me. We don't have time to try and fix society, and eradicate all injustices everywhere. All we can do is make sure that humanity and the Imperium survive."

Erwine was close to tears. _So this girl here gets to live a happy, peaceful life, while my friends and family are in constant danger of assault, robbery, rape, or even death?! _She was ready to strike out at this noble girl, yet Adrianne held her back.

"Please, Erwine, focus," Adrianne ordered, then calmly asked, "I need you to focus, can you do that?"

Erwine choked out, through half-formed tears, "Yes,"

"Then I need you to do one thing for me," Adrianne said, putting her face in front of Erwine's, "I need you to forget that this injustice ever existed, and focus on the mission at hand, as without you, people will die, and you cannot save anyone by complaining now, or hurting this girl."

"Do you understand me?" Adrianne asked.

Erwine nodded, and she was released. Adrianne immediately turned to look at Alexandra, "We are ready to begin, if you are as well,"

Alexandra glanced at Erwine. The girl had tears in her eyes still, but she was clearly better than she had been. She held herself in a way that warned Alexandra to tread carefully, but the noble did know that Adrianne was there to stop Erwine from doing anything reckless.

"I am ready," Alexandra said, still focusing on Erwine, her quick glance having turned into a long stare at the girl.

"Then let us begin, we need all the time we can get," Adrianne said, her voice carrying an extra amount of urgency to motivate Alexandra, who was clearly disturbed by Erwine's behavior.

Alexandra nodded, and strolled over to her bed. She pointed at the couch beside the window, "Erwine, lay there, please," she said, before lying back on the bed.

She took a deep breath, before removing her soul gem from where it was on her finger. She converted it to its egg form, and then handed it to Adrianne, who had followed her to the bed.

Adrianne turned around with the gem in hand. "Erwine," she said, staring the young girl in the eyes, "Do what she said, please,"

Erwine looked down at the floor, clearly hesitant to follow anyone's orders at this point. But she knew that she could trust Adrianne, so she lay down on the couch.

Adrianne walked over quickly, and held her one empty hand out, "Remove your gem, please," she ordered. It sounded like less of an order, and more of a polite request. Erwine knew that it was not a request she could refuse, but the fact that the tone made it sound like that helped her follow the request.

The girl removed her soul gem from where it was in the crown atop her head. She placed it in Adrianne's palm, and in reply, Adrianne placed Alexandra's soul on Erwine's chest.

She then placed Erwine's soul on Alexandra's chest, and then stood in the middle of the space between the two girls. "Alright," Adrianne said, her voice calm and collected, yet still stern and forceful, "Both of you, reach out telepathically, and feel the mind of the other,"

Erwine did as she was told, and felt Alexandra starting to connect to her own mind. Neither girl was a telepath, but they could still communicate of course, and that communicative link was what they now used. "There's not much I can instruct either of you to do, understand that," Adrianne warned, then explained, "Now that you feel the mind, try to feel the body of the other, and imagine that you are slipping into the place of the person there,"

Erwine tried to do this, but all she got was a fierce headache as she tried to shove herself into Alexandra's mind as Alexandra tried to do the same. The process was not working. Adrianne shook her head and sighed, "I expected this, Erwine is not trained in any way, we need to forcefully disconnect her,"

The inquisitor walked forwards and picked up Alexandra's body, "Don't mind me, I imagine Erwine will not want to wake up alone in another's body, and you would not want to wake up in my arms," she said.

"No worries," Alexandra said, as she was carried out of the room.

"Stay there," Adrianne called to Erwine, "Close your eyes, and keep doing as I told you. In about half a minute, everything will go dark,"

The inquisitor carried the girl through the quarters of her family, and into the entrance hall. She was looked at strangely by Alexandra's parents as she approached but she ignored their stares and told her subordinates, "We need to forcefully disconnect, give me a hand Airi,"

The teleporter nodded and walked over to meet Adrianne. The two stood close together, but the parents of the girl Adrianne held in her arms approached, concerned. Adrianne glared at them, and shook her head. Laelia stepped forwards to explain the situation, and Adrianne, Airi, and Alexandra disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Erwine, back in Alexandra's bedroom, fell limp. She had been worried about what was going on. She did not know anything about the maximum distance at which a soul can control a body, so she was forced to follow her orders and guess at what was happening. Adrianne had redeemed herself in Erwine's eyes, so the girl was inclined to trust the inquisitor, but this was making her question that trust.

Erwine appeared in a dark space. Everything was black, and there was nothing for her to sense, save the color black. She felt a tug on her, and after only a split second of that dark space, she was awake, yet she felt different.

She was also in a different place. She was outside now. She could see the city around her, and the tower stretching up above her. She looked down, and realized she was on the landing pad the ship had first landed on.

She was not standing on her own. Erwine turned her head and nearly jumped to find that she was looking at the smiling face of Adrianne. "Hello there," the inquisitor said, "I see you're awake,"

Erwine was shocked. "How…how am I here?" she asked, her voice filled with astonishment, and even a little fear. She looked at herself and realized that she was wearing the same dress Alexandra had…she realized she was in Alexandra's body now.

"You switched bodies with Alexandra Vivian," Adrianne explained, "You have no idea how to do that, so I had to start you off, and then bring you beyond the range at which your body can be controlled by your soul,"

"So this is what it is like," Erwine asked, shock filling her voice, "This is what it's like to just switch my body with another one?"

Adrianne smiled. She was clearly sad. She did not want Erwine to have to go through this. "I'm so sorry," Adrianne said, her smiling becoming more and more sad. "This is something we must go through."

Erwine was still in Adrianne's arms. The young girl clung to the inquisitor like she was her mother. She held onto her like she was the only thing between her and insanity. Erwine started to cry.

Adrianne let the young girl cry. She deserved to cry. She had already cried much in the past day, but for all that Adrianne had put her through, the inquisitor felt that Erwine deserved to cry for all eternity.

The landing pad was silent. It was still shielded from the winds by the void shield. The shuttle was the only other thing standing on the pad besides Adrianne.

"Don't cry, please," Adrianne begged, her voice quiet, and pitiful. "I'm begging you, don't cry,"

Erwine did not, could not, follow that request. But she could ask, "Why?"

"Because it brings me closer to accepting what I have become," Adrianne replied, "And when I finally accept that…I don't want to think about what would happen,"

"What do you mean?" Erwine said, "You're a good person,"

"No, I'm not," Adrianne said with a shake of her head. "I am nothing like a good person, not after everything I've done,"

Erwine was determined to convince Adrianne otherwise, yet she did not know how she could possible win that argument. "What have you done wrong?" she asked.

"Everything," Adrianne said, speaking like a criminal confessing to murder, "I did everything that a terrible person could do, all while thinking that I was doing something right,"

"What happened to you?" Erwine said, looking into Adrianne's eyes.

"I-I-I don't know," Adrianne said, "Or maybe I do, but that story is for another day, another time, when we do not have our job to do,"

"We always have a job to do," Erwine pointed out, "Or at least, that's what you make it seem like." Her voice was stern, yet soft. She sounded like Adrianne used to, when she tried to calm Erwine.

_She's already grown so much, _Adrianne thought, _she really is the one I need. _The inquisitor smiled, and came close to chuckling. "You're a clever one, I'll give you that," she said, _although I will give you so much responsibility that you will never desire and have never desired._

Adrianne let Erwine out of her arms. Erwine stood up, a little unsteady, both because of the way in which she was deposited, as well as the new body she occupied. "We must go, let me-"

"No!" Erwine shouted, "We are not leaving until you give me answers!"

Adrianne paused. She had been looking past Erwine, and then she fell to her knees. It was not telegraphed in any way. She just fell down and did not get back up. Erwine followed her, kneeling down in fright.

She put a hand on the inquisitor's shoulder, "What's wrong?!" she shouted, her anger switching to concern,

Adrianne shook her head, with a sad smile on her face. "None of my excuses will ever justify the things I have done to you over the course of the last thirty hours," she said, as if that explained all her grief.

Erwine knew that it did not. "What do you mean?" Erwine asked, "I know I'm important, but what you did was not normal?"

"Of course it was not!" Adrianne shouted, not angrily. She simply spoke at a higher volume than she normally did, the pitch and tone ended up being close to the same.

"I was supposed to slowly induct you, revealing more and more of my ways as time went on. You were supposed to learn the truth about soul gems after at least three days of preparation, and not in the field. There were no special circumstances which would justify your quick induction. I did everything I did because of what I need you to do," Adrianne explained, as Erwine's face expressed more and more shock as time went on.

"What?" Erwine asked, unable to understand this, "What…what would require you to do that?"

Adrianne shook her head. "I cannot say, not right now. I cannot tell you what has occurred in any short period of time, nor why I need you to be the way I want," she said, "But I am sorry for what I have done."

The girl stood up, "Apologies do not justify my actions, nor do they reduce their impacts. However, it makes me feel better inside," she chuckled, "I am selfish, are I not?"

The girl shrugged as Erwine stared at her in shock. "Have you anything to say?" she wondered, as she then looked up into the sky.

She was surprised to find someone wrapping their arms around her shoulders. "I don't understand anything," Erwine said, "I don't understand what I am supposed to do as a magical girl. I don't understand why you are doing what you are doing. I don't understand who you truly are, even on the most basic level."

"But I trust you," Erwine said, "Because you have cared for me more than anyone else, even while you have hurt me more than anyone else. I trust you with my life."

Erwine said, "So do not apologize for what you have done, because I don't understand why you've done what you have done. Apologies should only come after one's plan has failed, and the ends do not justify the means,"

Adrianne was speechless. Her arms were still at her sides, yet she brought them up slowly and embraced Erwine back. "Thank you," she said, then repeated, "Thank you,"

"It was nothing," Erwine insisted, "Don't thank me for thanking you,"

Adrianne smiled. It was a truly happy smile, and she stood where she was for a few seconds, unmoving. After a time, Erwine broke away, and smiled at Adrianne. It was a smile that Adrianne had never seen on the girl. It was a smile Adrianne recognized as that of a hopeful girl who did not understand the world around her, yet she was ready to venture out and face it, no matter what.

Adrianne said, "Your actions shall justify my methods. So I must thank you for being strong, Erwine Braune, as you could possibly be my redemption, or you could possibly be my undoing," she reached out and put her hand on Erwine's shoulder.

"I would like to do this again," Adrianne said. Erwine looked confused, before Adrianne started, "Erwine Braune, do you give your life and service to me, Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition, and Her Holy Majesty the Goddess of the Imperium of Mankind?"

Erwine grabbed Adrianne's hand that was on her shoulder, and knelt down. She kissed the back of the girl's hand, "Yes, Inquisitor Adrianne Azure of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition, I do,"

"Then rise," Adrianne commanded, "Your body is back where you left it, and we need to put this new one to some good use," she said this with a smile.

Erwine stood up, and smiled back. "Yes, Adrianne." She spoke in a voice that was happier than ever before, and with a smile that was brighter than any she had ever had on her face.

As Airi was called back to teleport the two girls back, Erwine could feel the universe opening up before her, as she was truly inducted into Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition.

Erwine looked up at the sky, beyond which was an endless universe, filled with horrors far beyond Erwine's imagination. There were countless ways in which she could die, and countless fates worse than death.

Yet she did not mind.

In that moment, she swore that she felt no despair.

* * *

A question I frequently see asked is how to strip away the fears of new contractees in the fastest manner possible. It's often a major topic of discussion, but I fear that it's not one that's entirely valid. On paper, the idea is a wonderful one, the idea that a contractee can be turned into a hardened killing machine in the space of a few days is enticing.

However, there is more than just effectiveness to consider here. There is no way to raise a contractee in the span of a few days that will avoid terrible psychological damage. For in order to do it, one must immediately strip away all supports, all crutches the girl had before. Exposing her immediately to a wealth of truths that ought to stay hidden until she has properly acclimated is not going to be beneficial in the long run.

It breeds despair, hatred for the inquisitor, and fear of the surrounding world. From there, things can only get worse. My intention here is to destroy any notion that this idea is a good one. I refuse to allow this to continue any further, not in a world that is already cruel enough to girls who make wishes with hope in their hearts.

-Introduction to _A Critique of Pure Effectiveness, _by Inquisitor Oikea Nereme


	9. A True First Test

There have been disturbing developments in the Segmentum Pacificus as of late, more specifically in the Cadian Gate. We are detecting high levels of enemy movement within the Eye of Terror itself, and I have been assured that our astroclairvoyance team is not being tricked this time.

There are suspiciously high troop and ship concentrations near the entrance to the Eye itself. This is highly irregular, due to the relatively short, in Black Crusade terms, span of time between the 12th Crusade, the Gothic War and now. However, the evidence does not lie, and there does seem to be evidence of a large attack in the works.

However, the build-up is slow, and due to time distortion in the warp, things may not happen as fast as we may think. I predict a major attack within the next one hundred to three hundred years, but no sooner than that.

I have already briefly conversed with mage knight forces across the galaxy, and all major chapters and those minor chapters within the Segmentum are ready to contribute forces when called. However, we must move quickly, lest we be caught off-guard ourselves.

I suspect that we may once again encounter a well-entrenched network of covert operations, and have alerted all inquisitors in the area. They shall double their efforts to root out any kind of network. I suspect that we shall see large-scale grief cube smuggling operations, possibly in connection to the Hydra Marines, or some other traitor group involved in covert operations.

This is merely a brief warning, and a full report shall come as soon as the proper evidence is gathered and a full assessment of resources made. I've yet to speak with most of the Guard, Navy, Administratum, and Mechanicus personnel involved here, and a full report will come once I have. Attached are the statistics for the force build-up, as well as comparisons to the recorded build-up in previous crusades.

-Lord High Inquisitor of the Segmentum Pacificus Sect Aksinya Toressti

* * *

Airi teleported the two girls back to the entrance hall of the Vivian family's quarters, where Alexandra, Adrianne's other followers, and Mr. and Mrs. Vivian waited. The parents of the noble girl were satisfied with the talk Laelia had given them, and the latter girl now stood in the corner with the ever-excited Ayelen, who was currently doing her best to annoy the older girl.

Airi had been speaking more with Alexandra and her parents when she had to bring Erwine and Adrianne back. Mr. Vivian looked immediately at Adrianne when the inquisitor returned, and Erwine looked immediately at her own body.

Not the body she was in. Her own body was the one she looked at. The body her soul had been in since the time she was born till the time her soul was removed and placed in a small container which was now held in her hands.

Alexandra was dressed in her own magical girl outfit now, but Erwine focused more on the girl's face. It was exactly the way she had remembered seeing it in mirrors, yet she had was not looking in any kind of mirror. Alexandra reacted in a similar fashion to Erwine, and the two girls just stood there, staring at each other as Adrianne glared daggers at Mr. Vivian.

The man had been about to say something, but Adrianne was in far too good of a mood to put up with any kind of groveling from some nobleman. She respected Alexandra, but the girl was part of the local security teams. She would be leaving her parents sooner or later to take up command in some other city.

Adrianne could see that the girl did not exactly hold her parents in the high regard that she was expected to hold them in. It was not exactly surprising, knowing that Alexandra was a magical girl. Adrianne could remember her time right after she contracted was not pleasant.

"I do not want your compliments, Mr. Vivian," Adrianne said sharply, glaring into the man's eyes. "Give me the letter stating that you have sent your daughter to assist the Kaskellies,"

The nobleman nodded, and produced a letter from his back pocket. It was bound with the official seal of the Vivian household, and Adrianne quickly placed it in a pocket of her coat. The inquisitor continued to stare at Mr. Vivian, "You know the consequences for betrayal, correct?" she asked.

He nodded. "No need to remind me, milady," he said, fearing for his life now. He trembled a little, and his wife behind him tugged on his arm, silently telling him to back down.

"I think there is a need," Adrianne said, as Erwine and Alexandra were attracted by the threatening sound of Adrianne's voice. The two girls turned to face the others, and Erwine instantly saw the same level of threat she had seen in Adrianne once before.

The same level of insanity was not present, but the threat was there. "In recent times, I've had some people betray me," Adrianne said, "It's a constant threat I face,"

She took a step towards the noble in front of her. "Understand that if you betray me, even if not a single scratch is suffered by any of my girls, then you will die, your wife will die, your house will end, and your daughter will most likely be severely punished, imprisoned, if not killed. Everyone in your family will suffer."

Mr. Vivian nodded, taking a step back. He was two heads taller than Adrianne was, but the girl grabbed him by the collar of his suit and pulled him down. She looked him closely, and growled, "Do you understand?"

"Yes, milady," he said, before he was thrown back a meter by the inquisitor. He said nothing more as Adrianne turned to Erwine.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

Erwine nodded, "I believe I am," she said, before taking a glimpse at Alexandra, still mystified by the fact that she was looking at her own body, essentially being worn by someone else. However, Erwine was more disturbed by the way Adrianne had treated the nobleman. She looked at the man, concern on her face, but she turned her head that way for only a second, before she looked away.

"Then let us go," Adrianne said, motioning to Laelia and Ayelen, who joined the inquisitor and the others in the center of the room. Adrianne nodded to Alexandra, "Goodbye," she said, "We'll return soon," and then to Mrs. Vivian, "What I said applies to you as well as your husband," she warned, "Heed the warning, please,"

The noblewoman nodded, "Yes," she said, before saying, "The Goddess Protects,"

"That She Does," Adrianne said, before Airi teleported the five out of the room, and into the main room of the shuttlecraft.

Adrianne turned towards the cockpit, "Ayelen, fly us there, I need to explain things to Erwine," she ordered. The younger magical girl ran off towards the cockpit, while Laelia followed her. Adrianne sat down on one side of the compartment, while Erwine sat across from her. Airi took a seat further down from either of the other two girls.

Adrianne leaned back, and smiled. The ship powered up, and then lifted into the air. The inquisitor, still grinning, said, "Welcome to Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition,"

Erwine smiled back at the girl. _I may just like this job after all, _she thought.

"Your task shall be to infiltrate the highest ranks of the traitors on this world," Adrianne explained, moving into the explanation after a couple minutes of pointless conversation, "Your total incompetence last night ended up assisting us," she explained.

Erwine winced, knowing the incompetence that Adrianne spoke of, and how much she failed in her duty, despite the fact that she was new to the entire concept. "I'm sorry," she said, almost automatically.

"I just said it helped us," Adrianne said, chuckling, "There's no need for apologies, especially because I should not have counted on you being competent in the first place. It's my fault, but as I said, it helped."

"Because," the inquisitor paused, before pulling out a folded piece of paper from her pocket. She tossed it to Erwine, and then kept talking, "It scared the enemy. We were supposed to be silent, under all detection. We should have gotten the information we needed, and then planned a strike while the enemy was still reeling. But the time wasted by the incident last night, and the aftermath of the event, meant that they had time to recover."

Erwine unfolded the paper while Adrianne still spoke, and read what it said. It was a transcript of a communication sent to the Vivian house a few hours before.

_Dear Mr. Vivian, _

_ We have, of course, coordinated our efforts in the past, and it is unfortunate that I must once again ask your assistance in an incredibly important matter. However, this matter falls outside your normal sphere of influence and operation, so I can understand if you refuse. It you accept, and your mission is carried out properly, then I can promise you rewards far beyond the petty material wealth you currently have, possibly an entire world for yourself. All I require you to do is to come into contact with the inquisitor currently on this planet. Not the one who just came in, and acts officially, but instead the one who works in the shadows. She has been here for some time, and has begun to strike at my operation. Our entire plan is in jeopardy, and you may even be linked to it. You know what the Inquisition can and will do, so I know that you will cooperate. Contact the inquisitor by sending out some kind of encoded signal that she can understand, possibly with the help of your daughter. Inform her that our organization is willing to work to get to the root of the problem. I cannot do the same, as I am under suspicion by her. If you can get her to come to meet us, and if you send your daughter to us, then we shall have sufficient magical girls to defeat her forces. This victory shall rally the support we need from the other merchants houses, and we shall have enough to rebel against Imperial rule. I have contacts in high places, and the fall of Siothea into our hands shall mark the beginning of a new time for the Hadiens Sector, a time of enlightenment and prosperity now that we are free from the tyranny of the Imperials. You know the risks are high, but the rewards are even higher. Move quickly, lest we be found out before it is too late._

_ Sincerely, Leonel Osbeorne_

Erwine was surprised. "Mr. Vivian was working with them?" she asked, "That's why you suspect him of planning to betray you?"

Adrianne nodded, "His daughter will keep him in line, and she can mobilize a few of the local magical girls to keep the entire household in check until the operation is over. She may not be the most loyal, but she respects the Goddess. Mr. Osbeorne's plan would have failed even if we did not step in, as Alexandra would have refused. Although there is a chance that she would have been made to do so, as Mr. Vivian has his ways of getting people to do his work for him."

"He is not a loyal man?" Erwine asked.

"He is a merchant noble," Adrianne replied, "It is almost his responsibility to be somewhat disloyal. Not exactly a rogue trader, but he is a powerful man. He has done many dirty things in his life, but he is important to this planet and this subsector's economy, so we let him live. This may change things, but we now have some blackmail material."

"You mean this letter?" Erwine asked, holding the paper up.

Adrianne nodded, and then brought out the letter she had received from Mr. Vivian, "This as well. It shows that he is willing to assist known traitors. That communication you have proves that he knew they were traitors before he wrote this. I don't even need to do anything but drop these two documents off at the local Adeptus Arbites office, and the man shall be deeper in trouble than ever before."

"But that is not what I plan to do," Adrianne said, holding a finger up, as she used her other hand to put the envelope back in her pocket, "A powerful man like him is more useful as a puppet than as a corpse," she explained.

"How did my failure set all this up?" Erwine asked, going back to what Adrianne was talking about earlier.

"Your failure alerted the enemy of our presence here," Adrianne explained, "The original plan was to systemically hunt down the entire network, gather incriminating evidence, and shut them down. But that would take too long, as we'd have to be certain of what we're doing, or else we take down the wrong group of people. As it is now, we've been pointed straight towards the targets, with the means to get in. We should have been moving quickly last night, but you're actions slowed us down, so they reacted faster than before. Which means that they had time to send this letter. That means that instead of us having to launch a risky frontal assault, we can insert you and me into their midst. In addition, we have the material to blackmail Mr. Vivian into doing whatever we want him to do."

Erwine was surprised. She looked down at her lap, both awed in a way, and also sad. "What's wrong?" Adrianne wondered.

"I'm not entirely sure," Erwine admitted, "But I guess…I guess this isn't how I thought things would be…"

"We've gone over this already," Adrianne pointed out, "But I can see why this makes you feel that way. You wanted a clear enemy, and a clear ally. But now, we make the enemy work for us, and you are unsure of my true motivations."

The girl smiled, "You are growing up so fast, faster than anyone I have ever seen."

Erwine looked up, "Is that good?" she asked.

"I don't know," Adrianne said, "I really, honestly, don't know,"

Erwine frowned at this, before Adrianne started talking once more. "Back onto the topic we were discussing before," she said, "The plan to actually get into the enemy stronghold,"

"As I said, you will be getting in using the letter I have. You are dressed as Alexandra Vivian. You will find a small pocket in the inside of your dress to hold the envelope in. The dress was custom-made for Alexandra, in order to carry messages between the local girls without using telepathy or voxes. It's actually very well hidden, blends in seamlessly to those not looking specifically for it, and even then it's tough to do."

"Speaking of messages," Erwine interrupted, "How did you intercept the message from the Osbeorne house?"

"It was actually intercepted by the ship I have in orbit," Adrianne explained, "I have it scanning all messages coming out of House Osbeorne. The traitors were clever, disguising their message amongst dozens of other mundane ones, but the cogitators on the ship are very high quality, being a magical girl inquisitor has its benefits when dealing with the Adeptus Mechanicus."

When Erwine looked confused at the mention of that party, and why Adrianne had benefits, the inquisitor explained. "The Adeptus Mechanicus's best are usually techmages," Adrianne explained, using the word for a magical girl who was of the Adeptus Mechanicus, "And they are friendlier to those of their own species,"

Erwine nodded, and Adrianne continued her explanation. The younger girl did not entirely understand what she was being told, but it was enough so that she could keep going and stifle her curiosity for the moment. "You will get in with the officially signed and stamped letter," Adrianne repeated, then continued, "You will be followed by me."

"How will you get in?"

"My magic can make anyone around me not notice my entire existence," Adrianne said, "They just forget I am there, or at least do not pay as much attention to me. I will walk in as your servant, so that will give me a chance to slip away and find the true leaders, and discover their plans. You need to just distract the guards, and the people in charge, so that I can get in easily. Their guard will certainly be down if you're there. This would not be possible without you, as we need Airi for quick extractions in case of emergency, and Airi and Laelia don't have the acting to pull this off. Your magic should carry you through this."

"You will keep the letter with you, in that pocket, as we need it later for any blackmail we may need to pull off. You will most likely engage in conversation with the leaders of the traitors, or at least one of them. But I suspect that we have a rogue magical girl behind all this, and I intend to find her. If I find her, and spy on her, then I should be able to learn how this entire operation fits into a larger plan by Osbeorne, as this is only one of their many centers of operation. Leonel is only one of the men who are supposedly actually part of the family, but in reality, he has been given the name to confuse those who wish to hunt down the real heads of the family."

"You will inform whoever you talk to that I will arrive in approximately three hours, and that I wish to see everyone on the landing pad as I come in. That will give them sufficient time to start setting up their ambush. You will receive a message ten seconds before Laelia, Ayelen, and Airi move, and you will tell them what the enemy setup is, or at least what you know of their locations at the moment. Hopefully, I will be finished in around two hours, but if I am not, then we have one more hour before they will be set up for my supposed arrival, and you will not be able to get out without things getting complicated and annoying."

"This plan does not require much from anyone but you, Erwine," Adrianne stared the girl in the eyes, her own eyes conveying only concern and pity for the girl who was once again shouldered with more responsibility than any girl her age should bear. "Are you sure you are willing to do this? Are you sure you can do this?" she asked, sounding as serious as ever.

Erwine thought for a minute straight, without talking. She seriously considered what she was being asked to do. She wanted to show that she could serve the Goddess, she wanted to show Adrianne that she was worth something. She wanted to prove to that inquisitor that she had made all the right choices with Erwine's growth.

Erwine wanted for nothing more than to see this girl, this sixty-year old woman in the body of a young girl, smile because of something that she did. So Erwine did not even consider the negatives for a second, before she said, "Yes,"

"I am certain that I can do this," she said, staring down Adrianne's glare which challenged her to truly think.

"Can you really?" the girl asked, making sure.

"I am certain," Erwine replied, "More certain than I have ever been in my entire life."

Adrianne cracked a sly smile. "You're a good one," she said, "Your first step into a larger world has already been taken, now it's time to show the larger world that you're just as good as anyone else,"

Erwine smiled with pride, feeling more than she had ever felt before.

Erwine felt the shuttle gently touch down on the landing pad of the hive tower, and she realized it felt quite like the pad the ship had touched down on in the last city. She guessed that all the towers were designed in a similar manner, but wiped the thought from her mind as the door opened.

She had been instructed to wipe all thoughts related to her duty from her mind, in case she was being read. It was fine if she thought about Adrianne, as it was presumable that she had met the girl before during the process of contacting her, but equating what was supposed to be her maid with Adrianne e was not acceptable at all.

Adrianne now wore a black butler's suit, refusing to wear anything else. She looked quite handsome, in Erwine's honest opinion. She had concealed her soul gem in the knot of her ponytail, putting it there in its ring form, so that it could be held amongst the locks of hair.

She followed Erwine out of the shuttle, and Erwine paused to turn around and watch the ship take off as soon as she left. The excuse was that the inquisitor might notice the shuttle landing and staying there if she was watching the tower. It prevented the craft from being searched, so that the other girls would not be found out.

All Erwine had to do now was convince everyone she met that she was truly Alexandra Vivian. Between her magic ability and the letter she had, that could not be too difficult, or at least, that was what she thought.

The shuttle lifted off and shot off into the midday sky. The sky was mostly clear of clouds, and Erwin tracked the silver dart for a couple seconds before she turned around to look at the guards ahead of her. Adrianne had to prompt her to do so, lest she look a bit too suspicious, as a dedicated noble girl like Alexandra would never be awed by the mere action of a shuttlecraft taking off.

There were two men waiting outside. Each one carried a lasrifle, and wore full body armor, revealing not one centimeter of skin. Their helmets, looking like the heads of bugs with the specialized gas masks and visors they wore, were meant to intimidate their foe. And this certainly worked on Erwine, although it was mainly because of the fact that she was under an immense amount of pressure at the moment.

She was still in Alexandra's clothes, and she had her soul gem uncovered on her finger where it normally was. It was expected that she would have one, so Erwine left it and the tattoo on her nail uncovered for easy confirmation that she was indeed a magical girl.

It was true that the men would never know if she actually had a real soul gem on, or if it was a clever fake, lest they asked her to transform it. But transforming it would not blow her cover at all, and hopefully the letter she had would get her past everyone.

She started to panic as she moved closer. She knew that if she did not act fast, the entire thing would be blown before it even started. So she told herself to calm down. She turned her own magic inwards, telling herself to be calm. At the very least, it would be something of a placebo effect.

She did calm down, however. Erwine's breathing slowed, her mind focused, and she was able to hold herself up straight. She did not know that she could do that. _I guess if it works on anyone else, then it would have to work on me as well. _

One of the men approached Erwine, and held out his hand. "Papers please," he said, holding his palm out so that Erwine could place the letter in his hand. She did as he said.

The man glanced at the envelope, and closely examined the seal that bound the paper. After a minute of him looking at it, he gave it back to Erwine. She wondered why he did not take the seal off and look inside, but she imagined that was for more qualified, higher-ranking personnel.

"Who's this?" the guard asked, pointing to Adrianne.

"My servant,' Erwine said, "She goes where I go."

Erwine could almost feel the man frown through his helmet. "I'm sorry, but we can't let anyone else through, so no matter who she is to you, she can't stay here."

Erwine made a point of sighing, doing her best to act out the stereotype of an arrogant noble teenager. She had many stereotypes of nobles in her arsenal, as acting out the supposed activities of such people had been a favorite amongst her and her friends.

She shook her head, "Can't you give the girl a break? She's quite close, and she's just worried about me. My parents will be simply outrageous if they hear that the shuttle had to be turned around to pick up this girl. They want her hear, so she can watch out for me, is that so bad?" Erwine put on her best noble accent, and emphasized the words so that she sounded like the person she was trying to be.

She stepped out of her persona of Erwine Braun, the poor girl who was trying to understand a complicated world, and into the persona of Alexandra Vivian, an arrogant rich girl who thought herself better than the rest of the world, and who was not afraid to pull the rich and powerful parents card to get what she wanted.

She did that, and she also made sure to add a bit of her magic into the question, her power of command influencing the guard to do what she wanted him to do. Erwine knew that if her magic was not there to convince them, she would be found out instantly. But that was why she was here. To just be a distraction while others did the real work. She worried for a second, as he seemed to be thinking carefully.

The guard she was speaking to sighed, "I guess I'll send you in, and see what the others think of you," he said, before waving the two on past him. He spoke something into his vox before his partner tapped several buttons on control panel for the door.

The doors then slid open, and Erwine and Adrianne entered the hive tower itself. They were immediately confronted by an imposing display of force. The Osbeornes did own all the upper levels of the tower, so they seemed to have occupied this entire floor.

Two metal barricades had been laid down in front of the doors. They covered the entire hallway, save for a half a meter gap in between the two walls. Behind each wall was seven men. Three held lasrifles, and another three held shotguns. The seventh was behind a heavy gun of some kind pointed at the door.

They focused on Erwine and Adrianne as they entered, and the door was immediately closed behind the two as a guard in front of them hit several buttons on a control panel. "Come forwards," a man called, standing behind the barricades. He was not one of the fourteen men with their weapons raised, as there were five other men in the room who were not pointing guns at the new arrivals.

Erwine walked forwards slowly, and moved in between the barricades. She was confronted by the man who called for her, and another guard. "Letter?" he asked, holding his palm out. Erwine handed him the letter.

He carefully removed the seal after examining carefully, and then removed the letter inside. He read over the entire document, and then nodded. "You are Alexandra Vivian?" he asked.

Erwine nodded, and held out her right hand. The man checked her nail for the tattoo, and then asked for her to transform the ring. Erwine shifted it to its egg form, before the man nodded.

She put it back on as a ring, and he wave her forwards. Two guards fell into place to either side of her, and she walked forwards a few steps before she turned around as Adrianne walked forwards.

Another man came up towards Adrianne as she walked forwards, and the three of them stared at her closely. "Search her," the leader of the group, the one who had spoken to Erwine, said. The other two man made to grab her, but then they stopped.

The leader turned to Erwine, and gave her a strange look. "What are you doing standing there?" he said, "You're clear."

Erwine nodded, and explained, "I was just remembering something, but it was nothing important, just an…old memory,"

The man smiled, and waved her off. _I guess she used her magic, _Erwine thought, the quickly quenched the idea, in order to ensure that her thoughts revealed no secrets.

Adrianne was ignored by everyone there, and walked on past the checkpoint as if she was invisible. She walked slowly behind Erwine, as the guards to either side led her through a maze of halls. Erwine remembered that she had been warned that Adrianne's magic taxed her magic supply greatly, so she had to stop using it after a while so she had time to recharge for her true mission.

Erwine turned to the guard to her right, stopping as she did so, "Hey," she said with a smile, "Could you two give me some privacy and some directions? I think I can make it on my own." Once again, Erwine added her power of command to her words, and this time, it truly paid off.

The guard hesitated, looking at his companion. They stared at each other for a moment, before the man Erwine spoke to said, "I'm sorry, miss, but we're expected to escort you all the way there. They'll know if we come back too soon."

"You're memorized this route, right?" Erwine asked, her body temperature rising as she struggled to contain her fear. Adrianne had told her to use her magic to help calm herself. Apparently, all she had to do was concentrate, and imagine that she was being made calmer. Erwine did not understand magic, but Adrianne did not seem to entirely understand the process either. But no matter the reason, Erwine was not panicking, which she would have been doing without the assistance she had.

The guard nodded. "Then you can tell me how to get there, and you can wait around here until you know the right time to go back," Erwine suggested, smiling sweetly.

The guard shrugged, before glimpsing at his partner once more. That man gave a slight nod. "Alright," the first guard said, "Continue down this hallway before turning left, and then make one more right and you'll be there,"

Erwine nodded and smiled, "Thank you," she said, "Thank you very much." She started to walk down the hallway, moving faster than before, as Adrianne needed to get out of their sight.

As soon as she turned the corner, and checked that no one else was in the next hallway, Adrianne stopped using her magic. Erwine could see her the entire time, so it was strange watching the girl act so strangely, going completely unnoticed by all.

"That was close," Adrianne said, "I still have enough to finish the mission, but let us hope that we are not obstructed on our way." She waited for Erwine to advance ahead of her, before she fell into step behind the girl.

Erwine started to walk at a more reserved pace, not wanting to make it look like she was rushing anywhere, but instead wanting to keep acting like the girl she was meant to be. She found that she was actually liking the feel of the dress now, even though it had been somewhat clunky and restricting at first.

Erwine started to feel a little worried, wondering when she would reach her destination. She wanted to get there as soon as possible, as her fear was already starting to rise again. Her breathing rate increased a little, and Adrianne clamped a hand on her shoulder.

She turned her head, glancing around, before she spoke. "Erwine, calm yourself," she ordered, speaking in the kind voice she used to talk to Erwine when she was distressed.

"I'm sorry," Erwine said, "I'm just scared,"

"Of what?" Adrianne asked, "You have four experienced magical girls at your back, and you can't die unless your ring is broken,"

"I'm scared of failing the mission, so you cannot get what you need," Erwine admitted, breathing faster now. She tried to calm herself, but the pressure upon her shoulder was far too much.

Adrianne said nothing. Erwine glanced behind herself, and saw that Adrianne was smiling. "Why are you smiling?" she asked.

"Because you're a brave girl," Adrianne said, "Most people, even the girls we work with, would be scared of death were they in your shoes at this age. But instead, you're scared of failing the mission." She tightened her grip for a second before she released it. "You'll be fine, just act the way you've been acting,"

Erwine nodded, and kept walking. Adrianne was still behind her, and after another half a minute, they turned down the final corridor. There were several guards waiting for them in the middle, next to a large pair of doors, and one man who looked out of place amongst the others.

He was clearly a noble, and wore a fine suit. He watched the two girls approach, and frowned as he saw Adrianne. There were four guards, each one with a lasgun, and they walked forwards to obstruct Erwine and her companion.

The nobleman came up in front of them, and asked, "Who is this?" gesturing to Adrianne.

Erwine sighed, "She's a servant. My parents wished for her to come along."

"We heard nothing about her," the noble said, "We must search her,"

Erwine shook her head, "That won't be necessary," she said, adding her magic to the words. "She was sent by my parents," Erwine held up the letter, taking it out of her dress pocket, "I also have this, saying that she'll be here,"

"Why were we not informed of her presence before," the nobleman asked, "In fact, where are the guards who were supposed to be with you?"

"I asked them to leave, I wanted some privacy," Erwine said, and then decided to play a card she had devised herself, "And, they kept giving me strange looks, I didn't exactly like the idea of walking through the halls with them,"

"They left because you asked?" the noble asked,

Erwine was getting annoyed. Adrianne tensed up behind her. "Sir," she said, "If it pleases you, and Milady is content with it, I shall stay out here, while she goes in to speak with the others. I was simply sent to provide a recollection of the events which transpired when we return, as Milady's parents are quite interested in your operations. That recollection can also be provided by Milady, so I do not need to accompany her all the time."

Erwine looked at Adrianne, knowing the girl was trying to get out of going inside with Erwine for a reason. Erwine turned her head back around and nodded. "That is acceptable, and I would prefer that this meeting moves forwards quickly, as we are only wasting time by talking about a quite insignificant girl," she said, gesturing over her back towards Adrianne when she spoke of an insignificant girl.

The nobleman groaned, "This will cause trouble at some point, but it is acceptable for the time being. Come on in, Miss Vivian," he said, directing two of the guards to open the door for her. And to Adrianne, he said, "Please wait here until Ms. Vivian returns, thank you,"

Adrianne nodded, "Of course," before moving to lean back against the wall. Erwine gave one last glimpse at the girl before she was led into the room.

Adrianne leaned back against the wall, keeping watch on the guards out of the corner of her eye. Four of them were out in the hall. They were not giving her any strange looks, but she knew that they were thinking she was a threat.

Adrianne smiled brightly at one of them, doing her best to look like a quite insignificant girl.

Erwine was led into a small room, in which there were four chairs. Each one was a very nice, expensive looking chair. Erwine was led to one that was separate from the others. She sat down in it, and from her position, could face the other three chairs easily.

Two chairs were occupied, and the nobleman who led Erwine in sat in the third. The four people were now alone in the room, and Erwine suddenly felt more afraid than before. She realized that she was now facing the people leading the traitors on this world, people that she may have to kill at some point, or see dead.

She did her best to calm herself, as she leaned back in the chair and tried to relax. It should have been easy, given the incredibly comfortable nature of the chair, but instead, she ended up having to force herself to stop moving entirely, lest she start shaking in fear.

The man who had led her in was a man who had a peaceful, kind aura about him. He seemed nice, and still looked that way. His smile was not exactly calming, but it was better than what Erwine received from the other men in the room.

The man to the first's right had a face that was cold and hard. His every glance at Erwine seemed to be scrutinizing her, or something she was doing. She quickly turned her gaze from him, towards the man to the left of the one who led her in. He looked bored, or at least skeptical of what Erwine had to say.

The first man said, "Well, Ms. Vivian, welcome, I apologize for leading you all the way in her. It's not that fair, but you understand, of course. My name is Jacob Iseal,"

The man to Jacob's right said, in a voice that was monotone, "My name is Strane Kaskellie." His voice was monotone, but the monotone was not a one that suggested he was a friendly man.

The final man said, in a tired voice, "And I am Leonel Osbeorne, get on with what you have to say, please, I have much I need to do,"

Erwine nodded, "Yes," she said, "Thank you for allowing me to come here. My parents were able to come into contact with the inquisitor who has been attacking your operation, and she is to arrive at this tower within three hours."

"Three hours," Iseal repeated, before turning to Kaskellie and saying, "Will we be ready by then?"

Kaskellie nodded, "We should be ready, but there may be some complications in terms of how we cover this up," he said.

Iseal looked at Erwine once more, "Did your father tell you anything about the plan for the cover-up operation?" he asked, "Killing an inquisitor requires an excuse as to how they died,"

"He told me nothing about such an operation," Erwine said, then continued, "However, he did inform me that his resources are at your disposal in the future, as long as he is properly rewarded,"

Osbeorne laughed. It was sudden and unannounced, but Iseal and Kaskellie were not disturbed as Erwine was. She was a bit frightened by the man, but his companions gave him sharp glares that told him to cease this behavior.

Erwine wondered what he was laughing at, and wondered if she should ask. She decided to not, and try to drag this conversation out as long as possible. She did not want to have to deal with these men when she had nothing more to talk about.

Adrianne had given her many things she could talk about as a sort of filler. The reward for Mr. Vivian was one of those things. She figured that they could discuss that for a long time, and then she could bring up another subject.

"Your father will be rewarded for his service to us," Iseal promised, "Do not worry,"

"I am not exactly worried," Erwine said, "I am more concerned about your immediate plans to deal with the inquisitor." Her heart rate was going up, but she was struggling to contain her fear and distress. She could not mess up now.

"Our plan involves getting her to land her ship," Kaskellie explained, "The landing pad will be rigged to detonate. The explosion will destroy the ship and those walking off of it. The fall will take care of the rest, and if any survive to attack the tower, our defenses will be more than enough, especially with you and the other magical girls there."

"There are other girls?" Erwine asked, wondering if she should have asked that question.

"Yes," Iseal said, "Three girls from the local security teams, and one girl who is…and offworlder. I'll leave it at that."

Erwine nodded, "They can all be trusted?" she asked.

"We can trust most of them," Kaskellie said, "But we are unsure about the offworld girl, to be honest."

"Why?" Erwine asked.

"I apologize," Isael said, "But we cannot answer all the questions you have, we must move onto the main topic, a topic I am sure you wish to discuss with us in depth, and one I am sure you are ready to speak on."

"Your father's reward," Kaskellie explained, before Erwine could ask anything, "You mentioned it, and it is what we need to talk about with you,"

"Why me?" Erwine asked, temporarily forgetting to act along with what was said to her. She was truly getting into the role she had been assigned to play.

"Because we are going to talk about things that your father cannot know about, not after the Inquisition contacted him." Isael said, "You can remain safe here, as excuses can be made for your absence, but if the Inquisition confronts him, then there is little he can do to avoid it, and his mind can easily be read by a telepath."

"The reward relates to the future plans for the sector," Kaskellie said, "So that's why you're going to act as a kind of middleman, conveying the information to him once we are ready to move,"

"I will not be allowed to leave until then?" Erwine asked.

"Is that a problem?" Isael asked, "We can have anything you want brought from your home, but otherwise, you will have to remain hidden here once the storm begins, and you will be free when the storm ends,"

"And what is this storm you speak of?" Erwine asked, barely containing her excitement. She was being given the chance to learn of all the plans related to the sector. She would achieve a victory far greater than Adrianne or anyone else could have imagined.

Isael opened his mouth to explain, but suddenly a gun was pointed at his head. Osbeorne, who had been leaning to one side of his chair, his legs crossed, his arms laying on his lap limply, had not seemed to be listening.

He had drawn a gun from his coat and was now pointing at the head of Isael. "Is that a wise choice?" he asked the man.

Isael had frozen, he slowly turned to look at Osbeorne, before saying, "I thought that it was alright, she is one of us,"

Osbeorne shook his head, before his finger moved to rest on the trigger. He had been maintaining proper trigger discipline before, but now his finger was ready to pull the trigger.

"You may be right," Osbeorne placed the gun back inside his coat pocket, after a tense second of silence. "But you may be wrong,"

* * *

A common misconception is that all rogue magical girls are servants of chaos. However, this is distinctly untrue, as unfortunate as that is. Many girls go rogue for their own personal gain. They may still hate Chaos, but the fact that their actions ultimately go against the Imperium is the issue. Renegade groups of magical girls who merely operate outside of Imperial authority have been present for thousands of years, but the ones that cause problems are the ones that stay inside the system, and disrupt it for their own wants.

The problem is that magical girls possess far more power than any single human on their own, so it is easy for them to take control of a large group of humans, especially if multiple girls are involved. As such, many groups have established themselves throughout the Imperium, working in the shadows. They are the main enemy of the Inquisition, alongside the actual heretics that threaten the Imperium.

These rogue girls leave for many reasons. Some lose faith in The Goddess, others fall into despair, while even some others merely become selfish. Perhaps they were always selfish. Ultimately, the Inquisition cannot control those who contract and those who do not. All we can do is ensure that those who do contract are guided down the right path.

-Introduction to Inquisitor Eluis Jeanova's speech at the M41.30 Galactic Summit.


	10. Trial and Bloodshed

The role of the PDG units varies widely depending on a large number of factors. The influence of other parties, the number of grief seeds required, and the population of the planet all contribute to either expanding or limiting the role of the PDG unit.

The Arbites, Administratum, and Ecclesiarchy are the main groups interested in maintaining or expanding their own influence while limiting that of magical girls. This is a very broad statement, and there are as many exceptions as there are standard cases, but the worst must be assumed when it comes to these parties. If a significant presence is held by them on a world, then there will not be much chance of the PDG doing much more than hunting wraiths and collecting cubes. Without them, there is a lot more for the PDG to do, and they may be involved in crime-fighting or administrative operations.

However, if the planet requires a high output of cubes, then they will do less, in order to conserve as much magic as possible. The knowledge of the planet's population is also taken into account. If the existence of the Inquisition and PDG units is unknown, the girls will stay in the shadows, and not operate outside of their main duties.

I personally suggest that all PDG commanders keep this in mind. You are not the rulers of the world you protect. You are there to protect it from wraiths. Should you have the chance to do more, then carefully make the assessment, and submit the request to Sect council for approval. I'm not going to be kind to any more incidents regarding the PDG's sphere of influence.

-Message from the Grand Inquisitor to every sect council in the Imperium.

* * *

Adrianne was doing her best to look like she was unimportant. It was certainly working, as the guards near her had stopped paying much attention to her. They now talked amongst themselves, throwing glances at Adrianne every now and then, but overall, they did not seem to mind her presence.

She had not said much to them, but she knew that she would never say much to them. She had to move soon, and these men would die after forgetting she ever existed.

Adrianne started to walk down the hall. Not the way Erwine and she had come, but instead down the hall in the other direction, further into the building. She walked right past the guards, and they forgot she existed.

They did not notice as she strolled on down the hall. Adrianne would only exist to the eyes of cameras, and anyone watching the film afterwards would be unable to see her.

She could have walked slowly and not been noticed by anyone, but she ran instead. She knew that she had a mission to accomplish, and wanted to get higher in the tower before stopping her use of magic.

Adrianne carefully scanned the large corridors she went down, looking for a lone person. As she was about to round a corner, she saw a man come around that corner. He was a guard, possible making rounds. It did not matter.

Adrianne paused where she was. As the man walked past her, she kicked out backwards. Her foot hit the back of his knee and he fell forwards. "What?" he muttered as he started to get up from his knees. His word was filled with fear.

He knew that he was involved in things he should not be involved in. He knew that the Inquisition would come eventually. He did not know that he would be one of the first to fall.

Adrianne spun around, her right leg coming up to kick the man in his head as he came up. This knocked him down onto the ground. Adrianne stopped her spin, and leapt on his back. She pressed a knife she summoned against the back of his neck.

"Where is the elevator?" Adrianne asked, "Five seconds, quietly,"

"In the room to the right!" the man shouted, "It's hidden, in the room to the right!"

His shouts could have blown Adrianne's cover. She pressed the knife forwards, gently, it broke skin. She kept going for a second, and his head was hanging limply from half of a neck. She tossed the dagger away, particles trailing from the dissipating object as it flew, and then lifted up the body. Adrianne walked over to the door to the right, and twisted the knob. It was locked.

_They clearly weren't preparing for a simple raid by the Arbites. That room they took Erwine into, obviously a throwaway, expecting some kind of betrayal. Even this floor is set up with nothing to find on it. Whoever set all this up knew that the Inquisition would be coming at some point. But that doesn't explain why this is all so easy. Knowing her…she made it this easy, she does love to toy with me. _

She found the key on the dead body she held. She would not be noticed, nor would the man she carried. He was part of the field she generated, a field that shielded anyone from being noticed. Adrianne was not invisible. She was seen, heard, felt, and smelled by everyone's senses, it was just that she prevented minds from interpreting those signals correctly.

So she and the body she carried would not be seen. The key opened the door, and Adrianne found that the door did lead to the elevator. The box itself was a meter in front of the door, as there was a control panel in the space before it which could be used to call the elevator if it was not there. She had to admit that it was clever. By putting the elevator here, they forced any infiltrators to search around and eventually be caught.

However, Adrianne was good at covering her tracks. She did not even leave any tracks due to her magic, and those she killed could be hidden somewhere. And even if dead bodies were found, Adrianne could only be found by a telepath.

The man Adrianne had killed was a strong one. He should not have broken so quickly. It would have been strange, and nonsensical in any other context. But in this case, he had been attacked by something he could not see, hear, or feel. The knife had not even been felt. He had been knocked down by a ghost, in his mind. The only thing he had sensed was Adrianne's voice, as she had allowed him to hear that much.

Adrianne walked into the elevator itself, and ordered the doors to close. She looked up after putting the body down. She summoned a dagger, and then used it to cut an opening in the ceiling large enough for a human body.

She slipped the guard's body out of that, forcing it slowly through the hole in the ceiling. It slid off of the side of the cube-shaped elevator, hitting the wall before tumbling down a few meters. It sounded as if the elevator shaft was quite short, then Adrianne realized that this hidden elevator only started on this floor, or possibly the floor below.

It did not matter for her. She only needed to go upwards, or at least she hoped that was all she had to do. She then hit the button to move the elevator upwards a single floor. She had made sure to close the door when she got into the elevator, and her hiding of the body would unsure that she would be unnoticed until the guard was reported missing.

The elevator reached its destination, and Adrianne stepped out of the way of the door as it opened. She opened the door to the next floor, and immediately stepped out as fast as she could. There was no one in the initial room, but she heard voices outside. She hesitated, and waited for someone to come investigating.

There were three men in front of the door, and they noticed the arrival of the elevator, dimly hearing the sound through the wood. One of them moved to open the door, and he looked inside, wondering why no one had walked out of it yet.

Adrianne did not want anyone dead. She could escape if she had to kill, but it would be easier if no one died. They would all die anyways when the Adeptus Arbites mopped this place up after Adrianne was done with it.

The man stepped into the room and looked around briefly, before shaking his head and closing the door. Adrianne stepped past him as he walked in, slightly bumping into him as she moved past. He did not feel her. Adrianne slipped past the three men without alerting them, and quickly moved down the corridor.

The hallways on this floor were narrower than the ones before, and they featured at least one guard in each corridor. Adrianne moved quickly, but also made sure that she did not disrupt anything or anyone.

She heard the banter of the guards, and other men as they walked through the halls. The floor was also filled with various officials walking about, talking to one another or into voxes. Adrianne recognized them as major officials in several different trading groups which operated on this planet. In fact, they were all here.

The inquisitor shook her head, thinking of the purges which would occur when she was finished with this. She could destroy the entire economy of this planet and the subsector by wiping out the houses represented here, but that was not an option.

She would have to make sure they stayed in line in the future, but that was a problem for another time. Adrianne continued to move through the halls, dodging the individuals traversing the halls.

Adrianne remembered to do something she had forgotten to do before. She removed the ring from the knot of her ponytail, and then transformed into her magical girl outfit. It did not make much of a difference, but she liked it more than what she had been wearing. It also allowed her to use her weapons more freely, as magical girls were inexplicably more powerful when wearing their uniform.

Adrianne was searching for any sign of an important room, trying to find individuals moving towards a single point. She could not determine any important location. She immediately imagined that the various rooms were interconnected by passages between them that could only be accessed from within the rooms. This would allow men and material to move without alerting any observer to an important point.

She would have to find someone to ask about this problem. Adrianne followed two official-looking men, currently engaged in a conversation about tariffs, into a room. She slipped in right as the door was closed, and was happy to find that the room was a small office, where one man sat behind a desk, and the other sat in front of it.

Adrianne moved forwards, and knocked the man in front of the desk out with a single blow to the back of the neck. The other man jumped up, his mouth opening to exclaim something. Adrianne leapt forwards and punched him in the gut.

He fell backwards from the magic-enhanced blow, and was then slammed against a wall by something that he could not see or feel. His mouth was being covered, again by something he could not feel.

A girl appeared in front of him. She was a magical girl. The seal on her hand, the seal on her soul gem, told him that she was an Inquisitor. He started to shake in fright. "Where is the central meeting location for your leaders?" Adrianne asked, "Tell me in the next ten seconds or you die. Do not shout, or you die."

The hand was taken away, and the man quickly stuttered out, "It's on the next floor up! This floor is only a place for the upper officials of the trading house, but most of them meet on the next floor!"

Adrianne nodded, smiled, and the man died as his neck was twisted in a way necks were not supposed to be twisted in.

Adrianne stood up, and shook her head. She groaned, bringing a hand to her face. _I should have known it would be on the next floor, _she thought, _this was a completely waste of time and magic. _

The inquisitor considered her options. _I go all the way back to the elevator, or I find another way up. _The girl looked at the ceiling. _This is a hive tower, too thick of a floor. Would take too long, and I don't know what I would find. _

Then, she looked to her right. The building was a hive tower. Which meant that there were windows in some areas. This room had a large window on one side, on the wall that a dead body now lay against.

* * *

Erwine was not in the most ideal situation at the moment. A gun had been pointed at Isael's head, but Osbeorne was now looking to change the subject. "Let's speak about something else, as we cannot trust this girl with too many of our secrets," he said, glancing at his companions, "Perhaps…perhaps we can talk about a reward for her?"

"That is a good idea," Kaskellie said, and Isael supported him. However, both men seemed to act that way only because they were afraid of Osbeorne and what he could do to them. Erwine got the impression that Osbeorne was actually in charge here.

"First of all," Osbeorne said with a smile, "I would like to offer you a job,"

"A job?" Erwine repeated, surprised. She did not expect to be involved in such negotiations. She had to stay safe and undercover until Adrianne could finish, but she had no idea when that would be.

"Of course," Osbeorne said, excited now. His sudden change of moods disturbed Erwine a little, but she rolled with it and continued to speak.

"What kind of job?" she asked.

"A job for the Osbeorne Company," the man said, "There are many roles you could fill,"

Erwine was disturbed by this. She knew that it was illegal for any organization that was not of the Imperial Government, or the Mage Knights, to employ magical girls in any capacity.

She realized that this would only help Adrianne in her efforts to defeat this organization. Erwine had been told that the Osbeornes had managed to avoid all accusations of crime, even though they had committed many.

This man had just confessed. But to ensure that he was guilty, Erwine asked, with a surprised look, "Really? Magical girls work for you?" Besides, she needed to buy time, and acting like a normal magical girl just being introduced into the situation would work well. It wasn't like she had to play the part, all she had to do was keep her cool, to display that she knew that there was supposedly nothing to fear.

Osbeorne nodded, "Yes," he said, "And you can too, if you would like to. I might even recommend that course of action over any other options you may have."

"Why would that be?" Erwine asked, only asking because of the few seconds in which Osbeorne paused.

"Because all of those other options shall no longer be options anymore," Osbeorne said, "Or maybe they will be, but not for long,"

"Excuse me," Isael said, "But isn't that a bit too much about our plans?" He spoke in a haughty tone, filled with anger and excitement at getting a kind of revenge after his previous humiliation.

Osbeorne glared at Isael, angry, but then stopped. His gaze lightened up, and he looked back at Erwine. "Mr. Isael is correct," he said, "I will tell you more about the future when this operation is complete…and if you choose to work for us, of course."

A strange tune was in his words. Erwine knew why it was strange. It was the same tune she herself had been singing the entire time. The tune of telling a lie, of leading someone along to buy time. She suppressed the panic that surged up, telling herself that her own paranoia, paranoia sustained by her desire to not fail, brought about this wild interpretation of the man's words.

"So you give me no reasons to work for you?" Erwine questioned, her tone serious, and establishing clearly that there was going to be no deal lest she heard some good reasons why she should work for the Osbeorne's.

"That's not what I said," Osbeorne said, "I said that I'll tell you about the future if you agree. However, there are many rewards one can gain from working for me and my company."

"For example," Osbeorne said, "You can have wealth. Massive amounts of wealth. Far more than you would have working as a guard on this planet, or in any role that a magical girl can fill."

"I can promise you safety. This sector is going to change soon, and it will become safe for people like us. You can have riches and safety from the tyranny of the Goddess and her foolish Imperium. Power is another thing you are denied by the corpse god. You can have enough power to control millions, you may even have control of an entire world."

"Are you serious?" Erwine asked, "What are you planning to do? You mean rebellion, do you not?"

"Do you have a problem with rebellion?" Osbeorne asked, his voice accusing Erwine of being disloyal.

Erwine shook her head. "No, I am just afraid of such drastic action, especially now."

"Why now?" Osbeorne asked, "What are you afraid of, exactly?"

"I am fine with working in the shadows, under the eyes of the Imperium and its servants. But acting out in the open would bring down the wrath of the Goddess's armies. Can your company stand against the Mage Knights?"

"My company will simply rule the sector, we have friends that can protect our new lands," Osbeorne explained, "There is nothing to fear, here, Ms. Vivian."

"I believe there are things to fear," Erwine countered. She was only talking because she did not want the conversation to end. She was trying to learn as much as she possibly could before Adrianne was done. She had no way of telling Adrianne without violating her orders to stay telepathically silent, so she had no way to inform the inquisitor that she was learning important information.

"What is there to be scared of?" Osbeorne said, "I honestly have no room for girls who are scared of taking risks,"

"I am not afraid of risks, if the reward is great enough," Erwine said, "But the reward in this case is death at the hands of the Mage Knights,"

She understood now that she was doing something that was not advisable. She wondered if anyone else she knew would be doing this in this situation. The smart thing to do would be to simply agree with what was being said and state that she would consider her options.

She had already been worried, but the questions she had been asking had been normal. Digging any deeper at this point would only scare her more, make her even more agitated. She had to increase the power of her own magic, amplifying the effect it had on her mind. There was a bit of pressure in her head, like a growing feeling of discomfort, from this, but she could bear it.

Arguing may gain her more information, but it also put her at greater risk. Erwine could only hope that Adrianne would finish her job soon, as Erwine was starting to become more and more scared.

She could barely keep herself in her seat, wanting to get up and start yelling at these men. She could not comprehend the reason for their heresy, nor why they even believed that they and an entire sector could secede from the Imperium and escape retribution.

Erwine was not sure if she was angry due to the argument she was in, or if it was because she was angry at the stupidity the men she spoke to displayed in their plans.

Isael intervened at this point, "Ms. Vivian," he said, holding a hand up to Osbeorne, "I would like to apologize for my companion, he can be a bit too fanatical at times. We should move onto something more present, or at least not so far into the future."

"And what would that be?" Erwine asked. Her body was trembling. She was not even sure what she was feeling anymore. It could have been fear, anger, or maybe even excitement. All she could do was hold that emotion down and try to act calm. _If I didn't have my magic…then the mission would have failed already. _

"Well," Kaskellie said, "I was thinking of what you would receive as payment for this current mission, and-"

The door burst open. Several guards stormed into the room. Osbeorne was up, his mouth opening in a shout. He was cut off as the guard spoke quietly into his ear. Osbeorne's face twisted in rage. He nodded, saying something back, before gesturing for the guards to leave.

The little girl nearly leapt out of her chair when the door opened, and only the fact that the other men were all distracted by the guards prevented them from seeing her look of horror. It was only barely under control when the three looked back.

Erwine was scared. All she could think of was that Adrianne had been caught. Or she had been found out. _It will be clear that she was disguising herself as my servant! _Erwine started to panic, but she calmed down a little as Osbeorne sat without saying anything more.

She forced her hands from the edges of her seat down into her lap, concealing the tight clenching of her fists with the folds of the dress she wore. She was still not entirely used to the thing, and perhaps that random concern comforted her as it flickered briefly into her mind.

That, and her magic. The pressure in her head increased to a massive level. It was starting to seriously hurt now, every second was a moment of torment for Erwine. She suddenly pitied those she'd used her magic on in the past, now that she felt what it was like to be hit by such an overwhelming force of suggestion. It was like she was losing all control over her thoughts, forced to be calm. She actually had to reduce affect, lest she became a mindless dead weight in the chair.

Once he was seated and comfortable, he smiled, and said, "I apologize for that interruption, but I was just informed of something important to me."

"What is it?" Erwine said quickly. _That was too quick of a reply, _she told herself, _he knows for certain now. _

"Oh, nothing," he said, his hand making a gesture as if to wave the issue away, "Nothing you should worry about."

* * *

Adrianne was facing the window that led to the outside of the hive tower, as well as a kilometer long fall to the ground below. She held her arms out, a dagger appearing in between each of the fingers of her closed fists.

She hurled the daggers at the window, the glass cracking as the weapons impacted a dug a few centimeters into the fourth of a meter thick window. Adrianne moved forwards, and then yanked the daggers out, holding them as she did before.

She stabbed this time, making sure that each dagger hit the space that it had hit previously. This caused the shattering of the window as the magic weapons pierced the glass.

Adrianne felt the rush of freezing cold air that existed at this height in the sky. It instantly lowered the temperature of the room, yet the inquisitor did not mind. She could handle the cold.

The sounds of the city far below started to drift up to the window where Adrianne stood, and she took in all the noises for a few seconds before starting to move. She jumped out of the window, before turning around immediately as she fell.

Daggers were in between her fingers as she jumped. The daggers were thrown upwards, the angles they were thrown up lining up so that they struck the window of the room right above the one Adrianne jumped out of. They dug into the glass, cracking it as the glass had cracked in the previous room, but they did not do enough to stick.

Strong chains had sprung from the ends of the daggers as they were thrown, and these chains now wrapped around Adrianne's arms. As soon as they caught her weight, the daggers were pulled from their tenuous positions in the glass.

She was several dozen meters below the window now, and would not have much of a chance to recover if she did not get into the window immediately.

Adrianne immediately retracted the chains at will, spinning around as the daggers came back in towards her. Without even catching her weapons, she used the force of her spin and the whipping of her arms to send the daggers back towards the window. This time, they dug in all the way, but not enough to break the glass.

Adrianne did not need the glass to be broken. She started to retract the chains, using her magic to push herself forwards as she was pulled as well. She bent her left knee close to her body as she let her right leg straight in front of her. She was coming at the window diagonally, and she was being pulled so that she would hit the center of the window with her right foot.

There was a loud crash as the glass broke. Adrianne instantly bent her right leg and curled up, twisting sideways as she flew into the room. She barely avoided hitting the ceiling as she came in and observed a room containing three people.

One man was wearing the clothes of a man affiliated with the Osbeornes and their trading company. The other two were armed guards. Adrianne's knives were coming back in towards her.

Her spinning motion led to her moving towards the door, and she kicked out with her right leg to push herself off the door as she hit it. She pulled her arms in towards her. The daggers had been in the air around the window, and then slowly pulled forwards as Adrianne entered the room.

She pulled the daggers inwards with one solid yank, and then spread her arms out. This led to a slicing motion which mauled the faces of both of the guards. Adrianne was already moving forwards, and her arms were behind her, as was her right leg. So she kicked out with her left and struck the man behind the desk with a flying kick.

He was knocked backwards by the combined force of the kicking motion, Adrianne's speed, and her magic. This combination was enough to knock him out of the window. He had been hit in the chest, so he might have been dead before he hit the ground, but Adrianne had felt only bones crunch beneath her impact, so he would have a nice long fall.

It was to be a contest between whether he would die from lack of oxygen, lack of blood flow, or by hitting the ground first. But the inquisitor did not care how the man died. She did not even need him to die.

_Most of these men and women are just working for this trading organization as legitimate members. They don't know what they're really into. _She looked out the broken window, even as the cold air rushed in and the oxygen level dropped.

Her kick was taking her close to the window, but she brought her right leg forwards and kicked off the lip of the window. She flew back into the center of the room and landed with a roll.

Standing up from the roll, Adrianne found herself right in front of the locked door. She briefly turned around. The man she kicked out the window, his scream, muffled by the air and the fact that this chest was smashed in, still echoed in the back of her head. _Most of these men and women are just working for this trading organization as legitimate members. They don't know what they're really into. _

She looked out the broken window, even as the cold air rushed in and the oxygen level dropped.

Gritting her teeth, and letting a whispered apology escape from her lips, Adrianne turned around, only to face the door again. The door was certainly locked, but it was locked from the inside. So she undid the lock, activated her magic, and then opened the door.

She closed it quickly to avoid detection, before advancing on into the hallway beyond the door. It was not very occupied, there only being two guards walking their normal patrol routes.

_Interrogate them? No, too long, chance of being found if more arrive. Best find the meeting room on my own. _Adrianne walked off down the hall, looking for a place around the center of this floor. She had memorized the shape of these three floors, knowing them to be where she would operate, so she had a good idea of where the center was.

It only took her around one minute of searching to find a large pair of doors. Unfortunately, she saw these doors from the end of a hallway leading away from the room where they were. The doors were guarded by around a dozen armed men.

_Or women, _Adrianne thought, _let's not be biased here. _It did not matter who was standing guard at the door, what mattered was that they were there. And they would see Adrianne enter. They would notice if the door opened on its own. There was no way to get around them.

Adrianne had no choice but to remove the threat. She had to kill them. That would be hard to do without alerting anyone else, but she was confident in her abilities as a magical girl.

They were all in front of her. She was facing them directly, although they could not see her. They occupied a large, rectangular room. The hallway Adrianne was in was an entrance from one of the long sides, while the short sides featured hallways leading off to the right and left. The large doors were on the long side opposite Adrianne.

The inquisitor smiled, and daggers appeared in between her fingers. She started to walk down the hallway, formulating a plan in her head as she walked. She did not even need a complex plan. She just needed a way to kill all these men without the people inside knowing.

To do this, she simply walked into the middle of the rectangular room. The men were deployed in a semicircle in front of the door, looking around warily, wondering if they were going to see any action.

They would not see any action, in fact. They would not battle anyone on this day. A few of them were somewhat worried, as they had wanted to be in on the action against the Inquisition which was due to occur in a couple hours.

Others were happy that they were safe on this floor and that they did not have to worry about any inquisitors. Another few were sad that they were even involved in all this. They had not wanted to be involved. They did not want to betray the Goddess.

It did not matter who they were. It did not matter what they wanted, or what they did not want. All that mattered was that they worked for the enemy. The Goddess forgave all, did she not?

Adrianne threw three knives to either side of herself. They flew into the air, before Adrianne split each knife into two knives that were the same size as the ones before. They appeared in the air, leaving the field Adrianne projected. There was no noise, as the soldiers had no time to see the daggers coming.

Each dagger pierced a man's skull, killing him instantly. Adrianne wondered if anyone would see the men die. A quick look down each of the hallways revealed that no one did.

The inquisitor walked past the dead bodies, and approached the door. It was locked by a complex electronic system, as well as a more conventional one. It was a complex one that prevented one from easily hacking the control panel and unlocking the door.

One would need both one skilled in cogitators, as well as one skilled in picking locks. Adrianne did not have either. Or she had one, as she had acquired some skill in picking locks, and could do so quite well. She had no way to defeat the electronic device, however.

So she simply took a dagger she summoned, and cut down with it. The blade of the weapon cut into the wood of the door and destroyed the locking bolts of both mechanisms. Adrianne sighed, _that was easy. _

She then slowly pushed the door open, and then walked into the room beyond the door. She found herself standing on a circular floor, which surrounded a lowered space in the middle of the room. The door was closed softly behind her.

The lowered pit was where a large table sat. It was a hololith, and it was showing a map of the sector. There were five walkways down into the center of the pit, and voices came up from that space which was about a meter lower than the rest of the room.

Adrianne walked forwards, resting her arms on a rail which prevented those on the outside rom falling into the inner pit. There were railings anywhere where there were not stairs, and railings even bordered the sides of the staircases. _At least they had safety in mind, _Adrianne remarked to herself, as she saw the proceedings taking place below.

There was her target about five meters in front of her. It was a rogue magical girl. She was dressed in the colors of the Osbeorne house, but she was also sporting touches of her own uniform. She spoke loudly, to a watching audience of around ten other men.

They were all part of various trading corporations across the subsector, and even a few in other subsectors. All of a sudden, there were several more traitors to root out of the sector.

"-this will lead to the ultimate collapse of the economy of this sector," the rogue girl said, pointing to the plans displayed on the hololith, "At that time, the Imperial government should be censured, and the Inquisition asked to investigate. This will not only draw them away from more important tasks onto our distraction effort, it will also draw them into the open, allowing us to strike at them and wipe out the only ones who could possibly stop us."

Adrianne had at first thought that this entire operation she had been investigating was a plan to take down the sector, and bring the entire area under the rule of the enemy. However, things were now different, and she had always suspected that this would occur.

_The collapse of the sector is a distraction, _she thought, _so they have something more important. Stealing grief cubes makes magical girls die, and that does not cause localized economic collapse. Therefore, they have a deeper plan with the grief cubes, and they intend to use Osbeorne to ferry the cubes, as well as set them up to take the blame for the collapse of the sector. _

_Clever girl, _Adrianne thought, _collapse the sector while you suck the grief cubes out of it, and then set up Osbeorne to take all the blame for the entire thing, allowing you to get away with your goods and use them for whatever purpose you want them for. _

It was time to move. Adrianne had heard enough, and she had to restrain the magical girl before she could escape anywhere. An alarm should be raised in the next five seconds.

Adrianne leapt over the railing, casting ten knives out into the air above her. They stuck into the ceiling while chains shot down from the bottoms of the daggers. These daggers hit the officials around the table in the heads. The daggers and chains disappeared as Adrianne threw out two more knives.

The ceiling was supported by six large beams. It was a purely stylistic touch, and Adrianne liked it a little. Her knives wrapped around two of the beams before shooting back down.

The daggers and the chains behind them wrapped around the wrists of the magical girl multiple times as she turned around to face Adrianne. They circled her wrists about six times before the daggers stabbed into the palms of the girl.

The chains pulled tight, and the girl was raised half a meter into the air. She started to bleed from her palms, but she kept a straight face, and managed to block out most of the pain she felt in her hands.

The building started to screech as alarms went off and the sound echoed off the large room's walls. The door was not locked, and it would be entered soon. Adrianne had laid a few traps before entering the room entirely. She would be safe for a time.

Adrianne said nothing as she dissipated her magic field. She could now be seen by the girl. Adrianne held up the back of her right hand, showing the inquisitorial seal on her gem. "I am an Inquisitor, you will tell me what I want to know,"

"Or what?" the girl asked, "Kill me?" She did not seem to fear death.

Adrianne acted as if she had said nothing. "Where is the main hub for the shipping network operated by the Osbeornes?" she asked.

"As if I would tell you," the girl said, before spitting at Adrianne. The globule landed on the inquisitor's cheek. Adrianne reached up with a dagger she summoned, and wiped the spit off.

Balancing the spit on her blade, Adrianne lashed out suddenly and slashed the eyes of the girl. Blood flew out, and covered the face of Adrianne. The girl screamed a little. She was no longer as cocky as she was before.

"You can't see me now," Adrianne stated, "Are you still willing to play this game, or would you prefer a quick death to slow torture?"

"You can't torture me," the girl said, "The guards are coming soon, you'll have no choice but to flee,"

Adrianne chuckled. "I doubt that, highly," She stabbed the dagger into the girl's intestines, and started to twist the blade around. The girl squirmed, but could not break free from Adrianne. A quick drag of the blade sliced open a hole in her stomach. "You have five seconds before I start dragging your intestines out," Adrianne said. Her voice was the monotone of a person who was tiredly stating a fact.

"Hadiens Prime!" the girl yelled immediately, "Hadiens Primes! The sector capital!"

"Where on Hadiens Prime?" Adrianne shouted. A second passed, and her hand let go of the hilt of her dagger, fingers tightening around the curled ropes and started to pull, as the shouts of dying men came from behind her. She had set up several traps, consisting of thin chains strung around various points, which would fire her knives if those chains were crossed. She had only laid three, but the other guards would move more slowly. She started to pull harder after a split second.

"Hadiens itself!" the girl shouted, "Supposedly Administratum buildings, but they're really used by Osbeorne!" _That's a lie, _Adrianne thought, _she'll say anything to end this. _

"Anything else!" Adrianne demanded. She gave a larger yank, and more of the girl's guts pulled out. She strayed away from looking at her blood-soaked hand, staring at the girl's eyes as she did the horrific deed.

"That's all I know! Please kill me!" the girl begged like the little girl she resembled. She died, as Adrianne stabbed a dagger into the soul gem at her waist.

Moving her hand quickly away from the hilt of the dagger, Adrianne caught a drop of blood on a finger of the hand that had not been in her guts. Wiping her other hand off, the inquisitor already had out a small book. Opening it to a new page, Adrianne made a small marking with the blood, before blowing on it to dry it faster.

The book was closed. Adrianne looked up at the dead girl as guards lined up behind her. She had died a sobbing wreck. That was not how a magical girl was supposed to die.

Not according to the Goddess.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Erwine asked. It had been a minute since the guards had come in to tell Osbeorne something, and she had not learned anything they had set. She was asking if Osbeorne was really sure that what he had learned was nothing important. "I really would like to know," she pressed, "I don't like being left in the dark."

"You don't?" Osbeorne asked, "Well, I guess I can give you a hint."

"What?" Erwine asked excitedly.

"Could you prove your authenticity by changing your gem to egg form?" Osbeorne asked, "Please?"

Erwine frowned. It was not what she expected, and she calmed down a little. She did as she was told, and changed her gem into the larger egg. "Why?" Erwine asked, "Did someone say that I was not who I said I was?"

Osbeorne shook his head, explaining, "No, no one said anything to disprove the truth of what you said," Erwine smiled, happy that she was safe. She knew that smiling was not necessarily a bad thing to do in this situation.

Osbeorne said nothing more. Isael spoke, "Let's go back to the topic we were on before, your reward for the mission at hand,"

Kaskellie nodded, "Yes, that was a rather unpleasant interruption," he commented, glaring at Osbeorne as he said this. The two stared for a few seconds, before Isael tried to decrease the tension by saying, "Gentlemen, we are not here to bicker, we are here to discuss with Ms. Vivian things more important than our own personal feuds, or whatever else is important to us." That last part of the sentence was clearly directed at Osbeorne.

That man shook his head. "I was not engaging in anything personally important to me, except my own safety," he said.

"What can threaten us here?" Isael asked. Erwine still had her soul gem in her egg form. She had gotten caught up in staring at the silvery item, and found it quite interesting. She had done this before, and honestly, she only did it because it made her look like more of the rich girl she was meant to be.

"Well," Osbeorne said, "Could you hand me your soul gem, in egg form, Ms. Vivian?"

"Why?" Erwine asked, worried. She was not going to hand her soul over to this man. Not unless he gave her a good reason why.

"I would like to use it to emphasize a point," he said, "Ms. Vivian, please?"

Erwine was looking at him, and he was reaching his left hand out. His right hand was on his lap, while he leaned forwards and extended his left hand. Erwine shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, but I cannot,"

"Well then, Ms. Vivian," Osbeorne sprang forwards. His left hand grabbed at Erwine's left arm, and he drew his gun from his coat. "Or should I say Inquisitorial scum?!"

Erwine had her gem in her right hand, and she clamped down on it as Osbeorne pulled her upwards and jammed a gun against her head. "Get her!" he yelled, "There has been several killings on the upper floors, she brought someone with her!"

Isael jumped up, helping to twist Erwine around. He grabbed her left arm, holding it horizontally, preventing it from moving as Erwine struggled. Osbeorne held Erwine's back against his chest as he wrapped his left arm around her throat and pressed her right hand against her head. Against her right hand, which held her soul gem, he pressed the muzzle of his gun. "Don't move," he ordered.

Erwine did as she was ordered to do. She understood that a single shot would kill her. She was too scared to resist anyways. She had never expected for this to happen. She had not failed Adrianne, as the inquisitor could still complete her mission and get out. She had failed herself.

She tried to play the only card she had left to defend herself with. "Let me go!" she shouted, "I am Alexandra Vivian! My parents shall be outraged if they here of this treatment of me!"

Her left arm started to hurt. It started to hurt a lot. Erwine had been in fights in school. She could take pain, but she also knew that at this rate, Isael would break her arm. He was pushing forwards on the upper arm while pulling her forearm backwards.

She shut up immediately. Guards had entered the room several seconds ago. They were holding their guns at Erwine. They knew how dangerous a magical girl could be. "She's no threat," Osbeorne said, "She's young, and she's scared. I bet this is one of her first real missions, is that not right?"

Erwine struggled, but her fear had overtaken every rational sense she once had. She knew that she was a magical girl. She could summon her weapon at any time. She could kill all of the men in the room before they could know what was happening.

She could, yet she did not. Her fear was simply too great. She had killed before. She had been covered in blood before. She had cut men in half, cut them down like animals. She did not want to do that again.

She _could _not do that again. So she did not truly resist the men holding her down.

"Where are the others?!" Osbeorne asked, "What are they after?!"

Erwine said nothing. She could not betray Adrianne or the others, but she would not resist. She did not want to die. No matter what she did, she was facing an outcome she did not want at all.

Osbeorne glanced to one of the men standing guard at the door, and nodded for him to come over. "Make her talk," was all he said.

Before the guard could make it all the way,Erwine heard a voice in her head. _Tell me exactly where everyone in the room is. _It was Laelia.

_I've been found out! _Erwine shouted, _I can't stop them! _She started to ramble on telepathically, loosing the contents of her horrified mind out into that of Laelia's.

_Calm down! _The girl shouted back, and Erwine paused for a moment. _Listen and do exactly what I say, and you will survive, _Laelia said, _we will get you out, but I need to know where everyone is. _

Erwine struggled to calm herself enough so that she could reply in an intelligent manner. She did not have much time. The guard was starting to punch Erwine in the stomach, repeatedly. The punches were harder than any Erwine had ever felt, yet they still did not equal the pain of being shot.

_There is a guard in front of me. A man is behind me holding a gun to my gem. There is a man to my left holding my arm, he can break it. There is another man to the left of the man holding my arm. Two guards are by the door. _Erwine managed to calm herself down.

She had been beat up before. Back in the days when she was just a normal girl, she had been bullied by other kids. She had taken her share of beatings, but this was more than any of those. But she had always focused on the pain when she was being hurt. She had focused on the pain, and that made her focus on making the pain stop. Usually, that would result in her fiercely retaliating against her attacker, but in this case, Erwine was too shocked to move. She focused on the pain in order to tell those who could save her how to save her.

A second later, there was the sound of a machine gun firing. A hail of shots tore through the wall to the right and in front of Erwine. The bullets ripped through the guards near the door, and the two men died in seconds.

An arrow pierced the chest of the man hitting Erwine, and he fell to the ground dead. Another arrow hit Kaskellie, to the left of Isael, but the latter man as well as Osbeorne were unharmed. Erwine wondered why, then realized that she could be shot if Osbeorne was shot. A trigger finger in spasm resulting from his death could cause him to pull the trigger and destroy her soul gem.

He did not do it now because he needed leverage against the others. The man wanted to live, and right now, Erwine was the only ticket out he had. The wall in front of Erwine had a large gap in the parts nearest the door, while there were also two holes in other parts.

She could not see Airi and Laelia, but she knew that they were there. Erwine was now being held tighter by Osbeorne, who shouted, "Come on! Shoot me! You can shoot me all you want, as long as you don't care about this one!"

He was starting to walk towards the door, as Isael continued to hold Erwine's arm in such a way so that she could not move it at all. She was forced to be dragged along by Osbeorne as he tried to escape.

A burst of gunfire was aimed at the window. The glass shattered in several places, but the pane was mostly intact, until several chains could be seen outside, pulling a figure in towards the window. Adrianne smashed through the window, landing on her feet, brushing the glass off of herself as she stood from the crouch she was in.

She glared at Osbeorne, who still had his gun to Erwine's gem. "You want to try me?" he asked, "You can't win,"

"No," Adrianne replied, a sly smile on her face, "We already won,"

Erwine frowned. _What does she mean? What is she talking about? Her tone…she means that the mission has ended, and now she's going to save me! _

"Not until you get me, or else someone is learning all about you and your presence," Osbeorne said, "I'm faster than you think, and will you really wipe out a building filled with people so important to the sector?"

"No," Adrianne shook her head, "I won't even kill you, nor will those two," she gestured behind her to the wall.

"So you're letting me go?" Osbeorne was perturbed. _What?! _Erwine thought. _No! Adrianne! What?! Please…don't do this! _

She opened her mouth. "Adrianne, please don't do this!" she screamed, "Don't leave me here! What are you doing?!" She had been crying, but now she was shedding tears even more rapidly than before.

Adrianne glanced at Erwine and shook her head, before she spoke to Osbeorne, "You can do whatever you want with her, I don't need her. She was just a tool to use and expend on this mission alone. She was a little expensive, but she got the job done, and that's what tools are good for, right?" The inquisitor was not lying. Erwine could tell that.

Perhaps that was when the little girl inside Erwine suffered a more fatal wound than ever before. The two had only known each other for less than forty-eight hours, yet the master was abandoning the student. The liar was leaving the tricked behind.

Erwine screamed more, "Adrianne! What are you doing?! What did I do?! Did I fail you?! Don't do this to me?! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Her eyes were empty now, her face emotionless, only watching as Adrianne moved through the room. She was too horrified for the moment to even respond to the world.

Adrianne started to walk towards the door, moving right past Osbeorne, who turned to face the inquisitor as she walked. _I failed, _Erwine thought, _and now I am paying the price. I could have done this mission correctly. But I did not, and this is what I get. _

"She is so useless, even though she did help a bit," Adrianne said, "I have to say that it is quite depressing that she failed, but as you know, the strong survive, the weak…" she glanced at Erwine, and shrugged, "The weak are left behind,"

That angered Erwine. Was it her desire to please Adrianne? Was it her desire to fulfill the command that had driven her since her dream? That command to follow Adrianne no matter what?

Erwine was horrified. She was filled with rage. More rage than she had ever felt before in her life. She wanted to kill now. She wanted to kill no one but Adrianne. She could have tried, but she was too afraid to fight back against those who now held her.

She was desperately struggling, but as Adrianne walked out the door and down the hallway, clearly intent on following the path that would lead to the exit, Erwine realized that she had to do something, or else her wish would have been made for nothing.

She could not let her own sacrifice go to waste. She could not let the loss of her humanity, the loss of her own soul, go to waste! Erwine started a long, extended scream, conveying sorrow, rage, hatred, and regret in one extended cry. She opened her left hand, and her greatsword appeared in that hand. She swung backwards with it, as much as she could. Had the blade been shorter, than she would have been unable to hit Isael with it due to his grip on her arm.

As it was, Erwine was wielding a blade longer than she was tall, and the end of the mighty weapon slid into his side, the pain from the cut causing the man to lose his grip. His fingers let loose her arm, and Erwine was free to continue her swing. The blade stopped as she swung it around in her fingers, directing the bloodstained tip at Osbeorne's side. Before she had entirely stopped moving her arm, the limb was pushing sideways. This action drove the zweihander through the man as Erwine leaned backwards and pulled her right hand away from her head.

The corrupt man had first been distracted by the cry of his comrade, and Erwine's smooth movement had resulted in barely a second passing before Osbeorne was hit. Osbeorne's gun fired, attempting to attain revenge for the strike that would certainly kill him. The bullet passed right in front of Erwine's eyes and flew out the window. Erwine was angry at this man. He was a traitor. He had found her out. _He_ was responsible for her failure.

Her anger, raw and unchained, was directed at the one _thing _she could direct it at. There could have been a mouse there, and she still would have held it responsible, such was the fury she had.

Erwine dragged the blade forwards, moving her own feet so that she was not even nicked as the blade emerged from the front of his lower torso. Then she struck backwards, her grip still reversed. Blood sprayed out onto her body as she cut the man's body into two pieces. His legs, no longer attached to a brain, fell down, dragging down Erwine's legs to thump against the floor. The top part of his body hit Erwine as well, still warm arms and fingers clawing at her as the brain didn't realize that it was dead.

The little girl, not even fifteen years of age, was now soaked in the warm crimson liquid that all humans gained life from. The two halves of Osbeorne's body lay behind her, near her feet. The widening pool of blood only served to taint her footwear more. Erwine was silent, perfectly emotionless for a second. Then she realized what she had done.

Her feet carried her forwards, leaping away from the man's body. She spun around to observe the mess of flesh, bone, and blood, looking down at the blade in her left hand, recognizing the weapon as that of the murderer. And she herself was that murderer.

Flipping the blade back to a normal grip, Erwine clasped the hilt with both hands. There was no anger, no fear, and no terror, in her wild eyes. Only a small hint of mania. A small hint of a crazed mind.

She lunged forwards, blade swinging down. Blood spurted up as the metal met flesh. Twice more she repeated this. Now there were smaller bits. The scene was still horrifying. Erwine wasn't mentally stable at this point. It was the child in her that told her to cut away her demons.

Yet that child didn't understand that cutting up a dead, bloody body would only make things worse. And so she continued, over and over again did her great and magical weapon meet the soft and normal flesh of the human being who could once be identified by sight alone as Osbeorne.

Now it would take some DNA testing. For his parts were scattered across the room. The chairs were soaked in blood and guts. A bit of every kind of internal organ was somewhere on Erwine's body. Tiny fragments of bone, shiny bits of white stained by the dark blood, decorated the spots where purchase could be found on the contours of her clothing and hair.

Empty eyes stared out at the bloody mess. It looked as if a dozen people had been killed. Yet only two had died here. One was lucky. He had a body to be cremated. The other served as a rather macabre decoration for the once-bland meeting room, in which he had intended to entrap the one who had so brutally slain him.

A million years, maybe even another lifetime entirely, had passed for Erwine in the space of a few minutes. Before then, she had been crying. No emotions were on her face anymore, just a blank stare conveying an utterly broken mind.

A single, solitary tear slipped down her cheek. It was only the vanguard leading the charge. Her knees gave way next, dropping her down to the ground. Her right hand pushed her blade down as her palms splayed flat. A gruesome gathering of shades of red met her eyes as she stared down, but she was too clouded by her own tears to truly notice.

The guards would be coming. There had to be hundreds of them in this building alone. Erwine doubted she would live for much longer. Even if they didn't get her, she could feel the grief filling up her soul, ready to consume her. The will to fight was not in her.

Discarded by the only one she cared about, Erwine thought back to the moment she contracted. In that moment, she knew that she was going to be ground up by the ruthless machine that was the Imperium. Had she known that it would be this quickly?

The answer to that was no. Erwine would never have contracted then. _I did my duty to us all. I helped Adrianne. Even if it was for only a short time. That's just how the Inquisition works, it seems. _

She could almost feel her heart shatter as she remembered something. Her hands gave away, and she feel face first into the mess on the floor. Nada, the look on the girl's face when she left. Her promise to the girl, to become a hero.

Erwine's mind was slipping away. She couldn't hold on much longer. She knew that in a few moments, the shock, the pain, the horror…they would all rush in at once and overpower her. She would die peacefully, yet in vain.

Before she could, Erwine Braune, a little girl broken by a machine greater than her, opened her mouth, letting out soft words, which she wished with all her heart could reach her dearest friend. "I'm sorry Nada, I guess I'll…see you later."

* * *

The recent violence within the buildings of the Osbeorne Group has been reportedly chalked down to a criminal attack. Apparently, a shadowy group of rogues thought they could steal information on trade. Their efforts were thwarted, but not at the loss of much life. The Arbites has launched a full investigation of the matter.

Some eyewitness reports say that magical girls were involved, but the Osbeornes and the Arbites investigators both deny those claims. Security footage is being reviewed as this article is written, and the group hopes to come to a conclusion on those responsible. The lead investigator states, "Rest assured, there is no rogue group of magical girls in operation on this planet."

-Article in the _Siothea Bugle _


	11. Brightly Moving Forwards

It could be said that perhaps far too many inquisitors believe that magical girls under their command are nothing but weapons. Weapons to be used, then replaced when they break. The exact reasons for this belief vary widely, so there can really be no kind of standard fix for the problem.

In fact, some might even use their magical girls so effectively that it cannot be called a problem. The issue being addressed here is the distinct lack of compassion too many inquisitors feel for younger magical girls.

They do not seem to remember the time when they were young. When they were first being introduced to the universe, and they started to suffer. It seems that age somehow gets rid of those memories for some. But it cannot be forgotten what it was like to grow up.

Yes, this is a time of eternal strife. But that does not mean that we need to sacrifice our humanity in order to…well, I guess we're not exactly human…

Excerpt from a speech at the Galactic Summit of M39.998

* * *

Erwine's body was mostly dried off. She had not done the cleaning herself. She only woke up with a start, to find herself no longer wet. If there was any red on her, then it was dried blood, which meant that some time had passed since she had passed out.

She felt beneath her a hard seat. Staring across the space she was in revealed Adrianne to be across from her. The inquisitor sat with her legs crossed, and objects clasped in both her hands. Her attention was half towards Erwine, and half towards what she held in her hand. And given what she held in her hand, it was true that she gave all her attention to Erwine.

Erwine was leaping out of her seat the moment she laid eyes upon the girl. Her right arm was swinging out as her sword took form in that hand. A twitch of the other hand of the inquisitor stopped Erwine's movement entirely. For a silver gem was held within the palm of one hand, surrounded by a mound of dim cubes. As for the hand that moved, a dagger was held in those fingers.

A simple movement would pierce Erwine's gem. "I'd really rather not," Adrianne said. Erwine did her best to read the tone of the girl. Focusing her attention, she found something strange. Adrianne had a sad tone. It was true sadness. It sounded more like regret than anything else.

Words spoken about regret before by the inquisitor flashed into Erwine's mind, and the young girl now understood what Adrianne meant when she said she did not want any pity. "Why?" Erwine asked. She wanted to be angry. The energy was not within her body to drive any kind of anger.

"I can tell you," Adrianne said, "If you give me time. We need to go get your original body back, and I need to sort some things out. I've made the report to the Arbites, so after this, we go up to my ship, and I can explain everything in due time."

"Why should I trust those words?" Erwine was crying for help. "You said you were proud of me before, because I had grown?! Why must you do more?!" _I must stay with her, I must stay with her, _Erwine was starting to distrust the words of that girl.

"You were still weak." Adrianne explained, "You must become fully acclimated to death. Otherwise, there's not much point in keeping you around. You survived the hardest thing I ever put anyone through. For that, I congratulate you." She continued to flip around Erwine's gem, keeping the dagger held in her other hand.

"What do you want from me?" Erwine begged, her body shaking. A huge pain rocked her head, Erwine only able to press forwards.

"I want you to become strong. To become the greatest inquisitor the world has ever seen." Adrianne explained. "Under my guidance, I can make you into that kind of person." She looked Erwine in the eyes. "Is that what you want? Do you not want to be a hero?"

"This isn't being a hero!" Erwine shouted, throwing all the energy she could into that shout. "This isn't what I wished for. This isn't the future I desired when I made my contract." She fell down to her knees, banging her fist against the hard floor. "I didn't ask for this…" Erwine wept uncontrollably.

Adrianne merely sighed. "I hoped you would be stronger." Erwine jumped, feeling as though something was scratching against her head. She looked up, seeing Adrianne run the dagger along Erwine's gem. "Well, I suppose Erwine Braune died a valiant death." Time seemed to slow down. "A shame, she had so much potential."

"How can I live?!" Erwine cried. She was scared of death more than anything else. That vast unknown of possibility was something she didn't want to confront. "What do I do?"

"Stand up, right now." Adrianne said. Erwine hesitated. But she did as she was told. "Now look me in the eyes." Erwine was made to step back in fear, such was the hate she saw. "Now tell me, do you want to continue living?"

Erwine was faced with a question that she had no answer to. _I could. Perhaps. Die, that is. But then, that girl, in my dreams. I have to save those people. I won't let people die because I'm a coward. My cowardice costing lives…_Erwine couldn't bear to even consider the idea.

"I want to overcome my fear. I want to become a better person." Erwine explained. "I want to be a hero."

"Are you scared right now?"

"Very scared," Erwine answered.

"I can take that fear away from you. Stay with me, and I'll take away everything you hate about yourself. I'll replace it with things that can only help you, with things that will allow you to be that hero that you aspire to be." Adrianne said softly. Her soft tone was there again.

Erwine knew better than to put all her faith in that tone. But she had no choice. Lives were on the line, and Erwine had only gotten stronger under Adrianne's 'training'. "I'll stay," Erwine said, grudgingly. "But promise me, you'll stop hurting me like that."

"I'll never hurt you like that again," Adrianne promised, "The worst part of you training is over. In fact, you're the most important person to me in the entire universe at the moment. I'd never consider throwing you away forever." She stood up. "However, I fear you are not entirely ready for this world. Let me make a proposal. We are going to Hadiens, the sector capital, next. It should take about a week. If you're not entirely convinced of my point by the time we arrive, I shall immediately release you to the sect there, and you'll be totally free of me."

_It's a good deal. I can assess whether or not that girl is really telling the truth. _Upon realizing that two people might be lying to her, Erwine revised the thought. _No, I can think about both of them. _

She nodded. "I accept your proposal. But you better not be lying to me."

"I only want to raise you to do amazing things," Adrianne explained, "I won't lie to you any longer."

* * *

She was back in her own body. The switch had been made without trouble, save for the complaints about the amount of blood covering the body that she had called home for only a brief few hours.

Erwine Braune now gazed out across the city she had lived in for all of her life. She glanced first at the taller buildings in the administrative districts. Then, she moved her gaze out to the manufactorum areas, as well as the other various commercial areas. She squinted, trying to reach out to the land where she had lived when she was only a child. She could not see anything out at that distance, it was far too difficult. The horizon did not stop her, but the things out there were just too far away.

They were dozens of kilometers from her, and that was too far to make any details out. Erwine did not wish she could see her home, or at least the area where she had lived. Erwine wished that she could see her home or the area where she had lived.

She did not know what she wanted anymore. She only knew that she was scared. She only knew that she was not scared.

Erwine smiled sadly, knowing that she had no idea what anything was anymore. She had no idea what to think of anything. That was the only truth that existed anymore for her.

Nothing else was able to be thought of without immediately being contradicted by her own mind. Erwine could only stare at the city where she had grown up and wonder what the world truly was.

She was in her own body once more. Her own body. It pained Erwine to even think of that phrase. It hurt her to accept that it was something that she would have to get used to saying.

She wondered if she would keep her original body throughout all her service. _Does Adrianne have her original body? _Erwine wondered. _Does Airi, does Laelia? Maybe even Ayelen has lost her original?_

She doubted that she, that anyone, could go for hundreds of years and somehow stay in one form. Erwine figured that she would go insane first.

She knew that things would be there to keep her sanity. Like her knowing that she was doing the right thing. She knew that she had done the right thing. She knew that right now, the Adeptus Arbites was going out to deliver justice.

To all but the man in the rooms behind her. She stood on one of the many balconies of the Vivian's quarters. Adrianne, Airi, and Laelia were speaking with Mr. and Mrs. Vivian.

Ayelen was not. She was standing outside. She was a few meters from Erwine, on the other side of the balcony. Erwine wanted to say something, but she did not have the will to say anything at the moment.

She reached up with her hand, and plucked her soul gem from where it sat in the tiara on her head. She stared at the thing, once more entranced by the strange light of the gem. It was something she could look at for a long time.

She did not have to worry about grief, as Adrianne had supplied her with enough to fight off the grief she was feeling because of the people she had to kill. As well as the rest of that ordeal. She had overcome the sadness, mainly because of the speech Adrianne had given her. It managed to convince Erwine that she was doing the right thing for the right reasons.

It had not made the girl excited about doing her job, but it had made Erwine willing to do her job. "Hey," Ayelen said. She was next to Erwine now. Erwine had been listening, not dozing off. She had not heard the girl's approach.

"What?" Erwine asked, a little surprised at Ayelen's sudden appearance.

"I was wondering how you were doing," Ayelen stated, not speaking in the tone of a questioner. "So how are you doing?" she asked, speaking in the same friendly tone as before.

She was not acting as childish and excitable as she had when Erwine first met her, but she was still lighthearted. Erwine shrugged. "I suppose that I am willing to serve Her Holy Majesty," she said, "But I am not particularly excited about what I am going to do,"

"You're lucky," Ayelen said, resting her arms on the railing of the balcony as Erwine was doing. She was not right next to the girl, but she was close. "I did not get that sense until I had been a magical girl for a year," she said.

"So you had at least a year of happiness," Erwine said, then asked, "Why is that an issue?"

"Because it only hurt more when I found out the truth about what it is that we do," Ayelen explained, "And I have yet to truly accept anything. It's a combination of that fact, and the fact that I'm still quite young for a magical girl."

Erwine nodded. She had nothing to say in response. "You're a baby, really," Ayelen said, "Most Inquisitors live past at least one hundred, if not two hundred. It's rare you find an Inquisitor who died in their tens or one hundreds. I've heard of ones who have live for over four hundred years,"

Erwine did have something to say to this. "Four hundred years of hunting?" Erwine asked, then thought to herself, _I would rather die than fight for that long. _

"Yes," Ayelen confirmed, "I suppose that after a while, you learn to have fun while doing your job. It's really the only way to do things,"

"Is it really?" Erwine asked.

"It is," the healer nodded, "It is inevitable that you'll be happy at some point. You may not want to accept that fact, but if you want to truly be a magical girl, then you must learn to love what you do."

Erwine smiled. "I guess that no matter what, it will be better than what I would be doing otherwise. If I never contracted, then I would be sent off to work in the manufactorums in a few years. I would do that for the rest of my life unless I could somehow obtain a different job, but I guess there were odd jobs that I could have fit into."

"I would never have been happy," Erwine admitted, "And my parents will most likely only live for a few more years. After that, they'll die from overwork and all the things they inhale while working. Nada will be alone, but she'll be old enough to fend for herself by then,"

"Hopefully," Erwine added after that, but doubt was in her voice.

"She will be," Ayelen promised, "Your parents got a large reward for your service, it will be more than enough to tide them over for a long time."

"Will it really?" Erwine asked, "They don't live in the best of places, robbery and worse is not exactly uncommon."

"They'll be fine," Ayelen promised. Before Erwine could come up with another reply, Ayelen intervened, "Just trust me, they'll be fine,"

"Denial is not something I like," Erwine commented, in the silence that Ayelen fell into.

"It's not denial," Ayelen said, "It's just a necessity,"

Erwine nodded. She shut up after that. The sense that Ayelen was making was too much for her. _I guess imagining that they have a happy ending is better than imagining that they have a sad one. _

_What's more, I won't even have to worry about despairing over them. _Erwine was instantly hit by a new wave of depression as she accepted the reality of the universe. It was not because she missed her family.

She just knew that because she had a job that required her to be operating at full potential, she could not afford to have any extra grief. "Don't think too much," Ayelen said with a smile, "just be happy,"

"How do I do that?"

"Don't think," Ayelen repeated, "Just be that dumb teenage girl you're supposed to be, who has no thoughts about anything. Just keep that mindset of not caring about the past or future. Take life by the day. You're only a servant at the moment, look to your master for instructions, don't think too hard."

"But one day I'll have to think," Erwine pointed out, "When I start having more responsibility,"

"Erwine, you and I combined have more responsibilities than the population of this entire planet combined. Compared to what they will do, we will do far, far more." Ayelen explained, "But at the moment, you don't need to plan ahead far into the future."

"Just enjoy life."

Erwine nodded. She kept staring out at the city below her. Ayelen did the same thing. The two magical girls stared out from the balcony of a man that they planned to blackmail at some point. They stared out at a city filled with people that served those richer than them, yet complained about it.

They did not understand just how much they did, and how little it all mattered in the end.

Erwine had never liked to question the way things turned out. She knew that if she had not decided to do one minor thing on a single day, then the entire future would change as a result. She knew that this planet, while seemingly insignificant, was actually quite important.

Or maybe it was not. Erwine had no idea. She did not want to know. The only one fit to possess such knowledge was the Goddess.

The Goddess, on her Golden Throne, on far off Terra. Thousands of light years separated Erwine from Her Holy Majesty, yet at the moment, Erwine felt closer than ever before.

Erwine Braune was a magical girl of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition.

And as she leaned on the railing of the balcony that overlooked her former home, where her family and friends still dwelled, Erwine Braune smiled.

She accepted her place in the Imperium of Mankind. She was still a single gear in an incomprehensible machine. But she was a single gear with incredible power, at least from what Adrianne seemed to imply.

And despite everything that had occurred, she still had every reason to trust the inquisitor.

Erwine tried to smile, but found that she really couldn't. Not at least without lying to herself.

Ayelen stood on the balcony for one minute longer. She counted the seconds in her head. There was no particular reason for waiting there for exactly one more minute. She just wanted to wait before walking off. There was something she needed to say.

Not to Erwine. If Ayelen was lucky, Erwine would not hear what Ayelen needed to say.

Ayelen wondered if she should do this. Her feet were turning around before she could think on the issue. One minute had passed. Erwine paid her no mind as she walked off towards the doors leading back into the tower interior.

The doors opened easily before Ayelen. The doors opened into the entrance hall. Ayelen realized that ever since the first time she had come here, she had not been anywhere else save this one hall.

And it was best that she did not go anywhere else now. Adrianne was not in the hall. Laelia and Airi were. That was what Ayelen wanted.

She walked into the center of the room, and cleared her throat. She exaggerated the noise, as the sound made by the clearing of one's throat was not loud enough to attract attention from two people in a room such as this one, especially when there was noise leaking in from others rooms.

Adrianne was talking to the Vivians in the other room. All three f them which were present. Ayelen had been told that there were more in total, but they were not present in this tower, and some not even on this planet, at the time.

The inquisitor was giving them a very harsh lecture on their behavior. _Well, the parents are being lectured, _Ayelen thought, _Alexandra seemed quite loyal. _In the end, Ayelen did not entirely care.

She just wanted Adrianne to be occupied with something, and currently, the inquisitor was quite occupied with the other members of this family whose actions certainly bordered on treason.

The sound of Ayelen clearing her throat was enough to at least attract the attention of the other people in the room. Airi turned her head to look from where she was in the corner of the room. Laelia was sitting in one of the chairs to the side of the main doors. She looked as well.

The two girls were now staring at Ayelen. And now, the youngest girl in the room found herself at a loss for what to say. She had a plan. She had an idea of what to say, at least a plan of how to start the conversation.

Nothing came to her mind at the moment. That did not prevent her from saying something, however. She managed to speak. "We need to…we need to talk," said Ayelen meekly.

Airi shook her head. She promised, "It can wait,"

"For what?" Laelia asked.

"Adrianne," replied the black-haired girl.

"Why does she need to hear this?" asked that girl's positional opposite, "Ayelen clearly came now because Adrianne is occupied, am I wrong?" She directed this question at Ayelen.

"You are correct," Ayelen confirmed, "I don't want Adrianne to hear this," To Airi, she said, at a volume that in threat of being unheard over the shouts from the next room, "If you are alright with that, Airi?"

"You don't need to ask for her permission," Laelia said, standing up. She had been behind a table, and she now placed her hands down on it, staring across the room at the teleporter who had been leaning into the corner of the walls, "She does not have power over you,"

"I outrank both of you," Airi said, "Don't make me pull rank, I'd honestly hate to do that,"

"Of course," Laelia said, "And why would you not want to listen to Ayelen without Adrianne?"

Airi shook her head. She said nothing. She did not even speak telepathically. No one said anything for ten seconds. Ayelen turned around. She figured that she was only causing trouble by remaining here.

"Stay here," Laelia said, walking around the table to the front side.

"I don't think that is a good idea, Laelia," Ayelen said, not turning around despite what Laelia asked.

"It is a good idea, because you are not to blame for Airi's behavior," Laelia said, "It's not your fault,"

"Then whose fault is it?" Airi asked, taking several steps forwards. She glared fiercely at Laelia.

"It is the fault of Adrianne," Laelia said, "Or maybe Erwine. Most likely both, due to cause and effect."

"What do you mean?" Airi said, her anger rising. She took more steps forwards, moving within about three meters of Laelia. "Are you saying that Adrianne is affecting my behavior?"

"She always has!" Laelia shouted, before silencing herself quickly due to the silken she heard from the other room. For a second, she thought that she had been heard. But when the noise continued, she could at least take solace in the fact that she had at least been ignored by Adrianne. "She has always affected what you do," Laelia said, "You were the first person she chose to follow her after what happened to her. You think that you can somehow fix all her problems, but you can only slow her down, you can't actually stop her from crashing."

Airi was dumbstruck. Ayelen could tell that the girl had not been expecting this reply. She had at least not been expecting the second part of what Laelia said, after the defensive girl calmed her voice to a more reasonable tone.

"You're wrong," Airi said, "I've always been there for her. I have always had to help her, and stop her from losing her mind at every twist and turn in her journey. All three of you have only helped her physically, by assisting her in her missions. None of you have actually done anything worthwhile, not like I have." Airi was one step away from screaming at the two girls in front of her. It was clear that although she focused her words on Laelia, she also intended for Ayelen to hear and understand them.

In the end, Ayelen was only inspired to see the truth in what Laelia said, and reply to Airi in a way the girl did not want to hear. "Airi, I'm sorry, but I feel that what Laelia says is honestly the truth," she said.

Airi opened her mouth. She closed it as soon as she opened it. A sudden intake of air, in preparation for what was presumably a long-winded rant, was the only thing that her mouth did in the short time that it was open for.

Laelia spoke, "That's what I thought. You're jealous of Erwine, of course that is not at all hard to see. I'd imagine that Adrianne would easily notice, if she was not too focused on Erwine already,"

Airi fell to her knees. "It's not that we're lovers, believe me," she said. She was not crying. Ayelen could feel that she was close to tears, however. "It's just that I thought I meant more to her than I really do at this point. Ever since that night, that night when Erwine failed, it's seemed more and more like I never meant anything to Adrianne, that I was just a tool to advance her goal of creating an inquisitor who could do what she could not do,"

Ayelen took three steps forwards, and knelt down next to Airi. "I'm sorry," the girl said, "However, I can't say that Adrianne does not care for you at all,"

"Are you sure?" Airi asked, her eyes glistening a little as she looked up. The light of the ceiling lights shone down into the orbs in her head, and the rays of light reflected off the moisture that slowly, yet surely, built on top of the eyes of Airi.

"I am certain," Ayelen said, "She cares about all of us more than we may think,"

"That is not what you came in here to speak of, however," Laelia stated. It was not a question. It was not a guess. It was a flat statement of Ayelen's intentions.

Ayelen nodded, "You are correct,"

Laelia did nothing in response to this affirmation. She knew that she was correct already. However, it was polite for Ayelen to reply in this manner, no matter how unnecessary her confirmation of the obvious was.

"Then what did you come to talk about?" Airi asked this. She was close to tears now. She felt that she was, to at least some extent, being ignored in favor of what Ayelen had to see. Yet Airi had lived as a magical girl for a little less than twenty years, and she knew how to calm herself down when it was required. And she knew that although she may be being ignored, she had interrupted Ayelen first.

"I wanted to talk about Erwine," Ayelen answered, glancing back over her shoulder at the doors to the balcony. There were on the other side of the room, about ten meters away. The transparent nature of them allowed Erwine to be seen where she stood at the railing, but she could not hear the happenings inside the doors.

"Why?" Laelia asked. It was not that she did not understand why Erwine warranted being talked about, it was that she wondered what exact thing Ayelen wanted, no, needed to discuss.

It was obvious that Ayelen had not come looking for a chance to talk about Erwine. She had come because she needed to talk now, and had no time to talk about other subjects. Both Laelia and Airi had seen this, and that was why Airi had engaged in the new conversation Laelia began.

"I am worried about the girl," Ayelen confessed, as if it was something she should be ashamed of.

"Her mental state?" Laelia guessed, "It's not healthy?"

"Not exactly," Ayelen said, rising to her feet. Airi stayed where she was, while Ayelen stood and turned to face Erwine entirely. The girl was still looking out towards the city, but if she turned now, then she would see Ayelen staring at her, a teary-eyed Airi staring up at Ayelen, and Laelia standing calmly with her eyes focused on Ayelen.

"Then what do you mean?"

Airi wondered, "Is there something I have missed? My current understanding is that she is quite disturbed by the things she has been shown?" The girl spoke far too calmly and competently for someone who looked like they were ready to break down in tears.

Ayelen nodded, confirming, "She is disturbed…but I can tell that Adrianne is helping her get over it, far better than she did with me."

Laelia nodded, although no one looked at her. _It's good that Erwine gets this assistance, _she thought, _Ayelen still bares the scars of her introduction to this day, and those untreated wounds that were left so long ago led to infection. _

"So then why do you worry?" Airi asked,

"I worry because I see parts of her in me,"

"What do you see?" Laelia asked, "You just said that Adrianne is helping her overcome the pain she may be feeling, so why should we be worrying if there is no chance of a problem arising?"

"I see the part of me that eventually led me down the road to becoming the crazed-maniac I am today," Ayelen said, in a completely normal tone, as if she was having a casual conversation about the weather.

"You're not crazy," Laelia insisted,

"Do you believe that, truly?" Ayelen asked in reply.

There was no response from the shield generator. Laelia was silent for a full minute after that. Airi was not silent. She struggled to get to her feet, and Laelia reached out a hand to help pull her up.

As she reached her feet, the teleporter said, "But if Adrianne is helping her, then should that part just go away after a time?"

"Laelia took me under her wing after what was done to me," Ayelen pointed out, "And look where I am today. Adrianne may be better than Laelia, but she is not perfect. No one is perfect. Erwine will still suffer if this keeps up,"

"And by 'this', you mean the current pace Erwine is being advanced at?" Airi presumed.

"Of course," Ayelen said, "If it continues, then we will have no choice but to watch as Erwine loses her mind entirely."

Laelia cut in, "No, we will not have to do that,"

"Why?" Airi was interested. She turned to look at Laelia, and Ayelen decided to shift her attention from Erwine to the older magical girl.

"Because this argument ceases now," Laelia said, "We cannot let it continue. We need to oppose Adrianne together. Before, it was just one of us speaking out in the spur of the moment, but if all three of us convince Erwine that this is not right for her, then we can convince Adrianne."

"You don't know the inquisitor, do you?" Airi asked, "She won't budge an inch unless Erwine is literally begging her, and we can't show that what she is doing to Erwine will hurt her later,"

"And we can't convince Erwine of anything," said Airi, "She sees Adrianne as a kind of mother. Not even after everything that Adrianne's done, I can see that Erwine still believes in her. In fact, I'm fairly certain the two have a bond that goes deeper than anything….anything we…" it was difficult for Airi to finish her sentence, and while she did not need to finish, as the words she said were already thought of by the other two girls, she finished anyways. "Anything we have with her," Airi finished. There was a certain level of jealousy in her voice.

"That is true," Laelia said, "I have seen the evidence of that bond. There is no chance of us breaking it in any reasonable amount of time,"

"Then how do we stop Adrianne?" Ayelen asked, her voice desperate. She truly wanted to save Erwine from a fate that she herself had to go through, a fate that she was now experiencing. She did not want anyone else to have to go through what she has to go through.

"I may be able to talk to her and convince her to see some kind of reason," Airi said, "If what you saw out there was truly that bad, then I may be able to make a case,"

Ayelen nodded, "What I saw out there was something different from what I saw a few hours ago, before this recent mission. Erwine changed then. I'm not sure how, but she changed. If I can find out how, then we can possibly find some more evidence to back your case, Airi,"

"And by 'we', I presume you mean you and me, Ayelen?" asked Laelia.

"Of course," replied Ayelen, then she frowned before asking, "Do you not support my idea? Do you not want to try and help Erwine?"

"Why would we help her?" Laelia asked, "Why would he help a girl who we cannot assist in any way?"

"We can assist her by stopping Adrianne from doing what she has done to Ayelen," Airi explained, speaking as if Laelia was a retarded child.

"But was that wrong?" Laelia asked, "I know that Ayelen still bears the scars, and she will never truly recover, but we must ask the question of whether or not Adrianne is in the right, rather than assume that she is not,"

"What do you mean, 'in the right'?" Airi asked, "It's not about that. She's mentally unstable, how can you blame someone who hasn't been thinking straight for years?!"

"How can you follow someone who isn't thinking straight?" Ayelen asked, "If she's insane, then why don't you get her help?!"

"I have been helping her myself!" Airi countered, "And the last time she tried to be helped by others besides us, she was betrayed!"

"It doesn't matter!" Ayelen shouted," She still has no reason to go around destroying childhoods!"

"Whenever we contract, our childhood is gone," Laelia said, "Because we automatically join a much larger and more complex world than before. Adrianne is only increasing the rate of that transition, not changing the transition."

"Then what should we do?" Ayelen asked, her voice louder now, taking offense at what Laelia was saying, "Sit back and watch as…as another girl is scarred for the rest of…of her life?!" Ayelen stuttered, her voice growing more frantic as her mind thought. She was starting to cry, as she started to experience horrific flashbacks to her own past, when she was forced to do the things that Erwine had been made to do, only it had been a month after she contracted, not less than twenty-four hours.

"I am sorry that Adrianne did not help you," Laelia said, taking a step towards Ayelen, who immediately backed away, "But I am also sorry that I could not help you,"

Ayelen shook her head, "No!" she shouted, "You don't understand!" She pointed at Laelia, her face filled with anger, as she barely contained the emotion raging inside her at the moment. Laelia could tell that if the situation was not quickly defused, then there would be issues.

"Ayelen!" Airi shouted, "Calm down!"

The girl did not do this. Instead, she turned towards Airi, and threw a batch of insults at that girl who was actually on her side. The world seemed to become quite silent for Laelia. She stood and watched as Airi tried to calm Ayelen, and the latter girl fought back against the former.

They were shouting, and Laelia wondered how Adrianne had not heard them by now. She wondered if she should stop them. She considered just forcing both of them to sit down and shut up. However, a magic fight inside a closed space, especially inside a hive tower, would be incredibly ugly. It would not be pleasant for those who had to experience the aftermath of such a battle, and Laelia would end up feeling worse than she did now.

The world was still silent and slow, so slow. Laelia watched as Ayelen started to physically assault Airi, throwing a punch at the girl. The teleporter did what she could, and teleported. Appearing behind the girl, Airi leapt forwards and wrapped her arms around the girl's neck. She quickly placed Ayelen in a chokehold and held her there as she tried to strangle the girl into unconsciousness.

However, Airi forgot what Ayelen could do, and she barely held down a scream as she jumped back from Ayelen as Ayelen made the nerves in Airi's arm experience more physical pain than she had ever felt in her life before.

Laelia had enough at that point. She made a short hop forwards. To another observer, the hop would have been quite silly. It looked like a child playing a game. But in a twisted sense, the three girls were just children playing a game.

Laelia's shield was up. She modified it so that it blocked all from entering it. Neither Airi or Ayelen, and nothing they threw, could go into and through the shield. They were separated, as the expanding bubble pushed both of them back a few meters.

"This is pointless," Laelia said, standing with her arms at her sides in the middle of her shield, "There is no need to be bickering like children."

Both Airi and Ayelen opened their mouths, but Laelia held her arms out in front of her. Her fists were open, her palms exposed, fingers curled in the way one might curl their fingers around a trigger. Both girls who saw this knew to stop speaking. And even if they had tried to speak, Laelia's voice, a bit tense with anger, would have silenced them quickly.

"We are _not_ children," Laelia said, "We are part of the Inquisition. Our job is to destroy the enemy, not each other. It is not our job to bicker amongst ourselves and pretend that we know right from wrong. We do not."

"_And._" Laelia said, emphasizing that one word, enough to silence both Airi and Ayelen, even though both were clearly agitated by what had just been implied. "Before you think that I am saying that Adrianne does know right from wrong, I am not saying that. I may be implying that, but I retract that idea, as I do not think that she does."

"The point is that Erwine is a magical girl, like you and me. She will survive this process, especially because of the support she has from Adrianne. She may be scarred in some way, but then again, we have all been scarred in the past by some event."

"There is no reason to start plotting behind our master's back because of what has been done," Laelia explained why, "She is older than us, and although there is a chance that she is blinded by her need for vengeance, I imagine that only makes her more intent on finding one who can carry out that vengeance."

Laelia fell silent, and her shield fell alongside that. Airi and Ayelen were only separated by Laelia, who had her eyes closed. The two angered girls could certainly engage in some kind of combat at this time. However, they wondered what Laelia would do in reply, and they also understood that what they had done was stupid.

"Thank you," the shield generator said, "For taking my words seriously and with a level head." She assumed that the lack of movement from either girl was a sign that they did not plan to engage in any more foolish behavior.

"What do you suggest we do?" Airi asked.

"I suggest that we wait. Possibly we wait until we come to the next planet in our operation, and then we see how Erwine changed on the voyage there. If she has changed for the worse, then we bring this issue up with Adrianne in a calm way that does not suggest that we intend to overthrow her and tear down everything she has accomplished," explained Laelia, who took a short breath after this. None of the three knew entirely the deal Adrianne and Erwine had made.

Ayelen nodded, "I agree." Airi said the same thing, and the two girls ridded themselves of the tension present in their muscles. Neither girl truly wanted to fight the other. And now that Laelia had presented reason to both of them, they now had a reason to remain at peace.

That presenter of reason turned to look at Ayelen, who was standing quite meekly. She was now looking down at the floor, ashamed of the way she had just acted in front of two of her superiors.

"I apologize for sounding as if I do not care for you and what has occurred to you, Ayelen," Laelia said, "I do not mean any kind of disrespect, in fact, I only respect your more after seeing what Erwine feels now, even though she has the support of Adrianne."

"I hope that you can forgive me for what I suggest, as my plan may end up failing in its entirety, and resulting in Erwine suffering even more than you have, which would certainly show my lack of respect towards what you have gone through."

"I can forgive you," Ayelen promised, "I do not hold grudges in that manner. I believed that you are a good person, I apologize for lashing out at both of you in the way I did."

"I must apologize for my own behavior as well," Airi said, "It was quite uncalled for, and only served to make this entire situation more tedious to deal with,"

"I do not think we should spend any more time apologizing," Laelia said with a bright grin," I think we have apologized enough for the small transgressions we have committed against one another."

The three girls nodded, and then turned around suddenly, in a mix of surprise and fear as the doors behind Laelia burst open. The doors were not right behind Laelia. There were on the other wall from her. They were the doors behind which Adrianne was.

There was only one person who would burst out in such a manner. Adrianne shoved the doors to either side, the large, ornately decorated wooden objects loudly slamming against the wall as the edges collided.

Adrianne paused, to look at the three girls and where they were in the room. She stared at them for a time, and then nodded, before she walked towards the balcony doors. She informed Erwine that it was time to leave, before she turned around.

She stared right into the eyes of each of her servants in the room. She spent the most time staring at Laelia, who had been the most surprised when the inquisitor entered the room.

Adrianne said nothing. But Laelia knew that she had just waited to exit the room once the three of them were done. She had heard most of what transpired.

Laelia knew she should not be worried, but she was.

Erwine was sitting once more in the cockpit of the shuttle. Adrianne was once again in the seat beside her. At her command, the ship started to life off of the ground.

Erwine looked down as the hive tower started to move away from her. The ship started to accelerate off into the sky, and Erwine turned forwards once more.

Adrianne was quite proud of Erwine, she showed this now. As the shuttle flew through the sky, the inquisitor gave Erwine a glance as the young girl stared at the older girl. Adrianne smiled. It was the smile a mother would give to a child who had just won first place at some kind of competition.

"You did very well," Adrianne said, as the shuttle gained velocity, and the upper atmosphere was reached. She had said this, or something like this, many times in the past few hours.

But every time, the compliment had come from the bottom of her heart. Erwine could only smile back, as she had in the past. The little girl knew that her master was telling the truth. Maybe that was what allowed Erwine to loosen up, and simply let go of most of her anxieties for the moment. She had no reason to distrust Adrianne, at least none that mattered now. The only thing that mattered was whether or not this person was truly good. Then she turned back to face forwards, and her eyes became glued to the window as space approached.

The shuttle was high in the atmosphere, steadily moving towards escape velocity. Erwine stared in shock as the outside of the craft glowed bright red and orange. Her eyes widened, and she whipped her head around at Adrianne. Her face was twisted in fear of what was happening to the skin of the craft.

"It's air friction," Adrianne explained, "It's perfectly normal. We're traveling hundreds of kilometers per hour, so the metal and the air are rubbing against each other at high speeds."

Erwine nodded, not entirely understanding the process, but getting that it was not something that she had to worry about. "I'll have to teach you all the things you don't know," Adrianne said, then gestured forwards, "Look, we're close to the edge now,"

Erwine looked forwards again, and saw that the blackness of space seemed closer than ever. She could see the stars ahead as they approached the edge of the atmosphere of the planet.

Erwine started to breathe faster. Her heart beat faster in her chest as space neared. Adrianne chuckled. "This is only the first of many times, you know that right?"

Erwine nodded, as the shuttle started to shake less and less. "We're really leaving the planet, aren't we? We're really going to space?" There was fear apparent in her frantic words. Adrianne looked her in the eyes, and for some reason, that calmed Erwine.

"Of course," Adrianne said, "Turning around is a bit hard at this point. Make sure you are strapped in,"

Erwine frowned, "Why?" she asked. Erwine was strapped in, but she wondered why she needed it especially now.

The atmosphere was breached. Erwine felt a strange sensation. It was not like any she had ever felt before in her life. It was not an emotion. It was a physical event. She no longer weighed anything.

Erwine felt something tugging her up out of her chair. The restraints held her there tightly, but some force was acting upon her. Erwine started to become disturbed. She hurriedly glanced around, directing her gaze outside and at Adrianne, wondering what was causing her to feel like this.

"You know about gravity?" Adrianne asked.

"It's some kind of force!" Erwine shouted as she tried to remain absolutely still in her chair. The skin of her hands was going white as she tightly gripped the sides of the chair.

Adrianne undid the restraints on her chair as she engaged the autopilot procedures for the shuttle. The ship the craft was to land on was nearby, as the captain was directed to meet Adrianne. The docking would be quick and simple.

The inquisitor floated up into the air as she undid the straps that held her down, and smiled at Erwine as the girl's face became even more scared. "What's pulling you up then?!" she shouted, then asked, "Is it that thing called gravity?!"

Adrianne burst out laughing, and floated around the cockpit as she clutched at her chest, doubling over in her laughter. She shook her head, trying to calm herself down, while Erwine simply stared at the inquisitor and tried to remain calm.

"It's not gravity pulling me up," Adrianne choked out through her laughing, "It's the lack of gravity,"

Erwine displayed her lack of understanding by shutting her eyes and trying to not look at the seeming impossibility of Adrianne floating around. "Gravity is a force generated by everything, it's a result of mass. Gravity pulls other objects towards the generator of the gravity, but planets generate far more gravity than anything else on them, so we are pulled towards them. When we escape the atmosphere, we go out of the reach of gravity."

"Gravity is what holds us down, but without gravity, nothing prevents us from floating around like this," Adrianne was now directly above Erwine, who still had her eyes closed.

"Do you understand?" the inquisitor laughed, pushing herself off the ceiling and landing grabbing onto the arm of Erwine's chair. She reached out and tried to pry open Erwine's eyelids.

The girl opened her eyes due to the annoyance, and glared angrily at Adrianne. "You could have told me this beforehand!" she shouted.

"Yes I could have," Adrianne said, pushing herself back to her own seat and strapping in, "But that would have been no fun,"

"No fun for you," Erwine said, although she did seem a little excited by what was going on at the moment.

"You like this," Adrianne stated flatly, before looking out the window once more. She pointed out at seemingly nothing. Erwine realized she was indicating all the stars out in space. Erwine realized that she had never seen so many stars in the sky.

"There's so many…" she muttered, as she lost all sense of happiness as it was all converted to complete wonderment.

"There are billions of stars in this galaxy alone," Adrianne said, "And amongst those stars, there are around two million stars whose planets are inhabited by the Imperium."

Adrianne's voice became serious, yet also conveyed the sense of wonder that Erwine was feeling. "It is our duty to police those millions of worlds, and their countless inhabitants."

She turned to look at Erwine, and smiled. "Welcome to the greatest empire the human race has and ever will see in its long and storied lifetime,"

"At no other time has a ten thousand year war been waged by a single political body," Adrianne chuckled, "I hear that back in the old days, empires used to last a few hundred years before collapsing. But thanks to the Goddess, and girls like us, this empire has stood against the night for ten thousand years,"

Erwine's heart swelled with pride as Adrianne spoke. Both girls were completely serious now. "This Imperium is a place of tyranny and of freedom, of justice and of cruelty, of good and of evil," Adrianne said, "Yet in the end, everything balances back out to zero,"

"Even hope and despair?" Erwine asked.

"Of course," Adrianne said, "For it is those two things that determine everything else."

"Are you sure this is the greatest the human race will ever be?" Erwine asked, knowing that some might consider her words to be heretical.

"I never said this is the final or greatest form of the human race," Adrianne said, "I merely said this is the greatest empire. And the word greatest can also mean the largest and longest…"

"…not the best."

Erwine was torn away from her conversation with Adrianne as the sun disappeared. Or the light from the sun disappeared. If the sun disappeared, then Erwine would not be able to tell by the light alone, given the massive distances in between Siothea and the sun she circled.

So the light from the sun was truly being blocked. But in space, the sun seemed to be a bit larger than in the confines of an atmosphere, so the intervening object had to be quite large.

And Erwine was certainly amazed as she looked and saw a large vessel crossing her field of view. It was about five kilometers away, but it was still large enough to overshadow the sun. The ship was traveling across Erwine's view faster than few other things she had seen in her life, and Adrianne took the controls once more to guide the shuttle in towards the vessel.

"What is that thing?" Erwine asked, thinking that it could only be some grand battleship fitting of such an important person as Adrianne.

"That's just a three klick long merchant vessel, nothing really special," Adrianne explained, "It's got some advanced modifications thanks to my financial support, but it's not that big."

As the craft she was in approached the larger vessel, Erwine questioned the truth of the words she heard. She looked at what seemed to be a flying starscraper, hurtling through space faster than anything. It was like a starscraper only in length, as it was designed somewhat aerodynamically, as well as being much wider than any hive tower Erwine had ever seen, and much deeper as well.

The shuttle moved in towards an opening on the side of the merchant vessel. "That's the hangar," Adrianne said, "It's were ships land. Larger vessels have artificial gravity, so you don't need to worry about floating around."

Erwine nodded, as Adrianne guided her craft into the opening. It was actually quite large in size, but compared to the rest of the ship, it was like a nostril on a human, if that human's nostrils were incredibly small.

The shuttle touched down softly in the hangar, Adrianne gently guiding the ship's landing struts down to the surface of the large vessel. She shut down the engine and sighed, unstrapping herself and leaning back.

Erwine was unsure of what she should do. Adrianne was not floating away, but the last fifteen minutes had been incredibly shocking for her, so she was hesitant to move and learn of even more things that she did not understand at all.

"Come on," Adrianne said, "At least get out of the chair, it's perfectly fine."

Erwine looked around, and then reached to undo the straps that held in the chair. She grabbed onto the bottom of the chair as she did so, thinking that she was going to float off as Adrianne had before.

But she did not. She stayed right where she was, and Adrianne chuckled. Erwine blushed in embarrassment. "Look," she said, "I don't understand so much not because it's my fault, I had no way to learn any of this,"

"And that's another reason while the Inquisition is a wonderful path for you," Adrianne said, pointing a finger at Erwine. "You'll learn far more than you would staying on Siothea as a normal human being."

Adrianne jumped out of her chair, swinging her legs to the side as she did so. This led to her standing up in the middle of the space between the seats. "Come on," she said, "No time to waste, it's only a week of warpflight to Hadiens,"

Erwine had no idea what Adrianne was talking about, but she got up, not wanting to be left behind and embarrassed any more than she had already been.

The others had already left the shuttle, and Erwine heard voices outside as she moved towards the exit. Walking out, she saw Adrianne and the other three speaking with an older man, who looked to be around forty. He wore quite fancy clothing, and had a short beard coming from his chin that was almost completely fitting with the potbelly he had. A girl in red robes stood beside him, with short brown hair about her head. There was something strange about her, but Erwine didn't really pay attention.

Erwine was immediately distracted, however, by the space she was in. It had to have been hundreds of meters in terms of volume, and contained several various ships, all somewhat like the craft Erwine had arrived in.

She stood in one place, spinning around and around, her gaze going everywhere around the massive space as she was amazed by the fact that not only was she in space, she was standing inside a spaceship.

"Who's this?" the man asked.

"New girl," Adrianne said, "First time out of the atmosphere, give her a few minutes to get used to this place,"

Erwine started to walk mindlessly around the hangar, simply wanting to admire the size of the place. She looked at the other small shuttles, interested in every detail, only to be distracted by the various people running about the hangar, moving to refuel and refit the shuttle Adrianne used.

Erwine wandered back over to that area, watching the well-trained teams of men and servitors refit the craft. She took a special interest in the servitors, not entirely understand what they were at first.

They were strange combinations of flesh and machine. They walked around on bulky legs, wearing large boots that seemed to have been grafted into the skin. Various tools adorned their arms and the powered packs on their backs. Their gauntlets were grafted onto arms of flesh, yet the bulky tools were certainly metal.

Erwine was too amazed by everything else to put the pieces together immediately. It was not until she saw the strange creatures following the orders of the other humans that she realized it.

Erwine's mouth opened wide before a hand was clamped over it. Another hand clamped down on her arm, and she was forcefully dragged away from the servitors and flight crewmen by Laelia.

Erwine struggled, trying to break free from the girl's grasp, but she was too strong, and Erwine was surprised by the attack. She was also surprised by what she had realized.

"Quiet," Laelia ordered, "You can talk about this in a minute, but can you two please leave the hangar first?"

Erwine struggled, but Laelia turned her around to face Adrianne. Adrianne glared at her, "Please," she said, "This is not the place,"

Erwine nodded, and was let go of. She fell to the ground, as Laelia had been dragging her legs along. Adrianne helped Erwine up, offering a hand to the girl. Erwine looked at the hand as if it was the blade of a sword, but still took hold of it.

Adrianne then turned Erwine in the direction of the exit out of the hangar. "Let's go," she said, "There is much for you to learn, and not much time,"

Erwine nodded once more, not sure what to do other than do as Adrianne said. She walked out of the hangar with Adrianne behind her, as well as the other girls and the man who Erwine had first seen when she walked out of the shuttle.

Erwine glanced back several times, to watch the servitors as they went about their duties. She turned around as soon as one of the people immediately behind her glared at her. Erwine felt that she was going to be given some kind of punishment or something, but she wondered what it could possibly be for.

The potbellied man jogged ahead to hit the controls for the door out of the hangar. It was one of two doors leading further into the ship itself. The doors slid open and Erwine was practically shoved through by Adrianne. The inquisitor looked to both sides, making sure the hallway was clear. There were two crewmen who saw her come out of the hangar with her hands grabbing Erwine's shoulders.

Adrianne fixed them with a threatening stare, and nodded her head in such a way so that they understood that they should leave the hallway now. The two crewmen turned around quickly and exited the corridor as fast as possible without looking like they were running from the inquisitor.

With the hallway clear, Adrianne turned to look at Erwine, who was silent. "Erwine," the inquisitor began speaking calmly, but also softly, as she was fond of doing, "Please understand that those people you saw back there are all criminals,"

"But they were grafted with machines," Erwine complained, asking, "Can they even think on their own? Are they even human?"

"We are less human than they are," Adrianne growled, glancing behind her to make sure that the door was closed and that no one was listening. There were some things Maximilian Bolton did not need to know. "And they are criminals, who have been repurposed."

"They have been enslaved!" Erwine cried, her hands coming to hold her face, as she tried to contain her shock.

"They have no sentience anymore!" Adrianne replied, "They can't think, therefore they can't be enslaved. You can't enslave a being that does not understand freedom."

Erwine opened her mouth, but Adrianne slapped her hard. Erwine had been pushed against the wall, and the slap twisted her head around hard enough so that she hit the wall a little.

"You have seen worse things," Adrainne said, "You have encountered worse things in your short experience, and you have killed several people. This is not a hard concept to accept, not for you,"

_Not for you, _Erwine thought, _she's pushing me harder. She was probably so nice with Airi, Laelia, and Ayelen when they put the pieces together, but I am being pushed harder because I am me. _

_And I've already accepted the hardships of this path in life…_Erwine realized, before she faced Adrianne, and stood up straight. "I hate you," she told the inquisitor, her voice very certain of what she was saying.

"Don't expect me to take that seriously," Adrianne replied, almost laughing. The inquisitor shook her head, turning around, "Come on, we need-"

"I hate you!" Erwine repeated. Adrianne froze. She really did hear the truth in Erwine's words. She turned around, facing the young girl.

It was the bravest Erwine had ever been in her entire life. But her body still shook wildly, and she looked ready to burst into tears. Adrianne reached her hand out, "I'm sorry, Erwine, I didn't mean to…to just dismiss you like that."

But it was too late, Erwine had reached a breaking point. The past few hours had just been pent up sorrow, held in by the hope that Adrianne would tell her something to give her a direction, to help her understand why this all had to happen.

Erwine shook her head, "This is a really messed up world, isn't it?" Her voice became more frantic, she even backed away from Adrianne, pressing her back against the wall, hands going to clutch the sides of her head as she cried harder.

"This world doesn't make any more sense," she said, "No sense, no sense," She repeated the two words over and over again as she slid down the wall. Her body shook rapidly as she grimaced in pain.

"This has all just been a spiral of pain, nothing makes sense anymore!" She screamed, "It was all…all torn apart, then put back together in a horrific new way! I don't want to be a magical girl anymore!" The words were honest.

Adrianne stood still, listening to Erwine's cries. The inquisitor…didn't truly know what to do. Erwine was rambling on, without any real meaning or direction to her words, "Everything was thrown upside down, then torn apart, then dashed apart even further and further! Nothing's left of anything I had!"

Erwine knew it was the truth. Before, she had been a coward. Now here she was, having killed and tortured. She had been entirely changed, in the space of barely two days.

Adrianne got to one knee in front of Erwine. "Hey," she said. Her own voice had taken on a solemn tone. Erwine took her hands away from her face, barely uncovering her eyes, "How do you do this?" she asked, "How do you handle the world as it truly is? I don't want to be a magical girl!"

"Erwine…" Adrianne's soft cry was lost amidst the girl's tears. But she spoke up, "You see, I don't really handle the world."

Erwine's cries were paused. Now confusion was fighting with sorrow for an equal position. "I only pretend to be this emotionless killer. In reality, I'm weaker than any of the people who are waiting for us out there."

"The world doesn't make sense, but the key isn't understanding it all…the key is not trying to understand it. I stopped trying so long ago." Adrianne grinned a little, but Erwine could tell that it wasn't supposed to be a happy expression. "Don't try to make sense when there is no sense to be made." The inquisitor recommended.

"So you're just as fragile as I am?" Erwine asked. "Then what are you…how?"

"I'm more fragile than you, if only by a little," Adrianne said, "I specifically made you to be stronger than I am. You're a fine magical girl, or you'll be one eventually."

The inquisitor's hand was laid on Erwine's cheek, fingers moving slowly to brush away the tears. Erwine cracked a bit of a smile. "Please," Adrianne begged, "Don't ever give up on what you've chosen. Not even because it's your duty or something silly like that. You have a desire, never stop chasing that desire."

Adrianne chuckled a little, "You see, I am the way I am because I've been chasing a desire for so long that I don't know if I can really ever achieve it. We, magical girls, are all maddeningly driven forwards by a single desire, the desire to see our wish fulfilled."

"We want that wish fulfilled because we signed up for this world of despair in order to see that wish fulfilled. But it's not about the wish, it's about how you go about it." Adrianne sighed, "And I've been doing that all wrong…"

"Adrianne?" Erwine's voice was soft and low. "When you said I was the most important thing to you…is this what you meant?"

"Yes," Adrianne answered, "I have been chasing this desire all wrong, letting my rage blindly drive me forwards. My emotions have ruled me for so long, even though I act like I have none. But you…my intention is to make a much stronger magical girl."

"So you are on a revenge quest?" Erwine asked.

"Yes. A long time ago, a certain person took everything I loved from me. I've been unable to catch her. For so long, I have been searching for someone who I can mold into the weapon to finally destroy her once and for all."

"But…" Adrianne looked down, the sorrow clear on her face, "I bet that doesn't make you want to stick around."

Some time passed. Adrianne was silent, knowing that she would truly drive the girl away when she heard everything.

"But it does," Erwine said, "You've torn my life apart, and nothing has made sense. I've never really understood what's going on…because I haven't had any kind of direction."

She grabbed Adrianne's hand, still on her cheek. "Adrianne Azure, I would gladly…assist you in this journey of yours." Erwine felt the words would be regretted by her, but she spoke them nonetheless.

"Don't be so quick to trust me," Adrianne said, "You don't know anything about me,"

"Correct," Erwine said, "But I need some purpose. I'll take this one, because it's one…one that will help others. I want power over my life, but for too long, you've been dragging me along. This…this is a choice I'm making, you're giving me another option." Erwine smiled sadly herself, "If you will give me that power, then I would gladly be with you."

"Don't be so selfless," Adrianne demanded, "Please, don't trust me. Not until I've told you everything."

"How long until then?" Erwine asked, body still shaking, but more out of excitement now.

"A few more hours, just a few things I need to finish up," Adrianne said, standing up. Erwine latched onto her hand and pulled herself up alongside the inquisitor. She hopefully stared at the person who had tormented her so much, but had never betrayed her.

And now, that same person was giving her a purpose. A reason to exist in this odd world. And no matter what, Erwine, once and still a frightful coward, would take any opportunity to justify herself.

For too long, she had been lost. It had been days. Not even half a week had passed since this all started. But Erwine needed a direction. And right here, there was a person giving her a direction.

A direction that Erwine would gladly follow.

* * *

Egnia Toella: "She's done. Call Ms. Eskel, tell her to move in. Ms. Azure is clearly unfit."  
Ashiri Maleno: "She didn't violate any rules of conduct. Her actions could be considered brash, but the Inquisition has loose rules for a reason. If we bring her in, Ms. Adramartis will fight in."  
Lola Opin: "True, if we try to make this into a legal battle, it'll only tie down resources and waste time. We need to get rid of her some other way."  
Catirin Akhme: "Should we quietly retire her ourselves?"  
Egnia Toella: "Ms. Eskel should not try to arrest Ms. Azure, that's not what I mean. What she should try to do is sit the girl down and talk to her. What happened back on Siothea is absurd. It caused nothing but trouble."  
Lola Opin: "There's only so much we can do at this point. I think the best option, if this is truly found to be a major issue, is to get rid of her."  
Ashiria Maleno: "And her other girls? They'll only complain and spread the word. We have to contain this problem, which isn't very large. We're overreacting. I think this committee is currently operating on the belief that Adrianne has a secondary agenda that is somehow threatening."  
Catirin Akhme: "All review of the Khyllis case suggests that none of the events there actually occurred. Ishna Kleimar died a long time ago. Adrianne has to have a secondary agenda."

-Log of Tempestus Four Toella Multi-Sector-Overwatch-Committee Emergency Meeting, M


	12. A Happy End to the Beginning

Straight up banning magical girls from the Adeptus Mechanicus is no way to move forwards. We cannot act as if they are a cancerous presence. They have contribute greatly, some of their techmages have done the most for the organization. Even in the Heresy, plenty of the techpriests of Mars turned coat and sided with the betrayer.

There is no plausible, supportable reason for magical girls to be banned from the Adeptus Mechanicus. Such training is at least required by the Mage Knight chapters. As such, the Mechanicus shall be required by Imperial law to accept all magical girls who can pass the preliminary exams, as already laid down by the Accord of Calereta. Disobeying this order shall result in immediate punishment from Her Holy Majesty's forces.

-Decree made by the High Lords of Terra, circa M34.

Not all magical girls are necessarily acceptable candidates for the Adeptus Mechanicus. While many exhibit an interest in it, if they do not have the proper knowledge or personality for the job, then they should not be allowed to join. As such, a series of tests shall be implemented to ensure that those entering the Mechanicus are the best possible.

Given the name of this world, this shall be the Accord of Calareta. Signed on this day, M, by the gathered High Lords of Terra. Its authority shall be absolute, and none shall circumvent the system, even taking favoritism into account. This shall ensure the quality of the Mechanicus for many years to come.

-Speech made at the end of the Calareta Conference.

Tensions between the mages and priests has only worsened over time. From what I understand, the Fabricator-General himself is under pressure to equalize the two groups, with the balance having been thrown off again due to his actions. The techmages are lobbying hard, and several ranking techpriests are starting to go to their side, purely because of the traction the faction is gaining.

The Grand Inquisitor herself is starting to get annoyed, and the Mage Knights Representative is thinking of calling troops to directly intervene. Factories are being shut down, then reactivated, then taken over, then retaken, and it's starting to create serious supply shortages. The conflict is silently progressing throughout the entire Imperium. It definitely seems that Mars might see another civil war, and everyone is interested in preventing that. With the increase in movement in the Cadian Gate, nobody wants a war with another Black Crusade on the horizon.

-Letter from Inquisitor Malerie Lina

* * *

Erwine followed, as Adrianne opened the door to the hangar once more. The people waiting outside walked through the door, and Adrianne said, "I apologize Maximilian, but I needed to speak with Erwine here,"

Adrianne turned to Erwine, "This is the captain of this vessel, the rogue trader Maximilian Bolton," to Bolton, she said, "This is Erwine Braune, newly contracted and now part of my group,"

Bolton stepped forwards and held out his hand. He and Erwine engaged in a firm handshake as Bolton said hello. "Hello," Erwine said in reply, and nothing more. Adrianne looked to the girl in red beside him.

The inquisitor introduced her, "The resident Techmage, Lisa Vollinius," The girl nodded to Erwine, reaching out with a hand.

"Techmage?" Erwine repeated, confused.

"Ah, she's a lot to learn, I see," Lisa said to Adrianne, shaking Erwine's hand. The silver-haired girl caught flashes of metal beneath the girl's expansive robes, and wondered what might lie behind their cover.

"True, I'll move quickly." Adrianne promised.

"Good, good," Lisa chuckled. "I see you took an interest in the servitors? Not the prettiest, if you ask me. Had I the funds and resource's, I'd just upgrade them to the fully metallic models, more efficient anyways, but we have to make due somehow." Erwine was disturbed in a way by the attitude the girl had towards them.

"It's just…" Erwine shook her head, "I don't even know what to say."

"Nothing at all." Lisa suggested, "You've no idea of their existence. I'll admit, it shouldn't have been sprung on you like that." She shot a playful glare at Adrianne. The way Adrianne looked back didn't make it look like she was joking.

"I suppose you want to see your quarters first?" Bolton asked Erwine, then turning to Adrianne for confirmation.

Erwine replied, "Yes, please." She was struck by a sudden, overwhelming wave of tiredness. She realized that she had not slept not truly ate in a very long time. She had been functioning on an entirely empty stomach for two days straight, and she was looking forwards to actually getting a true meal.

"Yes," Adrianne said, "The room across from me is free, correct?"

"Yes," Bolton said.

"Then she can be there," Adrianne said, "Have some food brought to the room, enough for two. I need to start instructing the girl in the basics of science,"

"The books are still in your room, and there may be some blank books around in the empty quarters," the rogue trader said, "And some food shall be brought as soon as possible,"

"Thank you," Adrianne said, before strolling off down the hall. Erwine followed her, not needing instructions at this point. The girl followed Adrianne throughout the corridors of the large vessel.

_This thing has to be several kilometers in volume, _Erwine thought, then asked, "How far to our destination?"

"About five minutes," Adrianne said, "It's about fifth-sixths of a kilometer to your quarters, as that was the closest hangar."

"Why is this thing so large?" Erwine asked.

"A lot of things need to be transported by traders," Adrianne said, "And this is a customized rogue trader vessel, so it packs a lot more than all standard merchant craft, especially because my paycheck is being used to upgrade it."

"It's really not that big," Adrianne said, as they walked on a catwalk far above a large cargo bay. It was hundreds of meters in volume, and the next room was another such bay. "The largest Imperial Navy battleships can reach seventeen kilometers in length,"

"What?!" Erwine shouted, the sound echoing through the bay as they walked through the place. "Why would anything be made so large?!"

"Wars are not small," Adrianne replied, "Large ships help end battles faster."

"Seventeen kilometers…" Erwine repeated, "What can those things do?"

"They can kill planets with bombardment from their tertiary weapons, and their primary weapons can kill planets in a couple shots." Adrianne explained, "And they carry enough fighter craft to overpower many carrier ships of smaller sizes,"

"I don't understand most of what you're saying," Erwine pointed out meekly, as the second cargo bay reached.

"No need to worry," Adrianne said, "I have several of the latest versions of the Imperial Navy codex that is issued to inquisitors."

"That must be quite large," Erwine said.

"Oh, it's only about one thousand and two hundred pages with text that is about nine point size," Adrianne said, "And that's each volume. The compressed version is only one book, but that's not the best source. The full version is three separate books, for a total of around three thousand and six hundred pages of information on the Imperial Navy."

Erwine did not understand how so much could be written. And frankly, she did not care that much at the moment. So she did not ask any more about the Imperial Navy and the various books Adrianne had on it.

She just stayed silent and observed her surroundings as she traveled through the ship. Erwine wondered what it must be like, to practically live on such a vessel for most of one's life, only going down to see the surface when it was required.

It scared her a little, as she could only think of being cramped in tight spaces for weeks and months at a time. The corridors were not that tight, and the layout of the ship made more sense than what she first though. At first impression, the ship had seemed like an impossible-to-navigate labyrinth that she would have to memorize. But helpful signs on the walls as well as a sensible design allowed Erwine to get a feel for the way the ship's hallways worked.

Most were straight, and met with other hallways at intersections. Some were curved, but those were mainly ones on the inside, and Erwine did not encounter any of those in her time on the ship. She was amazed by how complex the vessel was.

And by the time she reached her destination, her amazement had not died.

Erwine did not think that she was going to have any fun learning science with Adrianne. It was not because of who the teacher was, it was just what she was learning. Erwine understood that she had a duty that needed to be fulfilled, but she also did not want to deal with any other things at the moment.

Rest was what she wanted. However, Erwine had noticed a startling trend in the last few days of her not getting what she wanted. It was not like she had ever gotten what she wanted, except for a few occasions, but Erwine had expected to have some higher level of control over her life now that she had contracted.

And she realized that she did in many ways. However, in many other ways she did not. She still had to learn. That was an undeniable fact.

Erwine turned a corner, and observed another long hallway like the many she had seen in the time she had taken to walk to this location on the ship. Adrianne was going towards the side of the hallway, approaching a door.

Erwine came up behind the inquisitor as she reached out and quickly pushed the door. It was locked, Adrianne had quickly inserted and turned a key before hitting multiple buttons on a pad. The door clicked, and was pushed easily.

Erwine had been waiting behind Adrianne for the door to be opened. Her eyes had wandered around the corridor, observing that there was another door similar to this one behind her. There were several more doors, and Erwine wondered why they were so far apart, at least the ones in the same wall. The next door on the wall she faced was about four meters from the current one.

She turned back as Adrianne entered the room. She was going to step in, thinking that it was her room. However, Adrianne quickly ran into the room, and just as Erwine had taken her fifth step inside, Adrianne was running back from a bookcase where she had grabbed multiple heavy books.

Erwine nearly started to shake in fright at the sight of the large tomes. She had not exactly loved science. She could handle it, but not after going so long without any rest whatsoever.

Adrianne motioned for Erwine to turn around with the free hand she had. Her right arm was wrapped around the four books she carried. Erwine did as she was told. "This is my room," Adrianne explained, before pointing over Erwine's shoulder at the door on the opposite wall, "That is your room,"

Erwine walked towards that door, before stepping aside as Adrianne approached it. The young girl thought the door was locked, but Adrianne just pushed it open as she approached. Erwine felt a little embarrassed, but Adrianne did not comment. Erwine followed the inquisitor as she walked into the room, and this time, she had more time to examine her surroundings as she was not being pushed out of the room.

The first thing that Erwine noticed was the size of the room. It seemed to stretch for about four meters to either side of the door, and then stretched about five meters backwards. Erwine shook her head immediately. She could not believe what she was seeing.

"This is…this is my…" Erwine was at a total loss for words as she stared at the massive space in front of her. It was not necessarily that large, but it was certainly larger than anything Erwine had ever seen, save the quarters in the hive towers that Erwine had seen. "This is my room?" she finally managed to stutter this out.

Adrianne was standing beside the bed, the head of which was in the top right corner of the room, while the foot of the bed was at the middle of the opposite wall from Erwine. She had dropped her books down on the bed, and was now looking at Erwine with a smile on her face.

"Surprised?" Adrianne asked, "I can't say I blame you. This is a very nice room for a ship like this one."

Erwine shook her head, "I have all this…to myself?" she asked, "There's no one else…in here with me?" She kept shaking her head in total disbelief of what she was seeing and hearing.

"What did you expect?" Adrianne wondered.

"I expected something…smaller…"

"You're a magical girl," said the inquisitor, "I can't have you living in a little closet,"

Erwine walked towards the bed, focused mainly on that single thing. She wanted to lay down on it very much. She was not feeling all that well at the moment, and she wanted to get some rest. Her tired mind prevented her from even looking at Adrianne as she walked past her.

Adrianne watched the girl as she stumbled to the side of the large bed, and just collapsed next to it. She fell to the ground, leaning against the side of the bed. Adrianne walked around the side and looked down at her. Erwine had her eyes closed, and did not respond when Adrianne prodded her with her foot.

"Are you alright?" Adrianne asked, her voice a little worried. _Did I overwork her? _Adrianna wondered to herself.

Erwine muttered softly as Adrianne knelt down in front of her, "I just…want some…rest,"

Adrianne grinned. "Of course," she said, "I was stupid for not realizing that before." _I gave her an incredibly difficult task and made her kill two people, and then I expect her to not need rest afterwards? _Adrianne questioned her own actions, then chuckled to herself.

She whispered, "Alright, I'll let you be." She scooped the young girl up in her arms and placed her on the bed. Adrianne did not do anything else to Erwine. She did not disturb any of the neatly made sheets. She only waited to make sure that Erwine did not need anything else. "When your meal comes, I shall bring it in for you, but I'll do my best to not disturb you," promised Adrianne, before the inquisitor turned around to leave.

"Sleep well," she said, "We have a lot to do." Adrianne then walked out of the room, and closed the door as softly as she could. The inquisitor would then wait in the hall for a time, until the meal she promised to softly bring would arrive.

Erwine, however, did not get the rest she needed.

Erwine lay on the bed for several minutes, not making any noise as she just tried to get some sleep. However, there was something off. There was something about where she was that prevented her from getting rest.

It was not clear to Erwine what that thing was, so after ten minutes of feeling uncomfortable, she sat up in the bed. She looked around the room, before feeling a sudden urge to lay back down. It was as strong as the urge to get up and explore, but Erwine knew that lying down at the moment would not do anything for her except to annoy her.

The girl scooted over to the side of the bed, and then shakily got off the bed and onto the floor. Her limbs were tired, and her muscles screamed as they strained to hold her up, but she managed to stand.

She then looked around the room, this time getting a clearer view of where she was. Her initial observation had been to confirm that she was where she thought she was, so she now observed more deeply the place she was in.

The room was furnished incredibly well to the eyes of Erwine, and the walls certainly stood out amongst the pretty furniture that was present. The walls did not exactly bother Erwine, as she had encountered such grey metal for all her life. It was everything else that bothered the young magical girl.

The room was so…big. That was all Erwine could think. The bed stretched across the right part of the back wall, and in the top left former of the room, there was another door leading out of the room. Saw this as she turned right, and walked to it. She opened it, and found a large bathroom.

Erwine let the door swing open as she stood in the doorway staring awkwardly at the room she saw. It was something that she just could not understand. It was…so…big.

The room was only about three by three meters, but for Erwine, that was like a palace. She could not believe that a single bathroom on this ship was close to being as large as the place she had lived for thirteen years of her life.

Erwine turned around, pretending that she had not seen that, only to encounter a room that was far larger than the place she had lived in. The bed was only one of the many things which shocked Erwine completely. There were also two bookshelves in either of the opposite corners of the room near the front door. The bookshelves were shaped to fit the corners, turning at right angles to fit the space perfectly.

In front of one was a couch with a small table in front of it, while in front of the other was a desk, devoid of any objects save a lamp. In front of the bed was a small table, with several chairs around it. The space she was looking at was far too massive to be living quarters. Her hands reached up to rub her eyes, attempting to clear them of the illusions that she was currently seeing.

Erwine was stunned when she brought her hands away and realized that what she was seeing was real. She was not seeing illusions. She was seeing reality. This was her life now.

The door opened. Adrianne saw her standing where she was, and frowned. "Not so tired?" she asked.

Erwine shook her head, "I was…I was just looking around," answered the girl.

Adrianne nodded, and saw that Erwine was even more tired than before. She quickly stepped forwards and placed the plate of food and the glass of water she held on the table in front of the bed.

She then grinned at Erwine before quickly walking out of the room. The door was shut. Erwine walked towards the table where there was now a plate of food. She could smell the food as she approached.

She could not comprehend what she was smelling. She truly could not. The food she looked at, the food she saw there on the table, still warm and ready to be consumed, could not have been food.

Erwine swore to the Goddess that she saw meat. She had seen a few people eat it in her life. But for most girls like here, meat was a myth. Meat was a legend, a legend of a delicious food that they would never taste in their lives.

Yet Erwine was now staring at a large chunk of meat in front of her. It looked so good, just like people used to say to her. It was something she had vague dreams of, but it was now reality.

There were other such mythical foods, such as vegetables. Erwine just could not believe her eyes. It was like she was seeing a miracle unfold right in front of her eyes.

Erwine started to cry. She just felt sad, and she wanted to cry. There was no reason in her mind. She just cried.

She was sad. She didn't know why. So she cried, and fell to her knees, as the smell of the food wafted to her nose, and the grey metal walls that were the only thing Erwine understood blocked out the sound of her sorrow from anyone else who may have cared.

The smell of the food, the smell which had never been experienced by Erwine before, was long gone. Only a few trace elements of the smell that had confused the girl remained in the air of the room.

These traces floated about, tickling at Erwine's nose, threatening to plunge her deeper into the pit that she was currently occupying in her mind as she sat on her bed. This pit was not a pleasant one, at least for the girl who had knowingly created herself, and refused to leave at the moment.

Erwine did not understand the new world she had been thrust into. It had been acceptable at first, as she was moving far too quickly to actually take a moment to question what she was seeing or what she was doing. She had questioned those things, yet the explanations she had been given were reasonable.

Now, sitting alone in her room, faced with a plate of food that only emphasized the fact that Erwine was in a new world, she had time to think. Erwine had been told many times that her tendency to think too much was going to hurt her. It already had hurt her at times.

Yet this was the worst of any of the times Erwine had been hurt by what she had always thought to be a gift, a quality that placed her just a little above her friends, who refused to question the world around them.

Erwine was realizing some important things that had always been in her mind, at least since she had contracted and joined with Adrianne, but things that she had never truly come to terms with.

_I won't see home again, _she thought, _I won't see Nada, or my parents, or her parents. I may not even see Siothea again. I'll outlive everyone I knew on that planet…_

Erwine could have chosen to ignore her grief, and simply fall asleep. That is, if she could have actually fallen asleep on the uncomfortable bed she was on. This bed was not uncomfortable because it was truly uncomfortable, it was not pleasant to lay on because it was too comfortable.

The luxurious room Erwine had all to herself had a bed far too luxurious and comfortable for Erwine to comfortably sleep in. It was made of fine fabrics, and the pillows were too soft for Erwine to even begin to develop a metaphor or simile to explain how nice they were for her. The entire bed was the same way for her/

_Yet I can't sleep, _Erwine chuckled in her head, _that's a bit ironic. I'm in more comfort than I have ever been, yet I can't sleep. _Erwine shuddered again as a tear made its way off her cheek and onto the sheets that Erwine had pulled up over her knees.

Erwine had her knees pulled close to her chest, while her arms rested on her knees. She was looking straight ahead, having given up trying to sleep long ago. She was far too warm. The ship was well conditioned, constantly staying at an acceptable temperature, and the sheets only increased the heat Erwine felt.

Erwine was hot. She was not comfortable with the warmth she felt. She had never felt this warm, except for the hottest summers, even though the temperature was only around seventy-degrees in the room. Her city was in the north, and the terrible heating her hab had only made the cold worse. She had always been too cold, but she had adapted to that cold, and now, the heat made her almost as uncomfortable as the bed did.

She had drunk all the water in her glass, but she found herself feeling thirsty. She did not want to go anywhere, however. Erwine was content where she was.

She was not expecting to hear the sound of the door opening. She realized that she had never locked it, and wondered who would be coming at this time of night. She had shut off all the lights in the room. There was a lamp next to her bed, but she slowly started to turn onto her side. The last thing she wanted was to be engaged in conversation.

"Can't sleep?" Adrianne asked from the doorway.

* * *

Adrianne leaned back in the chair, taking a long deep breath as she stretched out her tired limbs. "So did everything go well?" Bolton asked, taking a seat across from her. They sat in Bolton's rather spacious quarters. It was just one of the two rooms he had to himself.

_I ought to call him on the waste of space, but it's his ship. _"As well as could be expected. She reacted quite well, I think. Didn't run away, which is good." Adrinane nodded. "It could have been much worse, and it wasn't."

"Is Erwine…loyal?" the trader wondered, lifting his glass of amasec to his lips.

Adriann sighed. She sat up straight. "Well, that's the problem. I can't be entirely sure that she is. She's seen a lot, she's experienced things that she never expected. At the moment, all she can do is blame those things on me, because I'm the one who has brought her along to all of them." She shook her head, "Perhaps I'm paranoid, but I doubt that suspecting her is that."

Bolton didn't disagree. "Erwine could betray you, that's right."

"I think she might just, at this point. I'm hoping to reign her in, eventually, make her entirely dependent on me. I overestimated, made her too strong for her own good." Adrianne's hand went to her face. "Well, I won't make such a mistake again."

"Such a mistake?" Bolton quoted, "What do you mean by that?"

Adrianne glared at him. The man flinched, almost spilling his drink. "Don't try me," she growled. "I won't let Erwine suffer the same fate."

"Just be smart," Bolton suggested, speaking calmly. "Look, I don't disagree with what you're doing, but what you did with Lilith-"

"Don't speak that name!" Adrianne shouted, standing up. "You…don't tell me you think it was my fault. She was weak, and she paid the price for that weakness. Erwine is stronger than she ever was."

The inquisitor turned, marching for the door. "I'll go talk to Erwine, make sure she won't run away from me." Bolton watched her storm out.

He took a deep breath. The man looked behind himself, watching Airi step out from where she had been. The dark-haired girl was obviously distressed. "What really happened with her?" Bolton asked, "Is Adrianne telling the truth.

"She is," Airi replied, without even thinking.

_Such obedience, but she felt the need to spy on the conversation. _Bolton wasn't sure he understood the girl, or her motivations. "Do you really believe in her, Airi?" he asked.

Airi looked at him. She had strode past him already. The girl was disappointed, more than anything else. "I will follow Adrianne to the ends of the earth. Would you do the same if she asked?"

Bolton was silent. Airi said nothing else, walking towards the door. She paused. "Lilith shouldn't have died when she did." Then the girl left.

* * *

Erwine jumped at the woman's voice, as her figure was illuminated by the dim light from the corridor. She held things in her hands, although Erwine did not know what.

The young girl knew that she had been found out. So she stopped turning over and reverted to her original position of sitting. "No," she said, somewhat ashamed of her behavior.

"I figured this would happen," Adrianne said, walking further into what was Erwine's room. She pushed the door shut with her foot, before heading over to the table that was a bit in front of the bed.

She put what she held on the table. The room was once again entirely dark. "Want to turn on the light?" Adrianne asked.

Erwine's hand moved, but she hesitated for a brief second, "I'm fine with the dark," Adrianne said, before Erwine hit the switch and the lamp beside her came alive with light. The light shone out into the room, showing an Adrianne that Erwine was not familiar with.

The girl's hair was down, reaching to her shoulders, and she no longer wore her trench coat or hat. She wore the rest of her magical girl uniform. The overall effect was that Adrianne looked friendlier and easier to talk to than she did with her entire outfit on.

The things that had been placed on the table were two glasses, as well as a single bottle of…something. Erwine did not try to make out the words on the bottle, but as Adrianne reached for the cork and yanked it off in one smooth motion, a foul stench hit Erwine's nose like a nuclear warhead striking a ship.

Erwine visibly recoiled backwards, even though she could not go any farther back, being pushed up against the pillows already. Her hands moved to cover her nose as Adrianne chuckled at her childish behavior.

The inquisitor poured some of the liquid within the bottle into one glass, and then some more into the other. The glasses were well-crafted, and Erwine could not believe that such fine items actually existed.

Adrianne put the bottle down as Erwine strived to breathe only through her mouth and never catch a whiff of the scent which had now thoroughly infected the air around her. The blond-haired girl then downed the contents of one glass in a single gulp, before refilling the glass.

Adrianne shook her head, before looking at the bottle as she brought it up from pouring some more of the drink. "It's not that old, and it's local…figures," she sighed, "I ask Bolton for something to drink, and he gives me some local crap he bought on the surface, probably just to mess with me."

Adrianne picked up the other glass, the one she had yet to drink from, and then turned to offer it to Erwine. The young girl shook her head fiercely, pinching her nostrils even tighter as the glass was moved closer.

"It's bad, I agree," Adrianne, "But it is at least something." The inquisitor tipped her head back and drank all of the drink in the glass she had just offered to Erwine.

Erwine's voice was muffled and distorted from the way her nostrils were clamped shut, as she asked, "What is that?"

"It's amasec," Adrianne replied, "An alcoholic drink, never had it? No? Probably heard of it, or maybe had it, but it may go by a different name for you."

"Why do you like that stuff?"

Adrianne grinned, "I have no idea," confessed the inquisitor, "Well, I guess I like brands that actually taste good. But I'm not sure why I still drink this."

Erwine had known adults, even some older children, who were alcoholics. She could not imagine that Adrianne was one of those people as well. _Something bad happened to her, but she's an inquisitor. I expect sadness, but not…not this._

"Adrianne," Erwine said meekly, or at least as meek one could sound when plugging their own nose, "Are you…are you an alcoholic?"

Adrianne shook her head. "I can't be," she explained, "I can't be an alcoholic, because my body is set to neutralize all the alcohol that comes in. I can't get intoxicated no matter how much I drink. I can't even kill myself by drinking too much."

Erwine frowned. _Magic…magic is not just used for battle? _She thought. "Magic has other uses?" she guessed.

"Of course," Adrianne explained, "Magic can do just about anything, provided that you have the power and the will to do it,"

"And you use it to remove alcohol from your body?" Erwine seemed unimpressed.

"No, it just does that automatically because I programmed my mind in that way. Magic also automatically does many other things for me. That's also magic for you, a heightened sense of mental control. I'll explain at some point," promised Adrianne, before taking the other glass of amasec and drinking it all.

Erwine opened her mouth, showing that she had something to say. Adrianne held up her hand, "I did not come here to explain magic to you," she said, "I came here to make you relax,"

"Make me?" Erwine questioned the words Adrianne used. The inquisitor did not sound all that friendly when she spoke like that.

"Well, not make you, but help you, as much as I can," Adrianne explained, sitting down in one of the chairs beside the table. It was a chair on the opposite side from the bed, and she could stare right at Erwine from where she was. "I did anticipate the distress you feel now."

Erwine frowned. "I can't sleep," she said, "I don't know…I…do know," the girl looked away from Adrianne as she admitted this. "This place, this ship, this room, it's all so much…better,"

"I know," Adrianne said, "As I said, I saw this coming from a ways away."

"This bed is too comfortable, it's too soft. I can actually get a good, full night of sleep, knowing that I don't need to wake up early in the morning, or worry about freezing to death in bed, or worry about robbers coming in the night." Erwine went on, tears coming from her eyes as she spoke.

"This room is warm, with these sheets I'm burning up! The food is amazing! I have never tasted such delicious food! I can safely eat it without wondering if it has gone bad, or if I ate enough to make it through the day till lunch!"

"It's not…" Erwine shook her head, unable to find the right words for the scenario at hand. "It's just not right, at least for me it's not,"

"I don't understand at all," Adrianne said sadly, "I've always lived in luxury, and the struggles I've faced do not at all relate to the struggles you face now." Adrianne was not trying to be rude, and Erwine did not find her words to be rude. She accepted what the inquisitor said, as the girl was just trying to explain why she could not help Erwine.

Erwine started to cry even harder. "I don't know what I want," admitted the young girl, "I don't know if I want to even do this anymore. I don't know if I can handle all this, this whole new world. It…scares me."

"I know," Adrianne said, "It scared me too, when I first stepped out into it." The inquisitor was still taking occasional sips of her drink, but she was not drinking it all in great gulps as she had been doing before.

"Of course, I was not scared in the way you are." Adrianne tone was apologetic. "I'm sorry that you have to go through all this, it must be like going to an entirely different planet and then having to spend the rest of your life there."

Erwine did not know what she was feeling at the moment. She still felt her mind trapped in the metaphorical deep pit which she had been in since before Adrianne arrived, but the inquisitor's words had yet to assist Erwine that much. Tears were still in her eyes, "How am I supposed to live like this?" she asked, "How is anyone supposed to live like this?"

"You get used to it," Adrianne said. Her voice was sad but harsh, and her words were true. She was not lying. She merely meant to tell the cold, hard truth to Erwine. "You get used to the feeling of that bed, and those sheets. You get used to the temperature of the room, you get used to the taste of the food. You get used to not having to worry." The inquisitor was solemn as she spoke, but Erwine knew that the truth was being spoken.

Erwine wanted to ask how, but that question would have been pointless. She knew that. It was not a hard realization to come to, given the amount of common sense that had been pounded into over the past couple days.

Adrianne did not say anything more. The inquisitor poured herself some more drink, her blonde hair swishing around her head as she brought her head up to look at the bottle. _She's quite beautiful, _Erwine thought. It was just a compliment the young girl thought up, nothing more. Erwine had always found the inquisitor intimidating, but that was when she was walking around in the guise of the role she played as a part of the Imperium.

But when she was just relaxing, it seemed that Adrianne was beautiful. It was the only word Adrianne had for the way the inquisitor looked with her hair down and her body at ease. She was relaxed, peaceful, quiet. Erwine could have gone on, but she did not, not out of fear of boring the audience that was composed of her own self, but simply because Erwine knew for certain that too much was sometimes worse than too little.

A natural silence fell over the room. Unlike other silences Erwine had experienced in the past few days, this silence was perfectly normal, and fit in perfectly with the happenings inside the room. The silence never threatened to drag on, no matter how long Erwine allowed it to last. It was obvious that Adrianne could enjoy this silence forever.

So that was why Erwine felt a little shame as she broke it.

"What happened to you?" Erwine asked suddenly. While the noise of her speaking broke the silence, and disrupted the peaceful nature of the room, her tone was respectful and her volume lower than the normal volume a human would use to speak to another.

Adrianne smiled. It was as if she had expected this. It was as if she had known that this question would be asked long before she walked into the room. Her true purpose for her presence was now revealed to Erwine. By a smile.

_I shall never understand smiles…_Erwine thought to herself.

The inquisitor placed down her glass. No, she was not an inquisitor in this moment. She may not have even been Adrianne Azure at the age of forty-three. She was just Adrianne Azure when she was fourteen years of age.

"That's a long, and somewhat sorrowful, story," Adrianne said. It was like the buildup to a question, then Erwine realized that it was just a statement. It was a summary of what Erwine was about to hear.

The young girl tensed her muscles, as the young girl in front of her prepared to speak. Adrianne took a deep breath, then chuckled as she exhaled it, before beginning her tale abruptly.

"I was fourteen years of age on the planet Bryli in the city of Yescil when I made my wish, and established my contract. My wish is something that I do not like to share." A pause. "So I will tell you my wish…" Adrianne brought her right hand close to her face, looking at the soul gem located on her wrist.

"I wished to be able to be free, to journey out into the galaxy and be a free girl, not under the control of anyone or anything, all while remaining invisible to those wanting to control me." Adrianne sniffled a little. Her right hand went to cover her eyes suddenly. "And now I'm crying," she whispered, "Do you know why?"

Erwine shook her head. Adrianne's eyes were covered by her hand, but she still knew what Erwine did. Or maybe she did not, and all of her cool demeanor supposedly caused by her ability to be smart and predict outcomes was simply the result of fortune.

"Because I am still not free," Adrianne's eyes filled with more tears as she kept them covered completely, refusing to let them be seen, "I still serve the leaders of the Inquisition, who in turn serve the High Lords of Terra, who in turn serve the Goddess,"

Adrianne's voice was filled with nothing but sadness. "I'm similar to you, Erwine. We both wished to make a difference, to be big people. But the truth is that such extraordinary people don't exist. Not even magic can defeat fate, once one's fate is set in stone."

Erwine had nothing to say. She was not starting to question everything. She knew that she was dealing with a girl who had been through a lot in her life, and that may lead to her having some false beliefs.

"You aren't listening to what I say. You aren't wondering if I'm right or not, and that's what I want you to do." Adrianne chuckled a little. "Wishes are supposed to be impossibilities made possible by the Goddess's magic. Being free is supposedly impossible, so why am I not free from control? Wishes are our attempts to make dreams into reality. Reality and dreams are two different things, functioning under different rules…"

_Am I just dreaming? _Erwine wondered. _Is my want to make a difference just a dream that I have dreamed of because of who I was. Can it become reality? _

"And yet here we are, victims of foolish attempts to make dreams into reality." Adrianne started crying harder. "Dreams never come true. Not in a world where one is bound to be born and to die at specific times, times that are set when the world is first entered."

"Do you believe in the inevitability of events?" Adrianne asked, her sentences becoming more coherent for a time, "That events seen in the future cannot be avoided, no matter how hard you try? No matter how many miracles you call down from the Goddess?"

Erwine gritted her teeth. She mustered her mind to the task of answering this question which she had been posed with, and after a time of thought, she had an idea. A minute passed, and then another. A third minute had been lost and forgotten before Erwine could speak.

"Fate is something which exists," Erwine said, "I believe that things in the future shall happen no matter what, as the Goddess has a plan for us all. But then how do you explain what I dreamt of? How do you explain that vision which cannot be a reality because I have already contracted?"

"You don't," Adrianne answered, "Because it was just one possibility. Just one possibility out of the infinite number of fates one can experience. _Can. _Not will. Only one fate is real."

"Do you truly believe this?" Erwine asked, "Or is this a result of your sorrow? An attempt to explain what's happened to you?"

"I don't know," admitted Adrianne, "I want to believe, but I also want to think that you somehow change everything. I want to think that, but then again, can't one say that everything is fate?"

"What do you mean?"

Adrianne laughed. She laughed hard, as if Erwine had just told a hilarious joke. "People act as if they have defied fate, and went in the face of the Goddess, but can't you say that their fate was to defy fate and go down this previously unexplored path? If one accepts the existence of fate, then they condemn themselves to the eternal torment of knowing that what has happened to them and those around them could not be changed, but that is also a comfort. If you accept fate, then you do what you were supposed to do, if you deny fate, then clearly your destiny was to deny fate."

Erwine was beginning to lose track of what Adrianne was saying. At first, the inquisitor had made some sense. But now, it sounded like she was speaking the ramblings of a madman.

"No matter what you do, you are still going down the path set for you. It does not matter how many wishes you make. It does not matter. Nothing does. In the end, even if you give up and refuse to do anything till the day you die, then that is your fate, and it always has been."

Adrianne chuckled once more. Her laughs were beginning to become more and more maniacal and crazed. "To speak of fate is to lose your own sanity," Adrianne said, "As you start walking down the same paths again and again, finding that all of your questions have the same answer. That answer is that fate is not able to be questioned. Someone or something controls fate, and that thing writes the future for us."

Erwine was starting to cry herself. She was not ready to even begin to comprehend what Adrianne was saying to her. "Please," she said, "Stop this,"

Adrianne froze. She saw Erwine's face, and then nodded slightly. "I apologize," the inquisitor wiped away her own tears, yet the movement held a dose of expectation, as if more would soon follow. The girl waited a minute for Erwine to gain control of her own mind once more. Erwine was breaking down in tears. She could not think straight anymore. Her mind truly was walking the same path over and over again as Erwine questioned everything she ever held to be true.

Eventually, Erwine said no. _I have to stop. I cannot think about this any longer. I need to rest. Just listen to what Adrianne has to say. _

Erwine forced her tears to stop. Erwine wiped the moisture off of her face. She ran over her cheeks multiple times before it was all gone, but when it was, a new determination to sit and listen was expressed.

"I was born to a noble family on the planet of Bryli. This planet was in the largest subsector of the sector, the one which contained the capital planet. The city of Yescil was one of the larger ones on the planet. My parents had been born nobles. My father was one of the administrators for the city. My mother wished she could have been a magical girl, but she had not the potential. They were not kind to me. They constantly pushed me to be better than both of them, and to be the perfect child. My father was constantly under stress, while my mother was angry that she did not have potential. I found that I did one day, while I was out with my friends. I was separated for a minute, I counted the seconds as soon as I saw the Incubator. It told me that I had potential, and my friends could tell what had happened from the way I acted afterwards."

"I left them behind to join the Inquisition. I wanted to stay on-planet, hoping to get an assignment far from my family. I gave some reasons, but they are not adequate excuses for the way I was treated. They treated me like the center of their universes, but hated me for being the center of their universe. I contracted wishing to be free from control, and to disappear. That is where I received my unique ability from. Technically I am an invisibility generator, but I'm a more unique type."

"That is why I was wanted by the Inquisition. Due the importance of the planet, the nobles were watched closely by the local girls, who are technically part of the Ordo Hereticus. I was reported and an inquisitor approached me within a day of my contracting. Her name was Nadine Edicossen. She was very kind to me, I take a lot of my skills at talking from her."

"She led me away from the planet of Bryli, and took me very slowly into a world I did not quite understand. After a year, I had been fully immersed in the world of the Inquisition, and my work began in earnest. Nadine had been hunting down a single rogue magical girl."

"It was a girl named Ishna Kleimar. She was a rogue inquisitor who had created an entire network of Chaos agents across the sector. She was trying to do something. We don't know what, and I may never know. But she was trying to do something that was incredibly large. Nadine had been hunting her for five years, and was close to getting her."

Adrianne started to cry again. She had stopped when Erwine had stopped crying, but now the tears started to flow once more. "We caught up to her over the desolate planet of Khyllis. It was a world that had been reduced to nothing but desert by some catastrophic event, most likely as a part of the Heresy, and life never really came back afterwards. This catastrophic event unearthed a large amount of ancient xenos ruins, thousands and thousands of years old."

"Ishna was after those ruins, and what she could do with them. She had already set up camp on the planet, but she was coming back from another operation via a ship which we had traced. However, there was an ambush waiting for us."

"An Imperial Navy frigate came at us. It was from the Navy, but it had been listed as hijacked. A captain, certainly on Ishna's payroll, informed us that the frigate had been captured by his cruiser a week before. Nadine knew that Ishna had taken the frigate, but the report of destruction correlated with other stories. The enemy's influence was greater than we thought."

"Our ship was that of a rogue trader. It was a custom vessel, but it did not have the shielding to stand up to a torpedo frigate. Nadine led us out in a craft in a risky operation to board the vessel, but I had to watch as our ship died behind us. We could not make it aboard the frigate due to interference by fighters launched from Ishna's other vessel in the system."

"The shuttle was forced to crash-land. One girl of the six of us died in the crash upon impact. She was bracing, but a shot from one of the fighters tore her from her seat and dislodged her gem in the atmospheric reentry. The rest of us survived, only to find Ishna and her forces already at the crash site…"

Adrianne started to cry harder. Her eyes became hollow, all life leaving the orbs that had once contained such peace and hope only ten minutes before. She stared at the table, focusing on a single spot in an attempt to block out the horror of what she was remembering.

"I put my magic to use, and I escaped. The other four were captured. Nadine had told me to wait until Ishna had her guard down. I watched as one girl was tortured to death right there. I left before…before she died." _She's hiding something, _Erwine immediately realized, _but what? _The inquisitor was hiding what truly happened to that girl, as if it was not something Erwine should know.

"The other three were taken back to the camp. I deactivated my magic, but I barely made it across the desert in time. Another girl was tortured to death before Ishna even considered resting. I was low on magic. Nadine and the other girl were locked up, and Ishna left. The camp was not that well secured, only being a collection of prebuilt huts. It was easy to tell that the most extravagant was where my target was. But I did what I knew to do, and instead of trying to fight and kill Ishna on my own, I freed Nadine and the other."

Adrianne was shaking uncontrollably now. Her fists were clenched tightly, and her tears flowed harder than Erwine had ever seen.

"Nadine was not there. I freed the other, and I used the last of my magic to get us to where Ishna was. She knew that I had not been caught, but she had not believed the story that I had died back on the ship."

"When we walked in…Nadine was there. It was a simple exchange, Ishna would let us go freely if we did not cause any trouble. She would even ferry us back to an Imperial world unharmed, as long as we left Nadine behind."

Adrianne smiled. It was once again a smile of sorrow, but also pride. "Nadine was a good person. She told us to go, that she would be fine. She told me to come back and take vengeance. I was a good servant. Nadine had been so kind and generous. I could not help but try to repay her."

"Ishna's three other girls attacked as I did. The other girl died trying to fight Ishna. I was losing quickly after that point, but Ishna ordered them away. I don't know why. Then there was only me and Ishna…and Nadine."

"Nadine struck as I distracted Ishna. Even though Nadine was held by cuffs specially designed to limit magic use, she managed to put up a fight. She was a telepath. I broke her cuffs, and she used her magic to incite the humans to battle each other."

"When Ishna finally won, the humans in the camp were either dead or mad, and most of the camp was burning. The hut that had been the most well-guarded was in flames. Whatever was to be done on this planet had to do with that hut, and with it gone, Ishna had lost. I don't really understand what she even wanted to do, all I know is that afterwards, nothing else would occur on the planet, an investigation revealed no trace of Ishna. I almost feel like the entire thing was just a set-up to kill us all, that Ishna didn't really want to do anything there but end us…anyways…"

"I was out of magic, Nadine had been easily defeated when Ishna truly joined the battle, she seemed to have been holding back before, and Ishna knew I was helpless. She beat me within an inch of my life, then left me out in the desert of Khyllis to die a slow, painful death. I knew that I would not die in the way a magical girl should die in."

"Yet I did not die. I was saved, by someone. I now know and remember them as the Eldar race. There are a race of aliens, whose motives are unclear. Sometimes they are allies, other times they are enemies. But their universal respect for magical girls is well-known in many places."

"They appeared from nowhere and took me. They healed me and my grief, before somehow transporting me to the planet I had departed from a week before."

Adrianne was still crying. Erwine could not imagine how a person could have so many tears in their body. "I left behind on the hot sands of Khyllis my master and the bodies of my four greatest friends. I still don't know where Nadine is. I sincerely hope that she is dead, and not in the clutches of the heretic. I know that Ishna is still alive, as I have spent twenty years hunting her down. The ten years in between the incident and the beginning of my hunt…is another long story. I was given special permission by the local Inquisitorial Conclave to act as an independent non-inquisitor. I became an inquisitor ten years ago. I came to this sector hunting down Ishna's operation, and for the first time in thirty years, I can tell that I am once again right on her tail."

Adrianne was still crying. But now, she smiled through her tears. Her smile was expressing every emotion a human can feel. "That is the story of Adrianne Azure," she said, "And it is also the explanation as to your duty which I will bestow upon you."

"What duty?" Erwine asked,

"I doubt that I will live long enough to see Ishna Kleimar dead." Adrianne explained, "She'll get me first. So I ask you to take up my job when I die, to finish the fight that Nadine started."

Erwine was shocked. Her eyes widened as she realized the weight she would have to carry. "You want me…to fulfill such a duty?"

"You are the best person I have found," Adrianne said, "I immersed you the way I did so that all your grief would be gone. You are going to be one of the most efficient inquisitors this universe has ever seen, because of what I did. Airi, Laelia, and Ayelen were all test subjects, as I tried to figure out when and how a girl should be shown the truth of the world. And I discovered that the best time is as soon as possible."

"I created you, in a sense," Adrianne said, "I created the person you are right now, after some twenty years of trial, error, research, and theorizing."

"More than that," she continued, "I need you to replace me when you can. I'm driven, but in the end I'm just controlled by my anger, my sorrow, my regret. I can't think straight, I'm prone to losing control of myself, the issues go on. Laelia and Ayelen were attempts at making the ideal magical girl for this task. Laelia was made to be loyal, but that doesn't work, and Ayelen…Ayelen I started too soon. She's just confused, trapped in between two worlds. She was happy for a month, then I threw her right into the truth. She's still confused to this day…but you, you're the one I really need for this job."

Erwine was scared now. "You're serious?" she whispered, "You really do want me as only…only a weapon…?"

Adrianne shook her head. "No. I care about you because you are the thing which can redeem the things I have done. I know it doesn't make sense, but I blame myself for the deaths of everyone back there. I'm not happy with the way I go around trying to find Ishna, my ruthlessness, my terrible actions with you, I don't like them, but I know that I do them for a good cause. You are the instrument I made to avenge the deaths of my four friends, and the capture and probable death of my master."

"Even more than that, Ishna was trying to do something when we caught up to her last. All the way back then, either we disrupted something important, or we fell into the trap. It doesn't matter which one, because either one shows that girl…that girl has some plan which she intends to enact."

"I care about you so much because you are the only thing which matters to me anymore. I know that if I make you happy and successful, then you will achieve vengeance in my place," Adrianne explained.

Erwine was starting to cry. Not of sadness. But of joy. She brought a hand to her chest, and looked the inquisitor in the eyes, saying, "Adrianne…I don't know what to say. You…you made me as a weapon, because you want me to succeed you, and finish the job you started?"

Erwine…Erwine had been looking for a direction. And here the inquisitor was, giving Erwine a direction to walk in. While they had just discussed how no one really had power over their lives, Erwine felt that Adrianne was giving it to her now. "I'll…I'll do this, I swear!" Erwine declared, her vow stern despite her sorrow.

Adrianne stood. Erwine noticed that she was not carrying the objects which she had brought into the room. Standing there, Adrianne seemed to be making a decision. Erwine was surprised to find the girl, a little girl acting like one much older and stronger, come towards her.

Adrianne embraced Erwine tightly. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you," Adrianne whispered, "I really don't know if you can forgive me, even though you know why…I just wanted you to know. I can't blame if you can't forgive me for what I've done to you."

"I can forgive you…" Erwine said, "I…I was already ready to trust you before. Now that…now that you're giving me so much more of a reason to stay with you, I can certainly trust you now."

"Thanks," Adrianne said, "Thank you so much…" She was half on, half off the bed. She moved onto the bed entirely, picking Erwine up and putting her in her lap. Erwine leaned back against Adrianne, content with where she was.

"I remember…" Erwine said, "At first, when this all began…you were almost like a mother to me…can it just be like that again?"

Adrianne smiled, "I don't see any problem with that…" She was happy. Erwine really did feel that. The inquisitor was truly happy, and it was perhaps the first time Erwine had ever heard the inquisitor ever truly happy since they had met.

Erwine was tired, but for some reason she couldn't get to sleep. Adrianne started to sing something. Erwine couldn't place the language, it sounded xenos in origin. It certainly worked wonders, however. It was soft and flowing, quite amazing to hear for Erwine.

The little girl slipped away into the comfort of sleep quickly. Adrianne would not go so fast. She sat up for some time, pondering things she had done. Then she took comfort in the fact that Erwine could forgive her for now, and then fell into sleep herself.

* * *

The Eldar are a xenos species scattered throughout the galaxy. Their exact numbers are unknown. The Eldar rarely undertake large-scale military operations without a multiple number of ulterior motives. Although assistance has been provided to Imperial forces by the Eldar on multiple occasions, it is only because of other reasons that they have done so.

Whenever a human member of the military has reported contact with the Eldar, ulterior motive of the creatures are always present. However, that is not seen when magical girls contact the Eldar. Multiple reports from all across the galaxy, some hailing from chapter as prestigious as the Blood Angels and Lifewardens, indicate that on multiple occasions, the Eldar have provided assistance without any reason to.

It is assured that this is the truth as well. Some of these reports date back hundreds if not thousands of years, and no benefits for the Eldar came from those areas or their efforts in those areas. Not all reports of magical girl and Eldar cooperation share this, but many do.

It is known that all Eldar have soul gems, similar to magical girls. However, no evidence of any contact with Incubators has ever been found, so it is unclear how the Eldar create these gems. And while their combat forces display superhuman strength and speed matching that of a magical girl, they do not display any use of magic, outside of their seers and warlocks. This is certainly for the better, but the question to be asked is why is this happening?

Certainly their possession of soul gems provides a solid link to magical girls, and perhaps something about them results in a compassionate nature towards those like themselves…

-Report from the Eldar Research Committee


	13. A Series of Revelations

Adrianne Azure: Classified under the telepathic sub-category of space manipulators. Projects an effect which erases her from the perception of anybody who might perceive her. Does not hide traces of her, only her in the current moment. Affects only her, cannot affect others. Incapable of engaging in advanced telepathic actions.

Estelle Adramartis: Standard telepath except for ability to control minds. If she can engage the target when they are asleep, it is possible for her to enter the target's mind and assume some control. The target will break free after a short amount of time. Affects magical girls and humans. Effectiveness with xenos is untested.

* * *

There was the faint noise of machine hum in the small room. The hum came from far off in the ship, not anywhere close to the current room. Or maybe it was just the rumbling of the ship itself, from the mighty engines that pushed it through space and towards the space where it would enter the warp, a sensation that was either difficult or easy to adjust to, depending on who you asked.

There was more than just that faint noise in the room. The mood of the place was also set by the small humming coming from the hololith in the center of the room. The humming was occurring because the device was active. It was only audible because no one was talking.

No one was talking because there was only one person in the room, and Airi was not a fan of talking to herself. She preferred to be in silence when she was alone, even if she wanted to think. Thinking in her head was better than thinking out loud for her.

She was manipulating the hologram projected from the table she stood over to show the entirety of the Hadiens Sector. Airi was trying her best to piece together all the pieces of evidence gathered from the planet she had just left, and combining it with her own inferences to piece together a coherent picture of the sector.

It was not her specific duty to do this, and Airi figured that Adrianne may not be the most gracious of people to find out that this work had been done for her. But warp entry was soon, and event though it would take another week to reach Hadiens Prime, it was better to get things done sooner rather than later.

_Adrianne is probably busy at the moment anyways, _the teleporter thought, _most likely occupied with Erwine. _Erwine. That name was beginning to have far too much relevance to Airi. It was to be expected, given that it she was the girl who Adrianne had effectively handpicked and just raised to be the 'best' inquisitor ever.

_Such a thing does not exist, _Airi scoffed, _and even if it did, I doubt the ability of Adrianne to put such a person together from the various components. What even is a good inquisitor? What is the best? _

Airi had her own opinions and more often than not, at least in recent times, those opinions clashed with those of Adrianne. It did not surprise Airi, as the two were growing farther apart.

_That woman is crazy, _Airi thought, having seen the various rituals the girl conducted whenever she killed someone, _she'll get censured and declared a heretic for sure. _Airi was by no means a puritan, but she understood that one cannot push the puritans too far lest they become angry and take measures to prevent the gaining of too much power.

And Adrianne had been pushing even the most open-minded inquisitors too far with her constant running about and refusal to do anything but chase this one individual. She was pushing even Airi too far, as Airi had been taking part in this running about for twenty-two years now.

Airi had certainly heard Adrianne's long-winded tale about how she lost her master. Airi wondered if it was even true sometimes. Some parts of it had to be, no one could fake what Adrianne did. But could all of it be true?

Airi's hand went to her head, as she stood up suddenly. That was a new thought. She started to breathe faster, as the world almost spun around her. _What? _She wondered. Airi almost tripped over herself as she took a few steps back, eyes going wide.

Then she did fall backwards. She hyperventilated faster and faster as her body began to shake. She tried to cry out. Her throat closed, then her eyes. She went silent and limp on the floor.

Airi shook her head. _I need to focus. _She looked back at the hologram. _Adrianne and her needs can wait for once. I have better things to do. _Airi was close to making inquisitor herself. She had been promised that once they had wiped out the enemy in this sector, then Airi would be submitted for promotion. Her request had already been approved, and it was only a matter of receiving authority from the local sect.

However, something told Airi that something was not going to go well in the future, something related to…_whoever it was that Adrianne is chasing. _Airi could not always remember, being more concerned with her own issues than those of Adrianne.

She knew that her heart had changed, and the change of heart had been sudden. However, she also knew that in the past twelve hours, Adrianne had gone off to spend time with Erwine, rather than actually fulfill her duties. Airi knew for a fact, from the sight of Adrianne waiting outside the girl's door with a bottle of amasec, that Erwine had not even been taught anything.

_Is this jealousy? _Airi wondered to herself, _am I jealous of Erwine for what she has? _She shrugged, _I'm not sure. Maybe I am. _It did not matter to her. Adrianne owed Airi so much, and the girl knew for certain that those debts would never, ever be paid off.

_So my heart changed only because Adrianne does not want the current heart I have. I don't know what problem she takes with it, but if she refuses to accept it, then I'll just change. _

Airi looked up from the table as the door opened. She was thinking that Laelia would be the one to enter. She would have preferred it if Laelia entered. She would have preferred it if anyone but the person who entered entered, even some stupid human.

The brown-haired girl smiled as she skipped into the small room before stopping right next to the table and snapping to attention. "Goooood morning!" Ayelen yelled, saluting rigidly.

Airi said nothing for a couple seconds. As soon as an awkward silence was established and Ayelen was dropping her arm to her side, Airi snapped, "What do you want?"

"We were planning to meet here, correct?" asked Ayelen, her eyebrows raised and a grin on her face.

"Yes, but I was expecting Laelia, sorry for my…" Airi trailed away as she realized who she was apologizing to.

"Annoyance at my presence?" Ayelen guessed, before crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks, "I see how it is," she said, before turning around and finding a chair to sit in. There was one right there, so she sat down in it and crossed her legs. Her arms were still crossed in front of her chest, and she did her best to throw a disappointed stare at Airi, although the effectiveness was diminished by her puffed out cheeks.

Airi shook her head, wondering why Adrianne had ever brought the girl along in the first place. She went back to thinking, although the presence of the frilly, green clothing of Ayelen was an unwelcome distraction from things that actually mattered.

Airi had been hoping that Laelia would arrive first because she was the only one capable of keeping Ayelen under control. Ayelen was a hyperactive girl. It was an obvious side effect of what she had gone through, an extremely childish and lighthearted nature to block out the memories of the horrible things she had been made to do.

Laelia did not understand those pained memories, but for some reason, Ayelen listened to her more than anyone else. She was like a big sister to Ayelen. She was the person that Adrianne should have been.

_But Adrianne has no problem being that kind of person with Erwine. _She had treated Ayelen like a failed experiment, which she unfortunately was. It was not fault of Ayelen, nor was it even degrading to her character. She had been unwittingly used by Adrianne to further her own goals. Airi hated Adrianne for it, yet she also understood.

The teleporter shook her head once again. She had had enough of thinking about Adrianne and her issues this morning, when she was too tired to even accurately think about the larger problems that she faced. She could only hope that Laelia and the rest came soon, or else Ayelen was going to drive her crazy.

Laelia had been walking through the ship with Ayelen. She had not been planning on being late to the meeting. In fact, she was supposed to have been there at the same time as Ayelen, as they had been walking together.

Ayelen had been skipping along ahead of Laelia, as the latter girl tried to keep up with the younger one. Laelia had never exactly liked Ayelen's attitude, but she found it rather cute. It was like watching a little girl bouncing along. One could not help but find the sight rather adorable.

Laelia knew that it was different now because she was in her mid-twenties, and Ayelen was eighteen. The two were not younger and older sisters. They were friends. _Nothing more, _Laelia thought, and was personally happy that they were only friends.

Things had been going perfectly fine as they made the short, ten minute journey from the living quarters to the room Adrianne had declared they use this time. She had situated several meeting rooms around the ship, and rotated which one was used constantly, not wanting to be spied upon by anyone, even the supposedly loyal crewmen employed by Bolton.

Suddenly, Ayelen had stopped. "You know, Laelia, what just came to my mind? I guess you could say that Erwine brought this up for me." She froze in her tracks, her head turning a little, "I just thought about all those…those sad times in my life, when I regretted things, and hated everything…" Laelia knew what was happening immediately. Ayelen had done a good job of restraining herself on Siothea, but Laelia could tell that what was about to happen would be the worst in years.

She was jumping forwards to try to catch the young girl as she fell to her knees covering her face. She let out a shrill scream, and her body went into some kind of fit. Her muscles twitched, and she lashed out at Laelia as she tried to hold her down.

After a few seconds, Ayelen stopped moving. Her mouth curled into a thin, smile, and her eyes narrowed. Laelia was behind her, slowly bending her knees to get down to Ayelen's level.

Without any warning, Ayelen's left elbow launched backwards. It struck Laelia in the gut and knocked her onto her back. Ayelen released a maniacal laugh, a javelin appearing in her right hand.

She stood up and slid her right foot backwards. Facing the right wall of the hallway, with Laelia to her right, Ayelen brought the javelin down towards Laelia. Laelia rolled to the side, barely avoiding the javelin, which was being swung to the side now.

Laelia lay on her side facing the wall, and slammed her left elbow on the ground. She lifted her legs and then braced them against the wall. Pushing herself up with the elbow and to the side with her legs, Laelia barely made it over Ayelen's spear.

She landed roughly on her back in the middle of the corridor, before she got to her feet. She still had her knees bent as she turned to the right wall. Ayelen was swinging her spear back across the hallway, but Laelia jumped first.

She made a small leap towards the right wall, kicking with her left leg. This gave her some height, and she turned around in the air. Instantly, a near invisible, faint blue field emanated from her body and knocked Ayelen back down the hallway.

Laelia was ready to fire when she landed. She did not hold anything in her hands. Ten machine guns floated in a circle around her body. The circle was only cut off by the presence of the floor. Laelia gritted her teeth, then brought her left hand across her chest to her shoulder, before dramatically flinging her arm outwards.

She always had a liking for being dramatic.

Ten machine guns, summoned by magic, fired in the enclosed space of a starship corridor. In any other battle, Ayelen would have had a chance against Laelia. She would have had some ability to dodge. But the ceiling was only a little over two meters, enough for a full-grown man. There was no way Ayelen could get out of the way.

She disintegrated. That was the only way to put it. She was ripped to pieces, all her limbs were blown off in a hail of fire. Her head was the only thing which survived intact. That, and both her braids. Laelia was a magical girl. She had absolute control over her weapons which produced no recoil. She picked apart Ayelen's body without coming within five centimeters of the gem.

Laelia held her breath as she dropped her shield, dissipated her weapons, and walked forwards, her body trembling with fear. She instantly spotted Ayelen's soul gem amidst the bloody mess on the floor, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The shield generator approached the soul gem, and removed it from the braid it was attached to. Laelia then picked up Ayelen's head. The neck had already stopped bleeding for the most part. The door at the end of the hallway, which Ayelen was close to when she fell, lead to a small, hidden shuttle bay. It was hidden from outside view, and inside, it hid the entrance to the day's meeting room, which was completely soundproofed.

Laelia started to cry as she stood in the hallway holding the head of the person who might as well have been her biological little sister. She brought the bloody part close to her chest, vital fluids still dripping out onto her coat and the floor as she stood there.

"I'm sorry, Ayelen," she whispered, "I'm so sorry." Laelia started to walk forwards. The door at the end of the hallway did not exist anymore. The gunfire which had torn apart Laelia had kept going. Around one thousand rounds had cut apart the door. The door had been made to stop a breaching charge, but had fallen apart like paper.

Laelia made her way through the mess of metal that it now was. She looked to her right, looking down at the hangar bay ten feet below her. A shuttle was inside. There were ladders leading downwards. Laelia jumped over the railing and down to the floor. Magic easily prevented injury from the descent.

Laelia walked towards the shuttlecraft. It was a cutter, just like the one Adrianne used most of the time. This one was to be used in emergencies, which had never occurred aboard this craft, even though it was certain that one would at some point.

Laelia tapped a combination which she had burned into her mind into the hidden pad. If one did not know the location of the pad, then one could not get in. She slid aside an armor panel, which looked like a perfectly normal piece of armor, and entered the combination. She still had Ayelen's head in her other arm.

She walked into the now-open craft, and closed and locked the door. The lights inside illuminated the space as she removed a small box of grief cubes from another hidden compartment. The box was going to be vital in the following few minutes.

She put Ayelen's soul gem in the box, and then laid the head in such a way so that the body would regenerate laying on its back over several seats. Laelia spent a minute staring at it before looking away.

Ayelen had been having these attacks ever since she was fifteen years old. She would lose control of herself for a few minutes, laughing manically and shaking uncontrollably. It was a side effect of the madness that had been brought upon her by what had been done to her.

Laelia did not blame Adrianne. She had heard the inquisitor's story. She did not doubt it. She was a logical person. She understood that sacrifices had to be made. And since Laelia had not been made a sacrifice, she knew that it was her job to protect those who had been made sacrifices.

Ayelen's attacks were never usually this bad. She would just collapse and go into a fit for a few minutes. Laelia would comfort her, and then she would be fine. However, they had been this bad when they first started.

And Adrianne had ordered Ayelen to keep them under control on Siothea, so that Erwine was not scared any more than necessary. This had led to a buildup of tension due to the daily nature of the fits. Ayelen usually barely held them in check on longer field operations, and this was far too long for her.

Laelia felt bad for the girl. She wished that things could be better, despite knowing that there was no way for things to be better in any way. _I'll have to keep watch of her, _Laelia thought, watching as Ayelen's neck started to regrow. It would take about an hour, but at the end of that, Ayelen's body would be alive once more.

Laelia stared at Ayelen's head as it sat there on the seat. She stared at it for a long time.

The fits Ayelen had would most likely never stop, and it was highly likely that this would lead to it being impossible for Ayelen to pass the mental examination necessary to become an inquisitor. It seemed as if she would be following Laelia around forever.

The shield generator chuckled. _If she can't be on her own, then I'll gladly take her under my wing for the rest of her life, _she decided, _as long as Adrianne gets what she wants. _

Laelia had been rescued from her life by Adrianne. She respected the inquisitor greatly for that. Although she had been told that she had repaid the debt she owed, Laelia wanted to do more.

She had heard Adrianne's story, and she wanted to help the inquisitor obtain the vengeance she rightfully deserved.

And for that, Laelia would do anything. Not necessarily for Adrianne, but simply for Ayelen. To honor those who had fallen for the victory of the inquisitor.

When Ayelen woke, Laelia was still looking at her. It had been around one hour. Laelia had had to get more grief cubes from compartments around the craft in order to keep Ayelen's magic up. It had been a strenuous process to watch for Laelia. She knew Ayelen would be perfectly sane when she woke, but maybe it was the normalcy that caused the discomfort she felt.

The very first time such a fit had occurred, Laelia had panicked. Not this time. It really was routine after almost four years of it.

Ayelen's eyes cracked open, and she shuddered as she found herself awake. She instantly sat up. Laelia sat on the other side of the cutter, and Ayelen found her there immediately. Ayelen looked around frantically after locating Laelia, trying to find where she was.

Laelia said nothing. She should have. _She can never remember what she does during the fits, _Laelia reminded herself. The disorder was entirely mental. However, Laelia knew that using a telepath to remove the issue would not be effective.

Theoretically, a telepath who was also a good psychologist would be able to eliminate all traces of Ayelen's memory of the events which made her this way, replacing them with happier memories. The Inquisition contained many incredibly skilled or talented telepaths willing to help.

However, Laelia had certainly tried to seek help from them. The answer from two different telepaths had been that what Laelia asked was simply impossible in the case of Ayelen. The memories could be removed, but the problem was that they had rooted themselves deep in Ayelen's mind.

The collateral damage may completely destroy the girl's mind. Full mental reconstruction, the process of building a new mind, was very possible. But Laelia liked Ayelen for who she was. In the end, Laelia made the decision to let Ayelen be herself, preferring to have a broken girl rather than a perfect one.

Ayelen stopped looking around. She had ascertained that she was in some kind of craft. She looked at Laelia. She was shivering. Without a word, Laelia came to her, and held her tightly. Ayelen let tears slip from her eyes. She did not bother to ask where she was. She knew that she was with Laelia.

"Was it that bad?" she wondered.

"I had to kill you," Laelia explained, "Your remains are out in the hall right now, but those can be cleaned up later."

Ayelen nodded, before pressing herself closer to Laelia and further into her lap. She started to cry. Laelia did not try to stop her, or even to comfort her. She had said everything she could say to the girl.

_No, I have not. _Laelia realized, _there is a question I have yet to ask her. _It was a question the shield generator would have preferred to not ask. _I need an answer. I need an answer right now. _

"Ayelen…" Laelia asked softly, "Do you want these fits to…stop?"

"Yes," Ayelen said, barely choking out her words. Laelia had taken the girl's soul gem from where it had laid in the box of grief cubes next to where Laelia had been sitting. She now placed it in the girl's palm, closing Ayelen's fingers around it.

"I know people who can make all of your pain go away," Laelia was starting to cry herself. "They can take away the problem, but…"

Laelia paused for a long time. Ayelen asked, "But what?" Her voice expressed her absolute desperation, her need for some kind of salvation.

"The mental affliction is too deep," Laelia explained, "If they remove it, then they risk annihilating your mind. Too much damage may be caused for you to ever recover from it. Your mind will just cease to exist as it does now."

"So I'll die?" Ayelen asked in shock, but before she could say more, Laelia cut in.

"You won't die. Your mind will be gone, but…a new one will be made. We are technically just souls, minds are simply copied from person to person. They can copy new minds in…and…make a new mind."

"Why do we not do that?" Ayelen asked, not understanding what Laelia was trying to explain, "If it will save me?! Why don't we do that?!"

"Because you won't exist anymore," Laelia whispered, bringing her head close to Ayelen's ear, "The mind of the creature known as Ayelen Nita will cease to exist. The new mind will be entirely different. They can name you Ayelen Nita, but you won't be you."

Ayelen's eyes widened, and she gasped. Her tears started to flow once more. "You won't remember anything. It will be like you were just born except…it won't be you." Laelia smiled, "I was offered this process a year ago when I asked but…I figured you would not like it."

There was a long pause as Ayelen thought. Laelia cried softly, compared to the louder tears shed by Ayelen. The tears of the latter girl stopped after a short time, and Ayelen's thinking was now in more silence than before.

The silence was broken by Ayelen saying, "When can we do this?"

Laelia's eyes widened. In one second, her face changed. It was as if she had been possessed by a daemon, such was her sudden change of demeanor, expression, and tone. "No!" she declared.

"Why not?!" Ayelen shouted back, "It's my mind! I'm tired of all this pain and suffering! Can't I just start over?!" The girl pushed herself away from Laelia, standing in the middle of the space between the rows of seats.

"It's not starting over!" Laelia screamed, standing up. "It's becoming a new person!"

"Why do you care?!" Ayelen shouted, backing away towards the exit as Laelia approached, "You won't have to deal with me anymore. No one will! I just want to stop being a problem!"

Laelia stopped where she was. "You think you're a problem?" she asked, her voice quieter and her tone more one of sudden realization than anger.

"I am a problem," Ayelen said, "More than anyone else save Erwine, I have seen the fury that Adrianne feels. I have seen her desire for vengeance, and the lengths she'll go through to obtain it. I don't doubt her, not anymore."

"I am nothing more than an experiment. It is terrible that I was used in this manner, and perhaps you could say that I give my abuser too much credit. But the fact that I am nothing more than an experiment makes me useless. I am a worthless prototype for someone far superior to me."

Ayelen shook her head. She had her soul gem in her hand. She reached with that hand up to her chest, burying the gem in the frills of her coat. A javelin was in her right hand.

Laelia stepped back, thinking that a fight was about to break out. But instead, Ayelen just put the javelin in front of her body, putting the blunt end on the ground, and pointing the tip towards her chest. She held the spear there with her right hand, before she looked at Laelia and smiled.

She was moving before Laelia knew what to do. A shield was not an option. It would only push the spear into Ayelen's chest faster than she would fall onto it. No time to summon a gun. There was only time to leap and hope.

Laelia reached out with her right hand. The impact of her fingertips pushed the spear forwards a split second before it impaled Ayelen and broke her soul gem. Instead, the tip rammed into and through her stomach.

Ayelen gasped as her stomach was impaled upon her own weapon. Her head and chest fell on top of Laelia's back and legs. Laelia quickly rolled over underneath Ayelen as the girl gasped for air. Ayelen's head was around Laelia's hips, so the shield generator made her exit quick and efficient.

She reached for the hilt of the spear, and quickly yanked the few centimeters that were under Ayelen through the wound before casting the spear aside. Laelia knelt down and watched as Ayelen started to regenerate.

"Why did you do that?" Ayelen asked, her voice low and meek.

"Because I care about you," Laelia said, "I care about you so much. Can you not see that? Do you not understand that I have been taking care of you for three years?"

"You're trying to give an experiment a real existence," Ayelen said with a chuckled, "How silly of you,"

Laelia smiled. She wrapped her arms around Ayelen's chest and brought the girl's head to her own shoulder. "Don't call yourself that," Laelia said, "You're so much more than just an experiment,"

"Who am I, then?"

"You are Ayelen Nita. You are a magical girl in the service of Inquisitor Adrianne Azure. You contracted at the age of thirteen years, three months, and about two days. Your wish was to deliver pain to those who wished to make your family suffer."

Laelia's eyes widened. The sudden intake of air was her realizing what was going on. "You understand vengeance. You wished for vengeance. You want Adrianne to get what she wants, because you understand her pain better than anyone. You think that your mental issues are hindering us all from delivering vengeance?"

Ayelen nodded. "Are you going to let me die now?" she asked.

"I already killed you, you idiot," Laelia pointed out, "And now, I'm not letting you break your soul gem."

"Why?"

"Because I care about you. Because I need you. Because Adrianne needs you. I don't know, just find a reason to live," Laelia realized her tone was a bit forceful, so she added, in a low whisper, "Please,"

"Do you really think there are reasons for me to live?" Ayelen asked.

"Did you really want to die?" Laelia acted as if no question had been addressed to her.

"Maybe I did," Ayelen said. She wrapped her arms around Laelia, holding her like she would hold her mother. "Or maybe I was hoping someone would save me."

It was clear that Ayelen and Laelia would never know the true answer to that question. The two girls, the sister and her older sister, sat there in the shuttle for a few minutes more.

Ayelen still had a hole in her stomach. Laelia helped clean up the blood when it was healed, and then it was time to go. "We're late to the meeting," Laelia said.

"You expect Adrianne and Erwine to be there on time?" Ayelen asked with a mischievous smile.

"No, but Airi expects us to be there," Laelia said, "So you should get going,"

"Where are you going?"

"To explain why there is a pile of blood, bones, and internal organs outside this bay, and get it cleaned up before the entire ship gets locked down." Laelia explained, opening the door of the shuttle.

Laelia was walking off, but Ayelen put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey," she said.

Laelia stopped and turned. Ayelen stepped in and embraced her tightly. "Thank you," she said.

Laelia patted the girl on the head and smiled. "Don't mention it," she said, "I'm serious, don't tell anyone about this."

Ayelen chuckled, "Afraid your girlfriend will find out?" she asked.

"I don't call a rival who works for a rival inquisitor my girlfriend, so don't be spreading misinformation or I'll have to have you remade," Laelia walked off with a sweet smile.

Ayelen waved as she jumped out of the hangar. Silently, she wished that she would never be left by the girl.

It would be twenty minutes later when Adrianne and Erwine would walk down the same hallway that Laelia and Ayelen had walked down over an hour and a half before, and that Airi had walked down two hours before. The bloodstains in the hallway were mostly cleaned up, but there were some traces of the brief spout of violence which had occurred in the corridor.

The problem was not that there were still remains, little spots of blood here and there along with a few bits of bone and organs, the problem was no one was there to explain why those things were there.

Adrianne and Erwine had been quiet for most of the journey. Besides finishing the short conversation that had started when leaving Erwine's room, a conversation about what Erwine was going to have to learn about science, Adrianne had said nothing to her apprentice, and Erwine had said nothing to her master.

The inquisitor was walking ahead of the younger girl, and she held a hand out to her side as soon as she saw the first sign of a trace of blood. Erwine stopped a good distance from the hand, as Adrianne's attempt to block her view of the hallway was not quiet fast enough to prevent Erwine from seeing what was to be seen.

"Adrianne…" she began, taking a step back.

The inquisitor shook her head. "There's no trace of anything else," Adrianne explained, taking a step forward, "These are remnants,"

She got on one knee in the middle of the corridor, and looked closely at the bits of blood, bone, and guts. "Something happened here, but it was a one-sided conflict, as somebody cleaned it up, and I did not hear anything from Bolton or the crew."

Adrianne's eyes widened. "I know what happened here." Internally, she felt shock and shame, but that was kept concealed from Erwine. _She has suffered enough for now, no need to introduce anything else to her still fragile mind. _

Adrianne looked up. The door to the hangar did not exist anymore. She walked closer. Examining the scraps, she came to a single conclusion. _Laelia, her guns can do this. Ayelen and she would most likely have gone together. It is as it seems._

Adrianne turned around, standing up straight as she looked back down the hallway at Erwine. "Come on," she said, waving the girl closer, "There's nothing to fear,"

Erwine nodded, but the way she carried herself as she walked closer showed that she certainly believed that there was something for her to fear. Adrianne walked into the hangar beyond the doorway, and then jumped down to the lower floor. Erwine followed her into the room, but did not mimic her action of jumping down.

"Come on," Adrianne sighed, "You've gone through worse,"

Erwine nodded, before putting her hands on the railing and vaulting over. She landed smoothly, magic removing the damage of the fall easily. Adrianne chuckled at the look of astonishment on the girl's face, before walking towards a couple cargo crates in the rear right corner of the hangar, underneath the walkway they had just leapt off.

"It just takes getting used to!" Erwine complained, as she ran after Adrianne. She had taken a moment to get used to the sudden yet smooth change of height in relation to the floor. It was quite shocking to barely feel the fall from a height that had the potential to break the legs of a human. Besides, she was still a little shaken from the things she had seen before entering this small hangar. _What happened there? Adrianne knows, but she won't tell me…_

There were two cargo crates stacked atop one another, with one other crate right going down the back wall. It seemed a bit too organized for this tiny hangar, but there were other such stacks, so that this was only a little out of place. Adrianne, however, homed in on the crates like a hunting bird diving on its prey.

She approached the single crate, atop which there was nothing, and punched a series of numbers into a keypad on the side. All three crates had these number pads, showing that they contained some important cargo to warrant such a method of security.

However, the crate did not open when the number was input. Nothing else happened in the room. Adrianne did not seem to be fazed, however. She went to three other stacks of crates, entering numbers in the pads on each of them. After she had traveled all the way around the room, inputting a different combination into each pad, there was the noise of something moving.

Erwine had been standing by the first crate Adrianne had went to this entire time, and she spun around to see a door sliding open behind her. It pushed backwards, and then slid to the side to reveal a room beyond it. Erwine stared at this in confusion, realizing that all four number combinations had to be entered in order to open this one door.

Adrianne walked past Erwine as she hesitated to go through the doorway which had just opened before her. She stopped in the doorway, and waved for Erwine to follow. Wanting to be obedient, Erwine followed.

Laelia and Ayelen were seated in the room that Adrianne walked into. Airi had also taken a seat, finally forcing herself to take a bit of a break after two hours of occupying this space. She was visibly annoyed with everyone, due to their tardiness.

However, she made no verbal comment, nor any telepathic comments. She simply sat and stared at Adrianne with a harsh glare as she walked in. Erwine did not receive this treatment, as the teleporter's glare shifted to Adrianne as the inquisitor moved around to the side of the table where Airi had once stood, where she could face the door to the small room.

The only furnishings were the five chairs around the hololith, three of which were occupied. There were two on the side nearest the door, and one on the sides closer to the side walls. The next longest side had only one chair, and that was the chair that Adrianne stood next to as Erwine walked into the room. She took a seat in the chair to the left and in front of Adrianne, a bit in front of one of the shorter walls of the room.

She was still a bit disturbed, due to what she had seen outside only a couple minutes before, but Adrianne had moved on, so that was good enough for her at this point. Adrianne was dressed in her full Inquisitorial uniform, and took a deep breath before even starting to say anything.

During the course of this breath, she hit several buttons on the table in front of her. The table then displayed the sector as a whole. Adrianne pointed to the planet the ship she was on was just now leaving. "This is Siothea, of course," she explained, then hit another button, and the view zoomed out to include the sector beside the current one. "This is the Marcostas Sector." She traced the line of travel from a planet in that sector to Siothea. Then she started tracing backwards, showing a full diagram of the travel throughout the previous sector.

She stopped, and then paused for a few seconds to let everyone stare at the map she had just drawn. Erwine stared at the mass of bright points of light and bright lines, and could not exactly understand the path Adrianne had taken.

However, the inquisitor was about to explain. "We started out two years ago at the very edge of the Marcostas Sector, and we only went there due to a tip that had a high chance of being a lie."

"Everything I know about Ishna points to her having some grand plan she intends to carry out. However, she lost the materials on Khyllis. That was twenty-nine years ago. For five years, I was not chasing her, I could not. As far as all records say, no one was pursuing her in that time. So the question is why she could not have executed her plan in that time?"

"Twenty-four years is a long time, even for magical girls. Ishna had plenty of freedom during many of those years. I was never constantly on her tail, I was only taking down her larger organizations. She should have had time to get the materials once more…unless she had something that cannot be easily replaced."

"I always theorized grief cubes or seeds but-" _Seeds? _Erwine thought, _I haven't heard of those? _Adrianne paused, to glance at Erwine, as if she realized that she had let something slip. "But those would be easy to come by, given that she has so many smuggling operations set up across three sectors."

"And besides the information we have from Siothea, I also can infer that Ishna does not need her organizations. These smugglers are nothing but pawns, meant to distract me or anyone who is chasing Ishna."

"They have prevented tens of thousands of cubes from being sent, and caused hundreds of deaths in the process, both from the people they kill directly, and from the girls who die because of the lack of cubes," Airi reminded Adrianne, seemingly shocked that the inquisitor was skipping over this issue, "They are a higher priority than a single person."

"Ishna has massive influence and what has she done with it?" Adrianne replied, acting smug.

"Nothing, which is why we should not be so worried about her," Airi stated, talking like Adrianne was a child.

"Exactly," Adrianne said, "She's not doing anything with her power. If there is anything I have learned in twenty-nine years, it is that power on the scale of Ishna's can have a corrupting influence. She is not just corrupted from her lack of devotion, but the power she possesses, if she is like other people, should drive her to try and do grand things with that power and influence."

"But she has done nothing but set up these smuggling groups when she should be bringing sectors to their knees!" Adrianne shouted.

"Adrianne…" Erwine said meekly, the inquisitor looked at her, "Excuse me, but I think that is what Ishna plans to do."

"What do you mean?" Adrianne asked, then realized. _I never asked her about what went on in her meeting with the leaders. She must have learned something of great importance! _

"Osbeorne and the other men I talked to," Erwine explained, "They said that there are great plans for the sector. They seemed to have been planning some kind of revolt, with the assistance of the forces of the Enemy."

"A revolt?" Adrianne asked for confirmation. Erwine nodded. The inquisitor's eyes widened, and a smile came onto her face. It was a smile of triumph. Erwine could see the kind of glee a hunter might get when they had finally cornered their prey after a hunt spanning one's lifetime.

"Then we have caught her," the inquisitor said, before throwing her head back and laughing wildly. She cheered, making gestures of excitement and success. The people in the room stared at her with a mixed sense of fear and excitement.

"Adrianne!" Airi shouted, sitting up in her chair, as she had been slumping before, "What are you talking about?!"

Adrianne suddenly became calm. She was now entirely focused on the task ahead of her, whatever that may be. Her cheers and laughter died in a second, bringing out a new face on Adrianne that scared Erwine with the intent it displayed.

"In every other sector," Adrianne explained, speaking slowly and clearly so that it was impossible for her to be misunderstood, "Ishna came and went. She never stayed for longer than a few years, only long enough to get what she needed and then leave. We tracked her to all sorts of locations, with seemingly little connection."

"But now we know. She plans to launch a revolt here, because this sector is where she will execute the plan she could not execute twenty-nine years ago. Something was wrong. She came to some…realization! That she could not succeed without something! I don't know what, but it has taken her this long to prepare to do what she wanted to do so long ago!"

"Or she simply plans to launch a revolt in this sector, in which case, we need to alert the local sect as soon as possible, and ensure that such a revolt does not succeed." Airi said, her voice harsh and scolding.

Adrianne stared at the girl. "What has changed in the three days since we entered the system?" she asked, "What has changed in the time since you were so kind to me, only one night ago?"

Airi shrugged, "I am simply questioning your intentions and motives?"

"Since when did you question me?" Adrianne asked, "You have followed me for twenty-two years,"

"True," Airi stood up, "But now, I have had enough of you, and everything you are doing and have done. You are a liar who has made up this entire story to disguise your own insanity."

The room was filled with tension. Erwine was starting to become uneasy. She looked to Laelia for comfort, but she was standing up and preparing to fight. Ayelen was as well. The room could have broken into violence at any second.

"I would be angry at you, if you were yourself," Adrianne smiled, "Because you're not,"

"What are you talking about?" Airi asked, "What is this new insanity?!"

"Estelle was in the same area as we were for a time. If there's one thing I know about her, it's that she is very good at one kind of telepathy," Adrianne explained, then asked, "What did you dream about last night?"

"I dreamt about the last few years of my life. Specifically, how pointless they have been," Airi said with a smile, "We've accomplished so little compared to what other people have done."

"Dammit, she got you, didn't she?" Adrianne asked, then shook her head, "Clever girl…"

Holding a hand out to the other girls in the room, she ordered, "Do not move,"

Looking to Airi, she summoned knives into her hands. _Ayelen, I want her down. _Adrianne's left arm, the one that had been extended towards the other girls in the room, moved downwards and then circled back up to a ready position in front of Adrianne.

The knives did not come with it. The daggers were flying into the air behind Adrianne. The inquisitor's right arm went upwards. The daggers from that hand hit the ceiling, bouncing off. They flew towards Airi's head, while Adrianne stepped to the side to avoid the daggers bouncing off the wall behind her.

Airi did what her specialty was. Or tried to. She would have teleported away had she not been distracted by Adrianne's sudden attack so much that Ayelen could leap across the table and lay a finger on Airi's arm.

The girl clutched at her arm in sudden pain, letting out a suppressed cry of pain. Ayelen wrapped her hand around the girl's arm, and then grabbed onto her face as well. Airi screamed even more as her nerves were magically stimulated to feel an incredible amount of pain.

Ayelen pulled Airi towards the table. The knives thrown behind Adrianne then hit Airi in the side, while the ones that hit the ceiling impaled the floor harmlessly. The teleporter fell to her knees, her body trembling. Adrianne was right down there with her as this occurred.

She reached down and grabbed Airi's chin. She stared right into the eyes of the girl. "Hey there Estelle, mind letting her go?" she asked.

Airi spat at Adrianne. The inquisitor gestured for Ayelen to let go of her. "This is already being recorded," Adrianne said, "And if you do not let her go within five seconds, then I am reporting this as an attack on another inquisitor. It may not get you excommunicated, but it will damage your reputation."

"Five, four, three," Adrianne counted down, and suddenly, Airi fell forwards. She was asleep. The inquisitor looked up at the rest of the room, "How close are we to warp?"

"Thirty minutes," Ayelen replied.

"Damn, she's cutting it close," Adrianne shook her head, "There's no point complaining. She already got away with it, and there's no way to prove that she did this."

"What happened?" Erwine asked, standing up and walking to look at Airi.

"Estelle is very good at attacking people during sleep. She invades their dreams and plants ideas that allow her to totally control them when they wake. I had thought that she had already left the system, but since she has a faster ship, it does not really matter." Adrianne explained, moving Airi into her lap. She rested the girl's back against her chest. Airi was stirring a little.

"So that wasn't Airi acting?" Erwine asked, "What was the point of all that, then?"

"I don't know," Adrianne said, "She most likely planned to hear as much of the speech as possible. Most likely, she wanted to know our destination, so she'll be waiting at Hadiens Prime for us. Airi's behavior near the end was indicative of the native mind working to throw off the controlling one. She was also trying to make me believe that Airi had lost her mind, but I know the girl too well for that kind of trickery."

Airi's eyes opened, and she looked around, confused. Adrianne noticed. Saying nothing to Airi, she simply held the girl on her lap. "What's going on?" Airi mumbled, "Where am I?"

"Estelle was trying to learn of our plans, however, she was running out of time, as she clearly wants to get to Hadiens Prime before we do. She didn't learn everything, and her attempt to frame Airi as having gone insane failed. So in the end, we lost."

"Why?" Erwine asked, "She did not accomplish her goals, correct?"

"Estelle's not stupid. She has a back-up plan. She knows where we are going, and her ship is faster. She'll be waiting for us in some way, and she knows that we know what she did. So she'll be planning for a coherent force to arrive at Hadiens Prime, not a force disrupted by the supposed insanity of one girl. I could have seen through this earlier, but my excitement overwhelmed me, and I could have reacted to my knowledge of Estelle's control later, but my concern overwhelmed me."

Airi was trying to sit up now. She turned her head, but then clutched at her side. "What?" she asked, seeing blood on her hand, and then seeing the daggers embedded in her side, "What happened to me?!"

"Estelle," Adrianne explained, "She got into your dreams last night, planted something that she activated earlier. She was controlling you. Must have charged for a long time, maybe even have implanted some kind of trigger at some earlier point, but she set this up for a while. Needed to figure out where we're headed that badly, I guess"

"Of course," Airi nodded, "She can do that," she was not shocked. Rather, it was shame that her voice conveyed.

"Are you alright?" Adrianne asked. She was choking up a little.

"Yes, but can you say the same?" Airi moved away from Adrianne, but only so that she could reach out and put a hand on Adrianne's face.

"No," Adrianne admitted, "I can't," There was no need for her to be stubborn, theoretically, at least. She was supposedly surrounded by people who cared about her.

"Why?" Airi had no idea what was happening. She could not remember much, except that this room was the place where they were all going to meet today. However, she could not remember how she got here, or what she was doing.

"Because you said that I'm insane, and that everything that you've done has been pointless," Adrianne said. She brought her knees close to her face, wrapping her arms around them. More than anything, she sought the approval of those she trusted.

"I was being controlled," Airi smiled, "You think I really believe that kind of stuff?"

"I don't know, I really don't know." Adrianne confessed. "People can change quickly. I have…I have that effect."

Airi chuckled, "Adrianne, I could put you behind bars for the rest of your life, and probably executed, as long as I gave what I knew to Estelle. If I really wanted to do that, if I really thought that, then I would have done that to you years ago, not now."

Adrianne nodded, before Airi clutched at her side once more. Ayelen stepped closer to her, and grabbed Airi's side. The teleporter's tension stopped, and her body relaxed. She reached down, and yanked the daggers out of her body.

Casting them to the side with ease, the girl leaned back against the table, not out of pain, but out of lack of energy. For her, she had just woken up. Erwine was to her right, Ayelen was crouching at her left, and Laelia was watching on behind Ayelen. Adrianne, meanwhile, was sitting back against the wall. She was not crying, but she was not happy.

"Adrianne," Airi said, "Don't listen to what Estelle said to you. This is what she wants from you."

There was a strange silence in the room. Ayelen, Laelia, and Erwine all understood that they had no place in the conversation that was taking place, so they decided to stay silent. Airi was waiting for a reply, as she had little more to say, other than to repeat herself and make Adrianne looked like a child. Adrianne was just not talking, and the reason for her silence was unclear.

"If this is what she wants," Adrianne eventually said, after around a minute of silence, "Then she shall receive exactly that."

Adrianne stood up, and walked to the position she had previously occupied next to the table. Ayelen and Airi stood as the inquisitor walked, and Airi frowned, "You are going to remain sad?" she asked, her voice expressing the stupidity she thought the idea displayed.

"I'm not sad," Adrianne shook her head, and a determined look came onto her face, "Estelle has always tried to slow us in various ways that are large-scale. She went through official channels to mess with our procedures and methods, or cited some law or regulation. She has never touched any one of you in any way before now. At least not like this."

"She may think that we come to her ready for what she has, but in reality, we have an ace up our sleeve. Erwine. You're new, no one knows what you can do or who you are. And Airi. She was in your head, controlling your actions. Telepathy goes both ways." Adrianne smiled, "Her thoughts and your thoughts should have mingled, can you remember anything?"

Airi shook her head, "Not exactly. There are a few scraps here and there, but nothing solid. There was some long session this morning when Estelle tried to convince my own mind of your insanity, so that should give a view into her thoughts."

"Good," Adrianne nodded, "That's something at least." A smile came onto her face. It was a rather disturbing smile.

"If an insane monster is what she thinks I am, then she shall see that belief can create daemons as great as the ones which were always there," Adrianne muttered. "Take your seats, ladies, we have some work to do."

Airi could not remember much. The last few hours were a muddled blur that was only beginning to make sense, but the last ten minutes before she awoke made some kind of sense to her. She had the general idea of what Adrianne had been speaking about, so it was not hard for her to catch up.

"As I was saying, Ishna is planning to do whatever it was she wanted to do twenty-nine years ago in this sector. I can tell. She is planning this rebellion, which will throw the entire sector into chaos and provide an entry point for traitor knights. Our primary goal is to stop Ishna from doing whatever it is she wants to do, but stopping this rebellion should slow, if not stop entirely, that process."

Adrianne met the eyes of everyone in the room. "I am not going after Ishna only because I must avenge people I've lost. She is planning something massive. As I said, she has massive power, and for a maniac like her, she has done very little with that power. She could have launched a revolt in any sector she's been in, focused her forces, and set herself up as dictator, but she hasn't. That tells me that there is more to her than she wants us to believe, but the important part is that no one but us believes this. Everyone else has little idea who Ishna is, so the Inquisitorial Sect in this sector will be of little assistance in the long-term."

"Unless Estelle suddenly changes sides, then we are alone in this belief. We are led to believe that the nexus of the trading network in this sector is Hadiens Prime, and the information Erwine obtained tells us that this information is legitimate."

"How do we know?" Laelia asked, "For certain, I mean? You know that people can break quickly under even the threat of torture, so how can you say for certain that the enemy is centered on Hadiens Prime?"

"She was not lying," Adrianne said, "She took a second to try and resist, and then she yelled Hadiens Prime. That tells me that she had some courage, but then questioned that courage. The answer was then in her head, so when I started, she realized I was not messing around, so she told me."

"And the rest of what she said?"

"She knows the planet, but the city and exact spot were unknown. I can tell this because of the sheer absurdity of hiding such an operation in the middle of the city, in Administratum buildings. The enemy is on Hadiens Prime, but the girl was too scared to think of the right answer, or she did not know the right answer. No matter what, she did not tell me the truth."

"That is only circumstantial evidence," Airi said, "You're interpreting it in the way you want to see it. No offence, of course, but you have to consider all the options."

"Say I come up behind you, restrain you, and then start pulling your guts out after slicing you open. All you have to do is answer my question, what do you do?" Adrianne asked Erwine.

The girl was a bit worried at first, but after a brief period of thought, she had the answer. "I try to resist, but then I give you the answer if I cannot hold on."

"Good. I then ask you another question, what do you do? Understand that I have pulled out about a meter of your guts at this point."

"I tell you the answer."

"Why?"

"To make you stop,"

"Let's say you knew the answer to the second question, but you were currently watching my yank your intestines out. Could you remember that answer clearly?"

Erwine shook her head, "I feel as if I would be wanting you to stop hurting me."

Adrianne looked at Airi. "I'm not leading her," the inquisitor said, "And while I may be thinking positively, I'd prefer to believe that I was not lied to. I scared this girl greatly. I know how to get information out of a magical girl, and scaring them is not one of the ways. Girls understand that they are immortal, and that you can keep torturing them forever. This makes them prefer to tell you the answer rather than suffer."

"That's why telepaths, as well as special cases like Ayelen and Erwine exist. Their jobs are to get information out of people when others cannot." Adrianne explained, "Any one of us would try to make the pain stop in the situation I put that girl in. She was telling the truth at first, when she thought that there was one question, and before I started to do anything. The threat was enough, and I gave her a couple seconds to think. After that, I was hasty and started hurting her."

Airi shrugged. "I guess that's a good case, but we still have to doubt the trustworthiness of a heretic."

Adrianne nodded, before moving on. "I believe that the center of this operation is on Hadiens Prime, and that is where we are going. However, the fact that there is a revolt planned, as well as the fact that the operation is centered on the sector capital, means that they have some kind of help."

"What do you mean?" Laelia asked.

"Inquisitorial help," Adrianne explained as the eyebrows of everyone in the room raised in shock, "They are operating under the noses of the Inquisitorial Sect here, if the girl I tortured is to be believed. That means that someone is helping them hide."

"Or the sect is lacking," Ayelen pointed out.

"They could be, but look at how rooted this operation was on this planet. This is not an isolated issue, Siothea's case, it has to be happening on many other planets. Even the most lax Sect would have shut down half the cases, but the fact is that the operation still exists and manages to be so large."

"We encountered a similar network in the Marcostas Sector, but it was in the process of being shut down, all we did was chase Ishna. It was not deeply-rooted enough, as the network could have only gained that much depth if someone on the inside helped set it up."

"There has been no mention of the problem in this sector, and I have asked for all communications with other Inquisitors from Bolton. He contacted three others, and they had no idea this was happening. There is someone on the inside of the Inquisition. And they are most likely at the center of the entire network."

"However, since they would be an inquisitorial agent, they would have to register their activities at some point with the local sect." It was mandatory for an Inquisitorial Agent to submit a report at least once a year of their activities. One was due for each sector they were in, although the reports could be submitted telepathically. Agents on extended operations or on specially-sanctioned missions did not have to do this, to allow for secrecy.

"We're going to the records office," Laelia guessed.

"Exactly." Adrianne said. "Even if what the girl told me was a lie, we know that the records office is there, and we can guess that an inquisitor is involved with the enemy. We trace down any suspicious activity, and we can find out who is involved."

"Do we know for certain that the records office can be trusted?" Airi asked, "What if this conspiracy runs deep?"

"If it does, then even arriving in the Hadiens Prime system will get us killed. We have to be very careful from now on. No matter what we find, I'm going to submit a report that marks us as traveling back to the Marcostas Sector, having not found anything useful."

"That would be lying on a report," Airi said, her voice cautionary, "That is a crime for an inquisitor, you know how the system works."

"A crime that would throw the enemy off of our trail. Whoever they are, they will be checking the records. We can leave no trace of our presence on the planet after we are supposed to leave, not even in the sector. Ishna has to think that she buried her organization too deeply, so that she comes out into the open."

"How does all this even lead to Ishna?" Erwine asked. She had been silent for a while until now. "What if this is unrelated?"

The room was silent. Adrianne had something that was like an answer. "The setup matches Ishna, as does the scope of the operation. And, the only reason we came here in the first place was because of evidence we found linking Ishna to this sector."

Adrianne explained, "On a planet at the edge of the Marcostas Sector, Ayelen got a man to talk. This man was of the Administratum, and he is now in prison for crimes against the Imperium. These crimes involved falsifying some records so that Ishna's removal of around five thousand military-grade lasguns from a Guard supply was not noticed for a time. And only now do I realize that these guns are to support these revolt you were told of. If one were to look at the weapons the guards had, one could see that they were guns from the Marcostas Sector, weapons that people fifty light years away should not have."

"That is still circumstantial," Ayelen said, "We may not be able to say if Ishna is involved for certain."

"But we can," Airi countered. "We can say for certain that Ishna is involved, because of one factor."

"What would that be?"

"The fact that the Osbeornes are involved," Airi said, "I may have been under the control of Estelle, but she was still thinking in my head. And it turns out that she knows that the Osbeornes have always strayed to the wrong side of the law. Several times in the past, family members have been arrested or killed by the Inquisition or Arbites. And while that is nothing much, there is more, as Estelle also found solid proof on Siothea that connects this organization to Ishna."

"What is it?" Adrianne asked excitedly.

"Ishna visited about a week ago. She did not use any kind of alias. She wrote her name down in the port logs. She also left a note, telling Ms. Adramartis to say hello to Ms. Azure."

Adrianne cheered, "Yes! We really do have her here! She knows we're here, but we know that she's here…the hunt…this long journey, maybe's it over…"

Adrianne shook in delight, excitement coursing through her body as she stood in front of the table. "She has to stay here. In this sector. Whatever she wants to do can be done here, and only here. Estelle will try to shut down the entire network, in an attempt to stop the revolt from happening. But we have to get to Ishna herself, with any luck, we can disrupt her plans and then catch her."

Adrianne had tears running from her eyes. She was crying out of joy, not sadness. Pride coursed through her bones, and she looked up at the ceiling with a look of joy and sorrow on her face.

"Maybe…just maybe it's over…" she whispered, words lost amidst her tears.

* * *

A recent contractee asked me, "Ma'am (She always insists on formality), why do other people, humans I mean, why do they bow to me?" I'm one hundred and twenty-seven years old, and I found that this girl's simple question had a rather profound effect. I'd forgotten that fact, that humans are always bowing to us, at least the loyal ones.

They truly treat us as angels of The Goddess, servants working directly on the orders of Her Holy Majesty. I can't imagine the shock of a new girl suddenly finding that she's treated like a queen, while she's truthfully not much older than she was when she contracted.

I do believe that we need to reassess the way we act. We go about our daily lives in normal manners, not taking note of the humans around us. It was though those people are mere servants. While in truth, we are all servants of The Goddess. Perhaps it would be for the better if we were to get off the high horse that we sometimes sit upon and think about what it would be like if we were mere humans.

-Article in Yearly Inquisitorial Newspaper, M40.996


	14. Shock and Awe

The warp is known to have massively varying effects on magical girls. Unfortunately, the reason for this variation is still unknown, after thousands of years of research. Part of it certainly chalks down to potential and natural talent, both have an effect of some sort.

However, there is always another variable involved. Many theories have been proposed, from the effect being entirely random, to the effect tying in to the specific words used with one's wish. What is known for certain is that the warp is raw emotional energy, the stuff that magical girls harness within themselves and project outwards. While one may think placing a being that runs off of emotions in the middle of a sea of emotions, it must be remembered that everything is represented in the warp.

Hope, despair, the entire spectrum of positive and negative can all be found within the Immaterium. Furthermore, just like giving a plant too much water will kill it, giving a magical girl too much energy will drive her mad, her soul gem no longer able to contain her form. The daemons in the warp are also believed to have an effect, functioning as predators that, if lurking nearby a ship when entering the warp, will have a greater effect.

Recently, breakthroughs in Magic Theory have allowed the beginning of some semblance of understanding into how the warp works. Here, an attempt shall be made to break down the Immaterium into data and numbers that can be understood by our minds.

-Introduction to the heretical _The Science of the Immaterium, _publisher's name erased from history after her excommunication and capture.

* * *

Just after Adrianne paused, a loud alarm rang out through the ship. The speakers in the small room blared out the noise, causing those inside to react in various ways. All reacted in some sense, but only one girl's reaction was immediately noticeable.

Erwine jumped, her hands going to cover her ears as protection from the loud sound which now assaulted her ears. She looked around frantically, wondering what was going on to cause the alarm.

The thing that immediately confused her was the lack of response from everyone else. Laelia was calmly sitting in her seat, with her eyes closed and her arms crossed. She seemed more annoyed than worried. Ayelen was leaning back in her chair, arms behind her head. She was more annoyed. Airi was the least annoyed of the seated girls. She shook her head at the other two, and then looked at Erwine with a grin.

Then, the girl's eyes went to Adrianne. The inquisitor was moving her hands around, touching buttons and manipulating the hologram. She seemed to pay no mind to the loud sound that was disrupting the entire flow of conversation within the room.

The klaxon lasted for fifteen seconds, before it ended abruptly. Erwine expected some kind of message to follow, but none did. She looked to Adrianne for answers.

The inquisitor sighed, "I hate that noise," she muttered, "No matter how useful it is."

Erwine frowned, wondering what the noise indicated. She knew that alarms like that were normally sounded when some major problem had occurred, but Adrianne seemed completely unfazed.

She looked up at Erwine, "We are entering the warp in thirty minutes, stop thinking."

Erwine's eyebrows raised, "What do you mean?"

"Do not try to telepathically communicate with anyone while in the warp. You can think to yourself, but do not send any messages to anyone," Adrianne ordered. She was staring into Erwine's eyes with a stare Erwine had rarely encountered in the many hours she had spent with the woman. It almost made the young magical girl flinch back, and the urge to not meet the gaze any longer was strong.

"Or what?" Erwine asked. Her tone was curious. She was not intent on being rebellious. She just wanted to know.

"Or else you may lose your soul to daemons, and doom everyone else on this ship," Adrianne explained, "When a ship enters the warp, it enters the dimension of daemons. It is the only way, but it is a risky way. Telepathy of any kind is not permissible. The ship is shielded from the daemons outside, but magic energy generated by us magical girls can easily exit the shield and be caught by daemons. They'll trace the single, tiny bit of energy back to you. They'll get into your own soul via the magic you fling out whenever you send such a message."

Erwine was shocked. "Surprised?" Adrianne asked, "I can tell you worse,"

Erwine shook her head. "I don't want to know more," she said. She started to tell herself over and over again, _don't use magic, don't use magic. _

"You can use any kind of magic except for basic telepathic messaging. Only telepathic messages can stray outside the walls, due to their incorporeal nature," the inquisitor explained, "So don't think you are completely restricted. If you were a mage knight, then you would already know how to program your mind in order to prevent telepathic communication, but you're not, and you're three days old, so you'll just have to focus. Of course, you never use that ability much unless we talk to you first, so don't worry too much about it."

Erwine nodded, but still repeated that phrase to herself over and over again. She was not happy to be entering what sounded like a terrible place, but it was a necessity.

"The journey to Hadiens should take a week, the navigator sees very favorable tides ahead. When we first enter, you may suffer some slight trauma, but it shouldn't be anything too serious."

"Trauma?" Erwine asked, "What kind?"

"Mental trauma. Dependent on your natural potential, and your current power, the trauma could be severe, or it could be very slight. It will likely involve some amount of blood leaving the body from some already established orifice, as well as some unpleasant sensations. That's if it's minor. If it's at the worst I've heard of, then you'll experience an incredibly slow, irreversible body death."

"I'll die?!" Erwine shouted. The room's attention became now focused on her as she began to panic.

"Body death," Adrianne repeated, "Your body will die, but your soul will live. You'll just heal your body and inhabit it once more. Don't worry."

Erwine disliked this idea not as much as the idea of dying, but did not like it as much as the idea of just straight out surviving. "But I'll still die?" she asked.

"Magical girls don't die," Adrianne corrected, "We are only souls, inhabiting bodies. Technically, given time, we could inhabit anything living. We don't need to worry about life and death, they mean nothing to us. When our soul gems break, then we go to the Goddess."

Erwine nodded. She did not quite understand, but she was reassured just by the fact that Adrianne was not afraid. If the inquisitor had been worried, then Erwine would have been panicking, but if she was unafraid, then Erwine knew she was absolutely safe.

"Now come on," the inquisitor said, "No need to spend all day in here." She looked at Laelia, "Take Erwine…somewhere, and teach her…things." Her attitude had switched to a stranger one, her words showing that she was not entirely focused on being serious at the moment.

"What things?" Laelia asked with a moan spreading itself out through the entire question.

"Anything she does not yet know, I don't have any idea where to begin with this girl." Adrianne was not annoyed or disgusted, unlike her words made her sound. She was just realizing that Erwine knew very little about the things a servant of the Inquisition needed to know.

Laelia stood up, before turning towards Ayelen. "What are you doing?"

The girl smiled, "I don't know,"

Laelia reached down and grabbed her by one of the tails of her hair. Ayelen yelped as she was dragged up, and Laelia walked towards the door pulling the girl behind her. She looked over her shoulder towards Erwine, "Come on," she said, "We have only six days,"

Erwine walked to the door, a bit afraid, but also a bit excited. She was also wondering why Ayelen was being dragged along by her hair, but that concern was only secondary.

Adrianne and Airi watched the three girls go, before they turned to look at each other. A minute passed.

Erwine was sitting in what was apparently the library of the ship. Erwine had possessed many books over the course of her life. The most she had seen in one place at any time was when she had visited one of the larger bookstores near her. It was not that much of an official store.

It was an old man who worked out of a back alley. He gave books for a good price, and he had some rare texts. The man had about fifty old, dusty books. Erwine had thought that was a massive collection. Erwine had visited once, due to the fact that was several kilometers from her hab. She and Nada had only recently been allowed to go there alone, so Erwine had gotten only one chance to go before she contracted.

_I wonder if Nada is still going there, _Erwine thought, _I doubt it, she was never all that interested in books, not enough to go all that way for just one. _

However, Erwine now understood the pettiness of that old man's collection. He had possessed about fifty. A single shelf in the library of the _Rosie _contained around twice that number.

Erwine stared up at the wooden structures, her eyes wide in wonder as she gazed upon the beauty of all the texts which confronted her as she looked up. There were so many things she had never heard of before, including some books in a language she had not encountered before.

She had seen some things written in this language, but she no idea what the language was. She did not really care. All she cared about was that the room she was in, about fifteen by fifteen meters, contained enough books to seemingly last a lifetime.

Laelia was beside her. She was looking at the shelves with a disinterested face. She had been wearing this face for minutes now. She turned around after only a few more seconds. Erwine looked at her go in shock. "What are you doing?"

"I've already read all of those," Laelia said, sitting down next to a table only a couple meters from the shelf, "The only new ones are in my room or Adrianne's,"

"What?!" Erwine exclaimed, wondering how someone could read the entire contents of this library.

"Warp voyages can take months, depending on the distance, one needs something to do in all that time," Laelia explained. She leaned back in the chair she was, before pointing to a book on the shelf right in front of Erwine, "Get that one,"

Erwine could not exactly identify which book was being indicated. She pointed to one, but Laelia shook her head, so Erwine went over another book before Laelia nodded.

Erwine brought the book out of the shelf, and walked back over to the table. Laelia gestured for Erwine to sit down in the chair on the long side of the table. Laelia was on the short side at the moment, leaning back in her chair as she reached into her jacket.

Ayelen was sitting on one of the couches nearby, but she was not paying much attention to Laelia. It was as if Laelia was the girl's babysitter. Erwine put the large book down, and sat down in the chair that was indicated.

She looked to Laelia for some form of instruction. Laelia grinned, and cracked up a little, "Go on, open the book, don't be scared,"

Erwine sighed. She could not believe that the Inquisition was actually a bunch of twelve-year olds running around with magic and authority. _Not that the Inquisition is not brutally efficient when it wants to be, _she thought, _it's more that they are silly most of the time. _

Erwine looked at the title of the text in front of her. It read _A Comprehensive Guide to the Science of the 31__st__ Millennium. _Erwine frowned. "A comprehensive guide?" she asked, "I thought science would take…more to explain,"

"That's not comprehensive," Laelia said, "For most people, this book contains twelve hundred pages telling them everything they'll ever need. But for people like us, we need to know a lot more. This is a good primer, however. You can find about five dozen of these per sector, most likely more, but this is the best I've managed to get my hands on. It's from the Marcostas Sector, but I hear that there's another good one in this sector."

Erwine opened the book, and flipped through the pages of foreword to the first page. She looked at the title of this page, reading _An Introduction to the Basics. _Erwine started to read down the page, as the text started to explain the various topics which would be covered, and the manner in which they would be covered.

Erwine had not heard of most of the things she now read about, but she was looking forwards to learning. She read through the entire chapter, with Laelia staying silent, at least in terms of talking.

The older girl had reached into her coat and retrieved a small box from a pocket inside. It was made of dark metal, and made a hollow, clinking sound as it was placed on the table. Laelia undid the latches, and removed a large pistol. It was a revolver, and it immediately distracted Erwine from her reading.

"What are you doing?" she asked, "What is that?"

"This is a gun," Laelia said, as if that answer was somehow not clear to Erwine, "And it is a very old gun." Erwine frowned. The gun did not look very old to her. She did not know much about weapons, but she knew that guns decayed over time, and this one looked fairly new.

"It's old?" Erwine asked.

"Yes, it's from several thousand years ago, but possibly before then," Laelia explained, "I got this from Adrianne, as a present. I'm fairly certain she stole it from Estelle at some point, but Estelle was not the original owner."

"Who was?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure anyone these days does. Magical girls can use their magic to repair broken things such as this gun, and some magical girls have abilities allowing them to do it better than others. We use those abilities to retrieve and preserve artifacts like this, as relics of a time before our own."

The revolver Laelia held up had a medium-length barrel. The stock was normal, and the chamber was normal. The entire thing was pitch black in color. There did not seem anything special about the weapon. No sign of its age, nor any sign of why Laelia was taking it apart.

Erwine watched carefully as the gun was disassembled in front of her. Laelia had several tools in the box, which she used to assist herself in the disassembling of the weapons. She was very careful, and this led to her being very slow.

Erwine watched the delicate movements of the older magical girl as she took apart something that may date back to a time long before her own. "What is it called?"

"I don't know," Laelia replied, "The caliber of the gun is .44, that's for certain, but there's not much else besides that to identify the thing. I heard some vague comment about it being called the most powerful handgun ever made, but I've seen thousands of weapons more powerful than this old piece of junk."

"Why do you keep it, if it's a piece of junk?" Erwine asked, as Laelia carefully cleaned each part of the gun.

"Because it is history. Just imagine," Laelia looked up at Erwine, "Just imagine that that this gun is really from thousands and thousands of years ago, maybe even before the Heresy, before Old Night, maybe even before the Golden Age of Magic,"

Erwine shook her head. She knew only two of those terms, and only one of them she knew more than just the name. "Old Night," Laelia explained, "The time after the Golden Age of Magic, when the various systems were cut off from one another. Supposedly, it all happened due to some animosity between humans and our kind, but with things like they are these days, I don't see something like that being possible."

Erwine nodded. She did not want to comprehend the fact that her lifespan would encompass an astronomically small amount of the age of the Imperium. Not much would change in the time she would be alive. Erwine could not say this for certain. _But I feel that it is a truth I should accept. I'll never amount to anything that important. I doubt I can change the galaxy on the scale of someone like Macharius. _

"And this gun may have survived those periods, sitting alone in some dark, forgotten place. And here it is today, in the hands of one who can only speculate on its origins." Laelia had tears in her eyes, such was the extent to which she was immersed in the history of the human race.

Erwine could not understand. "We should start with history, then," Laelia said, "That's a bit more important than science, at least in many cases." She stood up, walking over to the bookshelf. The girl retrieved several books, some of which were in that other language Erwine had observed.

She sat back down after thirty seconds, and Laelia gave the smallest one to Erwine. It was the smallest, yet it was around one thousand pages. Erwine closed the science book, and placed the historical text down in its place after she moved it away.

The title of the large book read _Major Events in the Segmentum Pacificus in the Later Third of the 31__st__ Millennium. _Erwine frowned. _This book covers only major events over three hundred years? And yet it is massive?! _

She looked at Laelia with confusion expressed on her face, and the older girl smiled. "This is only the beginning. History should not be read via vague summaries of decades at a time. It should be read via detailed descriptions of each important event. This book covers all kinds of events, but my favorite occurrences are the conflicts, which there is no shortage of. This is an official book created by the Ordo Historius in the Segmentum Pacificus, to be used by magical girls. Even the mage knights use it to teach history to young girls."

Erwine opened the book to the first page, and was instantly surprised by the thickness of the text. The font size was small, and the sentences were not far apart on the page. _I can adapt, _the girl thought, _but not easily. _

Nevertheless, she tried to start reading. The book started to narrate the background to the current events going on. It gave a brief summary of _Major Events in the Segmentum Pacificus in the Middle Third of the 31__st__ Millennium, _as well as _Major Events in the Segmentum Pacificus in the Earlier Third of the 31__st__ Millennium_. It then described what current issues relate to events in those two texts. All of this took around twenty pages, and Erwine was only on page ten when Laelia had put the gun back together.

She finished reassembling it, and then looked around. Erwine had been looking up due to her need for a break from the smaller text, and asked, "Do you use that for anything?"

"I do keep it clean and spend time and resources to make bullets for it, yes," Laelia said, "So I do use it for many things. The fact is that many people are afraid of magical girls, but magical girls, if they're too arrogant, consider non-magical weapons to be harmless, and they are true, in most cases."

"However, the bullets I designed for this gun are based off of the experimental Hellfire rounds developed by the mage knights. The gun can only fire them because of its simplicity. The bullets do not consist entirely of solid material. The middle part consists of a glass vial holding an extremely powerful acid which reacts on contact with the air."

"The impact of the nose of the bullets causes the collapse of the vial, leading to the acid splashing all over the skin. It can burn right through bone, so the only way a magical girl can survive without suffering a body death is to not take one to the torso or head. Most girls don't expect this, so they don't expect to be shot once they think they have won."

"It if for this reason that I have named the weapon U.N. Owen, after an old tale about ten people, killed by the person they did not expect to be the murderer. He went by the name of U.N. Owen, as a sort of joke on the word unknown." Laelia explained, "This gun kills those who do not expect it to kill,"

She popped open the chamber of the weapon and checked the bullets inside. Taking one out and inspecting it, Laelia was pleased. She then turned and looked at the couch were Ayelen was sitting. "Ayelen," she called.

"I know what you're doing," the girl replied, although Erwine did not.

"So you want it in the head?" Laelia asked, holding the gun up.

Ayelen rolled forwards off the couch as Laelia started to fire suddenly. Six gunshots echoed off the finely-made, wooden walls of the room. The gunshots pierced the couch. Erwine stared in shock at Laelia as the girl walked forwards to check.

She looked down past the couch, calling back to Erwine, "They weren't acid rounds, don't worry."

Ayelen was lying on her back. She glared at Laelia, holding up her right arm to display the bullet wound in that limb. "Satisfied?" she asked.

Laelia nodded, "You always have to make sure the gun is battle-ready," she said, as if that was a total justification for shooting her friend in the arm.

She turned around, and saw that Erwine was torn between feelings of incomprehension and fear.

"What?" she asked, with a grin, "It's not like she can't grow another?" The girl cocked her head to the side as she talked, so that her cheery attitude, and the cheery attitude of Ayelen, completely contrasted with what had just happened.

Erwine took a step back, and then realized she understood nothing about the Inquisition.

Right as she realized this, there was a loud warning klaxon. They had actually been sounding off for the past several minutes. But only the one minute alarm went off in the library of the vessel. Erwine heard the voice announcing that there was barely any time before warp entry.

She realized she was already starting to feel a bit nauseous. At that point, the door opened, and Adrianne quickly walked in. Her eyes found Erwine, and this simple action prevented Erwine from completely panicking. The girl was, however, trembling intensely, and her breathing was getting faster and shallower.

A strange sensation was creeping up on her, like something was at the edge of her mind, tapping on the outside of her skull ever so gently. She felt Adrianne pull her close, "I'm here," she said, "It can't hurt you, you'll make it through."

The tapping got faster, yet was still just as light as before. It was barely enough to annoy Erwine, but it was there. She heard the final countdown from ten seconds. She started to tear up as she felt herself get dizzy, and lose all energy throughout her body.

Adrianne still held her close. "Five," Erwine shook more and more as the tapping increased without warning to the sound of an entire army marching by her head. The sound of boots on a hard, hollow surface echoed through her mind. "Four," A foul stench came to her nose and tongue, like the smell of a thousand rotting dead bodies.

"Three," Her skin started to itch uncontrollably, it wouldn't stop. It felt like thousands of bugs were crawling all over her skin, their tiny bristled legs irritating her. Sometimes, one would stop to nibble at her skin. Sometimes it hurt, sometimes it only made her itch worse.

"Two," A vision of death and destruction was in front of her eyes. Erwine's eyes were wide open, staring at Adrianne's chest, but she did not see that. She saw bloody, mangled corpses, burning cities, and worse.

"One," All these sensations, previously coming to her one by one, all combined in a single instant to hit her at the same time. The sensory overload made Erwine freeze up.

"Warp entry." A shrill scream pierced the other noises, and everything was tripled in its power. Blood spurted out of Erwine's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears as her body shook uncontrollably. Screams echoed around in her head, and it was hard to tell whose screams they were. Did they come from the outside, or were they her screams?

Erwine's stomach turned inside out, and her limbs thrashed about wildly. Her head was held in place by Adrianne, but the rest of her was free to move about. Her limbs screamed in pain as they bended in ways they should not bend, and her bones cracked as she writhed.

It felt like her brain was melting inside her head, and from the way her blood stained Adrianne's clothes, she wondered if that was true. Screams still echoed in her mind, and her entire body screamed in pain, although nothing was there to stimulate it.

Then it stopped. As quickly as it had come, everything just stopped. Erwine fell limp in Adrianne's arms, and the ship was on her way through the warp. Adrianne softly patted Erwine's head, as the girl breathed softly. She was barely conscious, but Adrianne wished she was out.

"Ayelen," the inquisitor said, and the girl was already there. Her magic reduced the pain Erwine felt as she moved onto the couch, and Adrianne started to heal her damaged body, not minding that her coat was stained even redder by the blood from Erwine.

The inquisitor removed the coat and tossed it aside, resting Erwine's head on her lap. The room was silent as the young girl was healed slowly, but surely. The spasms were one of the worst they had all seen. It had not been pleasant to watch Erwine writhe and scream as she did.

"Does that mean anything?" Laelia asked.

"Yes," Adrianne said, running her free hand through Erwine's hair, "It means that I made the right choice,"

"You mean that?" Laelia asked.

"Yes," Adrianne said, "Things like that don't happen to everyone,"

"Her natural potential was not high," Laelia pointed out, "A fluke?"

"It gives my theory more credence," Adrianne corrected, "This girl is special, we just don't know how yet,"

* * *

Erwine had learned far too much about history for one day. She figured this, but could not confirm if there was a certain level of how much history one should learn in the space of a few hours. Especially when one was with someone they thought they knew, but did not really.

So she had retreated to her room after around seven hours spent in the library of the _Rosie_ with Laelia. Erwine doubted that she would break down like she ahd last night, but not everyone around her shared that same confidence.

It was not exactly painted on the faces of the people she saw, the new friends which had replaced her old ones, but Erwine had gotten better at reading emotions underneath the surface in the past few days. It was clear that they all knew, somehow, that Erwine was in pain.

_Has Adrianne been telling them things? Have they been spying on me? _The questions Erwine asked herself were many, but the answers for these questions did not exist at the moment. Or possibly they did exist, but Erwine could not find them.

_Or maybe they've been through the same thing I have. _This conclusion was the one that was the most preferable to Erwine. She did not want to believe that the people around her were going behind her back. The same incidents that had led to her skill at reading faces and emotions had also lead to her developing a healthy dose of paranoia.

_Is it healthy? _Erwine kept questioning herself. She had been questioning far too much. She knew that. She did not need to question why she questioned. She had the answer to that question. The answer was rather obvious.

The reason for her paranoia, for her heightened sensitivity when it came to people, was rather obvious, and a specific reason could not be picked out. Erwine wanted to justify the changes that were occuring.

Change had never happened to Erwine before. Not like this. She had never moved to a new place, never slept in a different bed, never eaten different food, or not this different at least. This change had been sudden, and drastic.

Erwine had no more time to be a child. She had time to think about how she was no longer a child. She had time to think about how nothing would ever be the same.

And that was what Adrianne, and Airi, and Laelia, and Ayelen were all worried about. Time to think was one of the most dangerous things to have when worrying things were on one's mind. Erwine understood this, but she needed a break from her learning, from her upheaval from the insignificant position she had occupied before to a position that would be far more important than positions occupied by countless billions across the galaxy.

Adrianne had wanted to join her in her room once more, if only so she could talk to her. But Erwine had refused. She had wanted independence. She had always liked being alone, and she had received little of that time in recent days. She knew that the night before had been her choice, but her hand had been forced by her own issues.

Now, she felt that she would be safe. Not safe from any external threat, but safe from the dangers of her own mind. Few external threats worried Erwine anymore.

And what had been said to her by Adrianne the night before had comforted Erwine. It had not made her happy, the story Adrianne had told, the complete and total despair in the girl's voice. What had helped her was the realization the hearing of that story had brought about. Erwine had come to understand that what she was experiencing was normal, not a change specific to her, and something that she could face.

This had given the girl hope. Erwine understood that hope seemed to be quite an important factor when dealing with magical girls. And with this hope, she wanted to rest alone this night. At peace, in her room. She thought that there would be nothing preventing her from enjoying a peaceful night of rest.

Slowly opening the door into her room, Erwine took a moment to marvel once again at the size of the compartment. She thought that she would never be used to living in a space this large or this well-furnished. Such an idea had been an impossibility only a few days before.

She had received the wish she had asked for, but she had also gained so much more. Erwine had never imagined serving the Inquisition to be like this. The word had always been whispered in hushed voices, worried that the mere mention of the group would somehow call one of the members of it to strike down whoever gossiped about the existence of the group.

Erwine had no idea the group had truly existed. For all her life, the Inquisition had been a mythical being, a creature brought about by the wild imaginations of criminals. She had no idea that it was real, and it was like this.

_However, that wonder shall not stop me from enjoying the fruits of this new life. It will be strange, living like this, in a way I never imagined. _Erwine did have one problem with all this. _No one else I knew shall experience anything like this. _

_Nada, my parents, her parents, my friends…_Erwine could not remember the names of her friends, not without some thought. They had become like a distance memory to the girl, even though the last time she had seen them had been only a couple days ago.

_I did not even say goodbye to them all. _Erwine had no way to remember those three girls. And this simple thought brought another one surging to the surface of Erwine's mind, knocking down all other ideas and memories in a rush to reach the top of the list of thoughts. It certainly succeeded in this quest to steal the spotlight from all others, and remind Erwine of something she had forgot to do.

She reached into her pocket. Her mind panicking. _The letter! The letter from Nada! I placed it in the pocket of my coat! The coat that I don't have anymore! _Erwine found a small pocket in the skirt she wore. It did not have an opposite on the other side, and she had not noticed this small opening before, such was the way in which it was hidden.

She slipped her hand into the pocket, and found a small piece of paper. It should not have been there. The skirt Erwine was wearing, with the way it looked and the material it was made of, should not have had any pockets. And it did not have any pockets, save for the one that her hand had just retreated out of, taking the folded piece of paper inside along with it.

Erwine looked at the paper, remembering that Nada had told her to wait to read it until she was offworld. _I forget, everything that happened while on Siothea distracted me from remembering to read this letter. _

Erwine knew she had to read it now. If it was from her friend, her closest friend, then Erwine knew that it was something she had to read. Erwine quickly unfolded the piece of paper, her fingers fumbling around and tripping over one another as they scrambled to unfold the paper.

It was a simple task made complex by Erwine's haste, but it was not a hard one, and once the letter was unfolded, Erwine found herself confounded by the strange shape of the letters on the page. They were incomprehensible. _What language is this and oh…_Erwine, in her haste to unfold the paper and read the message her best friend had written, had not realized that she held the paper upside-down.

Erwine, overcoming the burst of annoyance that surged through her as she failed to complete the simple task of reading a paper, turned the paper the correct way, and set to reading the paper.

She did hesitate for a split second. She understood that reading this letter now would bring back many memories. Memories of a time that was long gone now. Memories that would be impossible to replicate. Erwine would never have the past again.

But she pushed on. She was confident in herself, and confident that Nada would write an inspiring message.

The letter, written neatly, with handwriting that must have taken the whole time Erwine was gone from the hab to perfect, read as follows.

_ Dear Erwine, my closest friend. _

_ Mere words cannot express how much I hate you. _Erwine reread that sentence. She could not believe that such a thing was actually written on the paper. It was an impossibility, something what went against everything Erwine knew.

Yet the initial reading of the words in that first sentence was correct, and Erwine decided that a cruel joke was being played. She read on.

_I honestly cannot express through any method just how much I despise you. I cannot tell you if I despise you at the time you are reading this letter, but know that when it was written, I hated you more than anyone else in the world. _

Erwine could not read on. She could already feel herself ready to be crushed by the sudden onrush of grief these three sentences brought to her. And yet she continued. She did not run to anyone for help. Not because she was stubborn. It was from the same reason one does not look away from a horrible display of violence. It is too terrible to avert one's eyes from, the fear of what was occurring is simply too much to do anything else other than to stand and watch.

Something similar was felt by Erwine. Not exactly, but she could later compare her situation to that one.

_I know that as you are reading this, you feel betrayed. You feel like you never knew me, that I was always hiding some dark side from you. I cannot blame you for believing this. However, there is no dark side to me. There is only sorrow at the moment. Sorrow, and hatred. _

Erwine continued. Her eyes were still wide. She was ready to fall down, such was the ferocity with which her legs shook. Her mind was incapable of doing anything other than focusing on the words on the page in front of her, and thinking based on those words alone.

_These emotions have been hidden ever since you said you were too afraid to contract. I thought that they were a result of your cowardice. But I realize now that contracting takes a lot of courage to do. To pledge your life, giving up all family and friends in exchange for eternal service to the Goddess, you are truly more heroic than I. So I do not hate you for not contracting at first. I realized later that my anger was because you had potential. You had the potential to become a magical girl, and I did not. _

_I do not like life as it is. It will improve from the benefits gained by your service, but not nearly as much as I would like. But my likes are only my wildest dreams. I did not mind living every day of my life in the same set routine, doing the same things over and over again, as long as I had one person beside me. _

_As long as you were there, I knew that I would not have to suffer through all this alone. There are plenty more friends I have, but none like you. None are as close as you are. _

_It shall be difficult, living on without you here as well. You were, in a very real way, the only thing keeping me sane. I know that I was the same thing for you, but your new life may not even need such people to assist you._

Erwine flinched. She had flinched many times over the course of the few minutes during which she had read the letter, but this one was particularly reactive. Nada had no idea what the truth of the situation was.

_I doubt that I shall truly lose myself in the years to come, I shall adapt. I feel in my heart that humans are good at adapting to new situations quickly, although I ave no evidence. Our lives have not changed till this day, and I realize that my life does not change that much._

_I will live in the same place, do the same things, at the same times, for the same reasons. Only the people I am with are different. You're not there, but everyone else is still in the same place. But your new life will be different in every way, and that is why I write this letter. I don't want you to think about me anymore. _

_What?! _Erwine screamed to herself, refusing to accept the fact that Nada would tell Erwine to forget about her. She read on, intent on uncovering the reasoning behind the writing of this message.

_If you keep thinking about me, and the people you left behind here, then I imagine you would not be able to do anything. I don't want you to feel sorrow for the rest of your life, because you were the lucky one. Don't feel guilty, leaving all of us behind. You'll do great things…truly wonderful things. _

_You will be a hero Erwine, and this is my way of contributing to what will surely become one of the greatest legends ever sung in the Imperium of Man. You will outlive me, certainly, and I will not live to ever hear your tale sung. I will not even know if you are really going to read this letter, or if you are going to simply forget about it, such is the importance of your new duties. _

_But if you are reading this letter, then accept this apology. These words, on this piece of paper, cannot convey how truly sorry I am for hating you. Don't misinterpret me, please. My anger is greater than ever at the moment, but my thought over the past few hours has made me realize something. _

_I am not mad at you because you are leaving me behind. I doubt anyone else will be made at you because you are leaving them behind. The Goddess called to you, Erwine, and you accepted her call. For that, you are worthy of a thousand praises, none of which I am worthy of giving. _

_I am angry because I am selfish. I am angry because I am envious. I am angry because I am nothing compared to you. But if I was in your place, then you would be feeling the same things, possibly as you wrote a letter, similar to this one, addressed to me. _

_I am selfish. I wished to escape this life, this unchanging drudgery. I cannot handle it, not when the possibility of hope and power is right out of my grasp. I cannot ever have what you have, not unless I suddenly develop potential. There is no chance for me, not now, and not ever. _

_And that is what angers me. I wish that I had the power you have now. I wish I could be a magical girl, and truly make a difference in this massive universe we inhabit. When I look up at the night sky, I see the countless stars around us. I wish I could be like you._

_I wish I could go to the stars. I want to go to the stars. It is a dream, but dreams don't have a tendency to come true, do they? _

_All my anger at you, when you first refused to contract, when the Incubator first came to you, was not out of the fact that you refused to contract. It came from my anger, at you, at the world, maybe even at the Goddess herself, that you had potential, but I did not. _

_I struck out at you, screaming at you for being a coward, because I had nothing else to say to you other than that. There were no other emotions in my mind other than anger, and hatred. Who that hatred was directed at, I don't know, and I may never find the courage to think back to those moments and figure that out. _

_But the hatred was there, and you did not deserve to be the target of it. But I recovered. This morning, Erwine, I embraced you as I did because I knew that you would be here forever. That while our lives may be terrible, that we could at least experience the drudgery together. _

_So when you finally did it, when you finally contracted, I was mortified. I screamed and raged then because you did what it seemed like I wanted you to do. My words were not clear, but I am happy that they were not. _

_The world needs dedicated girls like you. Erwine, you have the dedication to see this task through. We may not see each other for a long time, but I am confident that all paths lead to a happy end. The Goddess Protects. _

_I do not know how to properly end this letter in a manner that makes this message feel concluded, so I shall simply tell you that you are better than me. If I was faced with the option to contract, I would have leapt at the chance without fear or hesitation. _

_I would not have waited to speak with you, or my parents, or anyone. I would have done it. You did not express fear at first. You showed the courage to turn an option that at first seemed preferable. Your thoughts turned the option into one you did not want to make, but you made your wish. _

_I don't even know what you wished for, but I know that it was a good wish. _

_Erwine Braune, you are going to be the greatest inquisitor the Imperium has ever seen. And even if you cannot become that, then I ask only one thing of you._

_Do the things that would make you proud of yourself, don't try to please me, don't try to consider me, when I am not there to see that. _

_Goodbye, my very best friend, may I see you again, whether it be in this world, or at the Goddess's side. _

Erwine fell to her knees. She was crying. She had run out of things to compare her constant fits of tears to, so she stopped thinking. After a few seconds, she fell forwards. Lying on her stomach, the girl cried uncontrollably.

She thought about crying there forever. The letter, the tear-stained letter, was in her right hand still. That right hand was sprawled out in front of her, the fingers of the hand clenched into a fist around the dampened paper.

_Why would she write that? _Erwine had never seen Nada so effectively command words to convey emotions, not at this level. Erwine had not even thought the girl to be that good at writing or reading, given her lack of reading compared to Erwine. But apparently she had some natural talent.

Perhaps that talent had been gifted to her by the Goddess, in exchange for Nada's lack of magical potential. It was unclear to Erwine, but it was also an issue that she wanted to forget about. It was irrelevant at the moment.

_I should stop considering such silly things. Why does it matter how the message was written, when it has reduced me to this? _Erwine had wanted to get a peaceful night's sleep, without the aid of anyone else.

And now, it seemed like she was not going to get that.

The door opened. Erwine thought she had locked it. She was certain she had locked it. She had no idea that someone else had the key. However, it was not just 'someone else'. Erwine had not memorized anything about the sound of Adrianne's footsteps, but she knew that the inquisitor was there.

How she knew of Erwine's state was not clear, but it was one of those irrelevant things, at least for Erwine at the moment.

Adrianne took several steps forwards, moving right beside Erwine. The inquisitor knelt down, lightly brushing the locks of hair away from Erwine's face. She had moved her head so that she faced to the right, away from the side Adrianne was on.

Running her hand over the younger girl's cheek, Adrianne brushed away the girl's tears. She reached out for the paper in Erwine's hand. Erwine's hand was closed tightly around it. She refused to let it go.

_I'll not give this to her. Nada wrote this for me, not for Adrianne. _Yet out of the corner of her eye, Erwine saw a look of disappointment on the face of the usually-stern inquisitor. _She's disappointed in me for crying? No, herself. She thinks that I…that I don't trust her. _

And so, Erwine's hand was opened to the little girl who might as well be her mother at this point. Adrianne carefully removed the slightly crumpled paper, carefully restoring it to its original shape so that she could read it.

Erwine waited for the moment when Adrianne would finish reading the message. For some reason, it built up a strange feeling of anticipation in her heart. She was unsure of what she expected from the inquisitor.

The inquisitor, having met Nada only once, and knowing her only from the couple looks she had gotten of the girl, felt the same sorrow Erwine felt. Not the same level, but somehow, Adrianne related to this issue.

Erwine could not understand. And unlike some other things that she could not understand, this issue was not one of those irrelevant things that could simply be glossed over.

_Why does she care? She doesn't know anything about Nada, or what happened. _"You parallel my story, in a way," Adrianne explained, softly, in a whisper, as she placed the piece of paper back in Erwine's now open empty palm.

"A friend was not pleased I was leaving, and I can only wish that I received a letter this thoughtful and kind," the inquisitor had a glimmer in her eye. Erwine looked no closer as she rolled over to face her.

Adrianne helped Erwine up to her feet. "I apologize," she said, "For all of this,"

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked, "How is this your fault?"

"You should have read this letter on the day you got it, and not after going through as much as you have. Nothing that has happened to you has been your fault." Adrianne smiled, patting Erwine on the head, "It's all been mine."

Erwine was suddenly filled with rage. It was not an irrelevant, inexplicable thing. It was because she was tired of hearing Adrianne complain about how she ruined the lives of other people. It was getting on Erwine's nerves to the point where she could no longer stand to listen to the inquisitor talk about it any longer.

"You did not ruin my life!" Erwine shouted, "You did nothing! I agreed to come with you! I have agreed to stay with you! You did not trick me into doing these things, I agreed to them of my own free will!"

Adrianne slapped her. She slapped Erwine hard enough so that she was sent sprawling onto her back. Adrianne seemed angry. It was not the volume, nor even the tone of her voice. It was the tilt of her head, the way it was just a bit to the side, and just a bit forwards, that told Erwine that something was amiss with the inquisitor.

"You will not be a hero," Adrianne explained, "I read this letter, and I understand that you and Nada seem to believe that you will be praised. You will not be anything of the sort."

"Then what do you want to be me?!" Erwine screamed. In past times, she would have stayed on the ground, but now she was up. She jumped up from the ground, fast enough, and with such bravery and ferocity to surprise Adrianne. The right hook she threw took Adrianne in the cheek.

The inquisitor's head was whipped to the side. Her eyes continued to look forwards, till they went to the corners of the sockets. This motion of the eyes alone scared Erwine enough to back her away from the inquisitor.

"I want you to avenge my friends, because I know I do not have the capability to see my quest to the end. I'll die, and your task is to fulfill my vow." Adrianne explained, "And once that is done, then there will be no point to your existence any longer."

Erwine stepped back. It was like she had been shot. Shot in the chest. Right in her heart. Not even her actual heart. More like a sort of metaphorical one, the chest where one's sweetest emotions and happiest thoughts go. And in recent times, Adrianne had brought about many of the things now stored in the chest of Erwine.

And these few words had shattered that chest, that heart. She fell down in the physical world, simply knocking her back on the hard floor. But in her mind, Erwine died. She stared up at the ceiling, questioning everything.

She had a tendency to question everything, but not like this. This was an existential crisis of sorts, as Erwine questioned her decisions. All of them.

There were footsteps in the room. Something had clicked in Erwine's mind, and she knew by only the sound that they were Adrianne's. Some part of her mind had wished that this imposter in her room was not actually Adrianne, that she was just someone who was trying to torment Erwine.

But that was not true.

Once again, Adrianne knelt down next to the girl. "I did not say that your only purpose was to serve me and fulfill the oath I made," she reminded her.

Erwine was still trembling on the ground, too completely shocked by what she had heard to reply in any way. "I simply said that the only purpose I have given you is that one. Through serving me, you shall not be praised, you shall be looked down upon."

"And you shall not be a hero through continuing upon any path I set you on, for that is not how one becomes an extraordinary individual. You cannot be a hero if you follow one person for your life."

"Airi is an amazing person. Her loyalty is incredible, and most people would have left me by now. Yet she follows me still. Laelia follows me because she wishes to help me, and Ayelen follows Laelia, having nowhere else to go. They are all amazing people, but they'll never become true heroes."

"I needed people to help me reach the point where I could create you, what seems to be the best inquisitor. I hope that you are, so I do not want to make you follow me. Once I and my friends have been avenged, then your path shall be yours to create for yourself."

Adrianne reached out with her hands. She lifted Erwine up from the ground, who was suddenly paying absolute attention to Adrianne. "I am simply warning you, Erwine, that if you are going to choose to serve me, then I need you to fulfill this one request of mine before you can start making your own story."

Erwine looked into Adrianne's eyes. The inquisitor was afraid. Not because she may lose a potential servant, but because she may lose her only chance for vengeance. Her eyes begged Erwine to stay, but she gave her the option to leave. "If you wish to go, then I shall let you. At Hadiens Prime, I can let you off, and you can find another inquisitor to work under until you graduate to a full-ranking inquisitor. I will not blame you if you do this, and I would honestly…prefer it if you did."

"Why?" Erwine asked, "If this is so absolutely important to you, then why do you want me to go?"

"Because following me," Adrianne explained, "Will not give you any kind of head start in being a hero. You'll continue to be looked down upon and mistrusted for years, while serving another will bring you chances of glory."

Erwine shook her head. "I have heard you story. You have expressed to me so many times that you have gambled everything on me. If I cannot succeed, then your life will have been pointless. The other people following you will not want to be with you anymore, and you will be nothing."

Erwine's voice became serious, as she became certain that she was speaking the truth as she pledged to Adrianne. "I will always follow you, for as long as you live, and even if you die before you can see the end of your quest, then I shall continue until I succeed, even if I must find a successor for myself."

"I swear upon my very soul," Erwine was absolutely serious, not faltering as she stood in front of Adrianne in these moments.

Without warning, the inquisitor jumped forwards. She wrapped her arms around Erwine, and a fresh set of tears rained from her eyes onto the floor. Erwine did not know how to react. She had not been embraced in this way by the inquisitor. She had been hugged to make her feel better, but this was Adrianne's way of showing her thanks.

"I am in your debt," Adrianne said, her voice sorrowful, but thankful.

The inquisitor cried in the arms of the girl who was thirty years younger than her for some time. Eventually, Erwine realized that she was not going to get a solitary night of sleep, at least not this night.

The two would once again lay together, although this time, it was Erwine who held the little girl in her arms.

* * *

More often than not, I find myself nothing more than a taxi driver for inquisitors. Renting my services out to all those who come along, like I'm some cheap whore. It's by no means cheap, though. They get me into dangerous situations, and I don't like it one bit. So they pay me a lot, which I find very pleasing.

However, the whore part is still very applicable. I inherited my rights from my father, and those who came before him. I am a member of a well-respected house. Yet all I do is shuttle around little girls on their way to torture and kill others in the name of Her Holy Majesty.

There are some like me who think that isn't fun. I find this one of the most stimulating things I've experienced. Just getting to hear bits of the tales they tell, tales of what they encountered out there, what they did, it's all amazing. I wish we could talk forever.

They're beings beyond humanity, yet they chose to protect us. They choose as a group to handle our flaws, to put up with our problems, and do their very best to guard us against the threats of this world. I'd give my life for any of them.

-Entry in the diary of Rogue Trader Matthias Lorense.


	15. Hard Truths

Psychological damage is expected, given the paths magical girls have to walk down. It is no surprise that they are consistently forced to do things their base moralities would disagree with, or even commit actions that would be considered crimes were they not magical girls.

To this end, the Ordo Psychatus must be greatly expanded. Instead of merely researching psychology, a more active effort must be taken to treat problems that arise. There are already hundreds of clinics established throughout the Imperium, but there need to be more, and there need to be more doctors capable of properly handling the problems that arise.

The Inquisition is fighting a war of attrition in some ways. If the enemy can drive us all insane before we can get to them, then they'll win. So efforts must be redoubled to ensure that the greatest care is available to all magical girls in the entirety of the Imperium. Even leaving out the desire to help those of our own, the lives that will be saved by expanding the Ordo Psychatus will be incredibly high.

Even though it will most likely take trained magical girls to be therapists, there are merely another one of the many roles a magical girl can play in the Imperium. No worse or better off than anyone else. We all play a part. And in the case of _my _Ordo Psychatus, I want, no I _need, _more magical girls playing a part. For the sake of us all.

-Lord Inquisitor Menjela Hoptmen's 'Recruiting Message' for The Ordo Psychatus.

* * *

Erwine was eating…something. She couldn't exactly remember the name of it, and it seemed like nothing else she had ever eaten. However, that was not because it had a poor taste. It tasted amazing, better than most things Erwine had ever tasted in her life.

It consisted of some white mushy substance, as well as some liquid that apparently went atop that mush. The substance was referred to as mashed potatoes. What a potato was, Erwine could not say. She could say that apparently it tasted good when mashed.

The liquid was called gravy, and tasted good as well. She had no idea what it was, but she liked it. Apparently, the dish had been specially made for her, as Adrianne was trying to get her to try new things. Potatoes were not easy to come by when one was a traveling rogue trader, as Adrianne had told Erwine.

The inquisitor was, strangely enough, not currently speaking to Erwine at the moment. She was not even next to her. She was at the other end of the table. Erwine was sitting in what was apparently a private mess for the ship's officers, and she had not noticed Adrianne get up to speak to somebody else at the other end of the table, probably because of the incessant talking of Ayelen, as well as the dish which she was now eating.

When Laelia finally shut her up, Erwine noticed that Adrianne was gone. She had been quiet before, but her departure had been so silent and stealthy that Erwine had no idea that something was amiss.

She looked down towards the other end of the table, seeing that a strange girl was down there across from Adrianne. It was not Airi, unless the girl was in a different body, and Laelia and Ayelen were right next to Erwine.

"Who's that?" Erwine asked, gesturing towards the new girl at the end of the table.

"That's the astropath," Laelia said, "She doesn't do anything in warp transit,"

"The astropath?" Erwine asked, not understanding the term.

"Go talk to them if you want," Ayelen said, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind,"

Erwine got up, carrying her food with her, and then walked down towards that end of the table. Adrianne saw her coming, and gestured for her to sit, "Erwine, meet Victoria, Victoria, meet Erwine,"

Erwine looked at the small girl in front of her. There was something strange about her. She was a bit shorter than Erwine, but seemed far older and more intelligent, in the way that Adrianne did.

She had long brown hair, down to her waist, but it was not disheveled. It was neatly combed into straight lines, and the hair on her forehead was cut shorter than the rest, so that a line of hair was created right above her eyes. She wore a light blue dress that went down to her ankles, and the sleeves of which covered her arms entirely. The collar was high, and overall, very little skin was exposed by the dress.

She was eating a cake. It seemed strange for her to just be sitting there eating such a treat, but she was eating it.

"Hello," the girl said, in a monotone voice, showing her complete and total disinterest in Erwine.

"H-hello," Erwine said hesitantly, suddenly driven away by the girl's cold demeanor.

"Sit down," Adrianne said with a sigh, "Victoria just doesn't like new people,"

"How much does she talk?" Victoria asked, "On a scale from Laelia to Ayelen,"

"Around Laelia most of the time, unless she starts asking questions, then you can't stop her," Adrianne replied, and Erwine felt a bit insulted by the behavior of Victoria.

"If you're wondering why she's so antisocial, the reason is that most of the time, she has to sit inside a small room trying to not lose her soul by sending a message in the wrong way or to the wrong place," the inquisitor explained, reading the situation well.

"Thank you for that," Victoria snapped, "Now she's just going to ask more questions,"

"So you send messages to other systems?" Erwine asked, getting the idea of what the girl's role was.

"I am specially trained to send messages over very long distances, and this requires a decrease in my more combat-focused abilities, as I need to be able to transmit very long distances, sometimes thousands of light years," the girl explained, "However, I can function as a normal telepath if it is required, and I can read minds from a very long distance with some difficulty, but normal telepaths are better at that than I,"

"All you do is send messages?" Erwine asked, "And receive?"

"Yes," Victoria asked, "I sit in a room when we are not in the warp and send and receive. That is all my job is."

"Did you become an astropath because of your contract, or were you specially trained for it?" Erwine asked.

"I was chosen to be an astropath when I initially contracted. More are always needed, so the Ordo Hereticus snapped me up, trained me, and put me to good use," Victoria sounded a bit sad about this.

Erwine knew the girl was antisocial and didn't like questions, but she had one that needed an answer. "Victoria," she said, "Do you like your job?"

"I like serving the Goddess, yes," Victoria said.

"No," Erwine said, shaking her head, "Do you like sending messages, sitting in a room all day long, and then doing nothing for the days a ship is in the warp?"

Victoria froze. She glanced at Adrianne, who shrugged. Then, Victoria smiled, "I…do enjoy my job, to be honest. I wanted to contract, and was hoping for the mage knights, but I guess I am fine serving the Goddess no matter what I do. Who knows, I may even get to serve on a mage knights vessel one day,"

"But you're fine being alone in a small space for hours and hours?" Erwine could not imagine such a thing, as even she had the chance to go outside back home.

"I don't get bored," Victoria said, "I complain about it, but in reality, sending a message takes about a minute, and receiving one is the same amount of time. The room is about half the size of your quarters, and is filled with books. It can be furnished however I want, and I get to eat whatever I want, provided we have it in stock."

"In fact," Adrianne cut in, "Most inquisitors do not write their own reports. I'm not sure how it is in the mage knights, but I and many others I know hand their less important reports off to be written by the astropath in her spare time. She understands the situation, and since they become so well-read, they know how to spin a good story when it's needed."

"Seriously?" Erwine asked. She had heard vague things about the astropaths before, and had thought their jobs to be brutal, having to sit in a confined space and do nothing but send and receive. "Are you not a threat to the crew and the ship?"

"I have to be careful, as my mind is more attuned to the void and the warp than most, but I can walk around just fine. We're magical girls, it should theoretically possible to more effectively contain any kind of possession in our heads if it occurs. That doesn't mean that it should happen a lot, but it has here."

"You've been possessed?!" Erwine's eyes went wide.

"The navigator has," Victoria explained, "She has to look out into the warp, and extended telepathic magic into the warp is a wonderful way to attract daemons. Navigator's minds are made to be incredibly resistant, but it can happen. My mind is linked to hers, so I assisted in the expunging of the daemon. Our minds are also designed to be compartmentalized, a daemon can't really overcome a dozen different perfectly independent spheres of thought."

Erwine was beginning to feel more and more disturbed by the second. After her incredibly unpleasant experience when entering the warp, she didn't want to think about anything related to that place anymore.

"We should drop this subject," Adrianne warned, catching onto Erwine's discomfort, "Erwine's getting a little anxious,"

"I can see that," Victoria said, her voice snarky. Erwine felt some anger rise, but she didn't want to get into an argument with anyone, so she didn't take the bait and snap back.

"So why did you pick this one up?" Victoria asked, her voice making it sound like Erwine was not there, "Does she have to do with that whole plan of yours?"

Adrianne chuckled, "Yes, that's why she's here. She seems to be the one I've been looking for."

Victoria did not reply. "Why the silence all of a sudden?" Adrianne asked.

"I don't want to comment," Victoria said. She sounded a bit solemn, but Adrianne held a hand up to Erwine.

"No need," she said to that girl, before turning to Victoria and saying, "We'll leave you then." Victoria nodded, content, before Adrianne pushed Erwine down the seat a little, and then took a place beside her.

"What's wrong?" Erwine asked.

"Nothing that concerns you," Adrianne said with a smile, but Erwine had heard enough from the girl to know it was a lie. But she did not ask anything more.

Erwine had no desire to know the truth if Adrianne was hiding it from her. Surely she had the best intentions.

* * *

"So she's doing better?" Adrianne was back in the man's room. "Loyal, you're certain?"

"She's doing perfectly fine. She's enamored with me, arguing with me how I've done nothing wrong." Adrianne nodded, "So yes, Erwine is doing far better than before. At this point, I won't be betrayed by her. I'll have to ensure nothing else happens, though. She's still a coward, so she won't be rushing in brashly, and she's no good at fighting yet."

"But she's on the right track?" Bolton asked. The girl before him shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm hesitant to say yes, but she is. All I can hope is that nothing goes wrong this time around. Lilith was unfortunate, but there was ultimately nothing that could have been done." The inquisitor shrugged, pushing the memory aside.

"Will you be alright?" the captain asked, "Adrianne, you've not been your usual self for the past few days. Erwine is putting a lot of stress on you. There's no point in dying before Erwine's done."

"I know that," Adrianne nodded, "Don't worry, I won't let myself die. Airi is still present as a valid mental anchor, so I can hang on for a while longer. Long enough to see Ishna gone."

The man sighed. "What is it?" Adrianne demanded.

Bolton hesitated, taking a few deep breaths, thinking before he spoke. "Well, it just doesn't feel good, what you're doing. It feels wrong."

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Adrianne wondered.

"No," Bolton replied, shaking his head.

"Then I don't want to hear it."

"I support it, Adrianne. I know what you're doing is ultimately right, but the method has to be-"

"No it doesn't," The inquisitor stood up, marching for the door. "What I'm doing is justified, Bolton." She spat the name. "Don't become like Estelle. You're one of the few sane people left in the universe." Adrianne quickly left without another word.

* * *

Erwine sat staring up at Laelia, feeling that her vision was obscured somewhat. It was not. She could see the girl's head perfectly fine, even her upper torso. She was, however, a bit pressed in by the stacks of books in front of her.

"This is everything," Laelia stated, "We've gotten past the preliminary content, and now we can move onto the serious things." It had been two days since warp entry. Two days in which Erwine had been doing nothing but learning.

Laelia pointed to one stack, "Science," another stack, "Mathematics," another stack, "History," then finally, "Language, specifically High Gothic,"

Erwine sighed. She had already struggled her way through the books Laelia had previously given her, and she was not looking forwards to having to deal with the rest of the texts.

Perhaps it was by accident, but it was more likely intention that a long groan escaped her lips, and changed Laelia's proud, scholarly expression into a sharp glare. "What do we do first?" Erwine asked, slumping forwards to support her head with an arm placed on the table.

"None of those," Laelia replied, "Instead, we are going to discuss a rather important topic that is also…well, incredibly complex." Erwine's face darkened as she looked at the Laelia's face, a single glance alone telling Erwine that she was not being lied to. "But, we are only going to go in a very shallow depth, just enough for you to understand what you need to know to survive and be effective."

"So what is it?"

"Magic," Laelia replied with the single word that made Erwine's head spin. She had no idea how it worked, and was honestly surprised to find that it was a complex topic. "All I'm going into is basic bodily enhancements. You can learn the rest later, if you ever even get into all the math behind it. Or supposedly behind it, we have four different systems for explaining magic and none work entirely."

"Could we just move onto these basics?" Erwine highly doubted that she was going to really understand anything in this conversation, but it seemed that Laelia just expected her to nod her head and say she understood.

"Well," Laelia said, "Remember when I told you to simply imagine things occurring to your body? That's the first level of bodily enhancements. Simply thinking of strengthening yourself works well, but your specific type of magic helps you with that. I bet that you can most likely modify yourself more effectively and more quickly with that kind of magic, but since most enhancements are made permanent, there's not much use there. It can certainly help you on the fly, with things that can't be made permanent, like what you experienced when infiltrating the enemy back on Siothea."

"The later levels are more complex. There's no official ranking, and this system is not consistent at all. I'm actually simplifying things massively for your sake, and for the sake of efficiency. There's quite a few good essays on magical enhancement lying around here, if you want to read them."

Erwine shook her head, "Perhaps later," she said, in a voice that intoned Laelia to move forwards quickly.

"Basic modifications are temporary ones, such as using magic to increase the strength of your muscles, the efficiency of your lungs and heart, as well as focus your mind. These can all be made permanent, but when temporary, they are not nearly as powerful as permanent enhancements. I'll walk you through the steps in a couple minutes, as you're going to need the full set of basic adjustments."

"It's just a matter of inputting a series of commands into your mind, and it will be easier to do with your magic. Normally it takes a lot of painful thought and meditation, but I imagine that it won't be too hard with what you have.

Laelia sat down, propping her chin up with her arm. "Later modifications get much deeper into mental stuff. You can effectively remove all pain from your body after a certain point, increase your focus and ability to focus quickly, the list goes on. If we had a telepath, we could just hard-wire all this into you right now, but we unfortunately do not."

"So what do I do for the moment?" Erwine asked, "That sounded like the basics, and I really don't need to learn more about how unnatural I'm going to become."

Laelia sighed, "It's not that bad. You keep your original form, it's just that you have incredibly superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes, as well as superhuman-well, everything else in general."

"Exactly," Erwine said, "Can't I just keep what I have now?"

"No," Laelia said with a shake of her head, "You'll understand at some point. It saves magic, helps a lot with everything else in general. I can crack a grown man's skull open with a single punch that he simply cannot see coming."

"That's…lovely," Erwine said, doing her best to hide her distaste.

"For the moment, however," the blonde-haired girl said, "We should begin by getting you started."

"First, simply close your eyes," Laelia said, realizing that she did not entirely know how to do what she was about to do. Erwine did as she was told. "Next, I need you to imagine your muscles becoming stronger, your breathing becoming more efficient. Please, don't question how this works. This is how it has always been. It's very difficult to hardwire modifications like this without a telepath, like I said, it usually requires meditation and hours of concentration. We're going to try and move fast."

The girl listed out all the things Erwine needed to think of occurring, then she ordered. "Now use your magic on yourself. Imagine all that, then force the changes to take place. Use as much magic as possible, we've plenty of cubes to use."

Laelia grimaced to herself, gritting her teeth as she realized what was about to happen. Erwine frowned as she started to carry out the instructions. "It'll start to hurt in three…two…one…"

A loud scream echoed through the chamber, Erwine seizing up and falling to the ground as she started to hyperventilate. Then she started to entirely paralyze, even her breathing stopping. She was left with a look of horror and pain on her face. Laelia stood up, running over to the girl.

She was cursing wildly as she looked down at Erwine, seeing subtle shifting in the girl's body. Laelia calmed herself down, knowing that Erwine's magic would keep her alive through the experience. If she did die…that would be bad. It was not good for magical girls to die in the warp. It could be recovered from, but the psychological damage would not be acceptable when Erwine would have to keep moving in a few days when the capital was reached.

The girl lay there in silence for a few minutes, her breathing slowly coming back. "Sorry," Laelia said, hoping that Erwine could hear, "I didn't realize that such a sudden change without a telepath guiding your bodily functions would not be beneficial…" She knew that was an understatement, but the truth was not a pleasant one at the moment.

Erwine slowly was able to move again, after about ten minutes. She was able to breath shallowly at three minutes, and then was able to move her hands and feet at six. Arms came at nine, and legs did not come till ten.

Laelia helped the girl back into her chair, Erwine still trembling from what had happened. "What did you do?" Laelia asked.

"As you said," Erwine said, "I used up…I think ninety percent of my magic to trigger the changes, forcing my body to accept them as permanent."

"You'll need time to reinforce them. Right now, your body will recognize them as alien factors, and will attempt to regenerate back to normal." She stood up, "I'll go get more grief cubes, you'll need them. Close your eyes, slow your breathing naturally. Try to concentrate on making yourself keep the modifications, but without the magic assistance, understand?"

Erwine nodded, before Laelia quickly exited the room. Erwine shut her eyes, curling her legs up on the chair she was on. Slowing her breathing to a steady rhythm of deep breathes, she was able to focus. She was scared. Laying on the ground unable to move for ten minutes straight was not pleasant.

She had been trapped in her own body, unable to move, but able to see and sense everything around her. It had been incredibly uncomfortable, but something in Erwine's head told her that she would experience far worse before her time was over in this world.

Erwine sat on her bed. She was not exactly sad, but she was not happy. This was a state she had found herself in before. It was a state that she could not entirely understand, for she found that she was unable to come to a decision about anything while in this state.

She no longer knew what to think. She did not need to cry about this, nor did she really need help from anyone. She just needed to think this whole thing through. The door opened. Erwine had no privacy anymore. Not that she had ever had privacy in her old home, but she had wondered if that would change.

But with Adrianne having a key to her room, and with the number of problems that Erwine apparently had, at least according to Adrianne, the girl was getting no privacy. The inquisitor entered the room, dressed in her normal garb. Erwine shied away from her, her voice strongly saying, "Please leave,"

"I can't," Adrianne said, "Not at least until I know you are alright,"

"I'm fine," Erwine insisted, "I can get through this on my own,"

Adrianne walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Are you certain? I need to make sure that this does not cause any serious issues."

Erwine shrunk even smaller, "I'm fine," she insisted, "I…I just…I just need someone to tell me it's alright,"

"You don't need any long talk?" Adrianne sounded surprised, "No discussion? I don't need to explain things in great detail?"

Erwine shook her head, "Please, just tell me everything's going to be fine in the end…not enough people have told me that."

Adrianne smiled, "I guess no one's told you that since this all began, right?" The inquisitor got onto the bed, her arms embracing Erwine. She held the girl tightly, "It's alright," she said, "You can't really understand now, but things will become more clear in the end. I can't even give you an explanation as to why everything is the way it is even if I wanted to."

Erwine embraced Adrianne back. "Are you certain?" she asked, not willing to entirely accept her words.

"I am certain," Adrianne promised, "You will be fine in the end. Everything will be fine, no matter what happens in between all of that."

Erwine cracked a smile, and took solace in the fact that someone who cared for her was holding her, not a bloodthirsty, vengeful, possibly psychotic maniac who was determined to stop an old rival by tearing apart other people.

It was just another day in the week-long voyage to the capital of the sector as Erwine sat in the library reading one of the various books that she had found to be very interesting. This particular one was on the development of the language of the Imperium, as Laelia had started her learning High Gothic.

There were much faster methods available to magical girls for the teaching of new information, but without a telepath these methods could not be used. So Erwine had to learn the old-fashioned way, which she was able to do with some speed.

So as she sat on the couch, Ayelen lounge on a chair beside a table which Laelia sat at, a trio of books open in front of her. She was comparing the information in the texts, all being different accounts of the same war, attempting to find the true story.

She was rather close to her goal when things began to go wrong. Somehow, her mind wandered onto the date. _It's been three days since we left Siothea, four more or so to go before we get to Hadiens. I have time to…wait….no. _Her eyes turned slowly to Ayelen, who seemed to be napping, a smile on her face as she dozed off.

_Three days…three days…it's getting better? _Laelia's eyes went to the clock on the wall. It was five in the evening. There was a chance that it was getting better. As long as Ayelen did not wake. _Hopefully, we can avoid something. I can't just send Erwine out without raising her suspicions. I could take her out myself, but Erwine questions everything, I could have a perfectly legitimate reason and she would find a way to question it. _

Laelia glanced around frantically, wondering if there was some way to get Erwine distracted and out of the room. She wished that it was closer to dinner, as she could make the excuse of going to eat, but that would not work with an hour left before it would normally be time.

Laelia's heart started to race, faster and faster as she became more frantic. Erwine's head turned back, "What's wrong?" she asked, as she saw Laelia in her moments of panic.

Laelia sent a smile back to the girl, "Oh, nothing," she said, "I'm just looking for a book." The smile was reassuringly enough that Erwine accepted it and the answer that came along with it, and turned her head back around.

Eventually, Laelia calmed herself. She took a deep breath, but did her best to ensure that Erwine would not notice the deepness of the breath. Then, Ayelen seemed to stir a little. Laelia went back to doing what she was doing, knowing that showing any panic would not help the situation.

Ayelen opened her eyes, yawning loudly. She brought her legs down from the table. She groaned, "What time is it?"

"A little past five," Laelia replied as normally as possible.

"Oh great," Ayelen said, "I slept later than I wanted to. I'm feeling a bit tired today, I think I'll just head back to my room and get some more rest, more comfortable there."

She stood up, moving towards the door. "Then I'll see you later," Laelia said, before the girl paused exactly one step from the door.

Laelia's bright happiness plummeted downwards. _Here we go, _she thought, raising up her hands. Ayelen turned around slowly, chuckling a little. It was the normal mad chuckle that could be heard whenever she went into this.

A smile was on her face as she turned, "Laelia," she said, "I was just thinking, about the past, about that…that one night, and all those…those other times." Erwine spun around as she heard this, only for her face to erupt in shock as Ayelen raised her arm and sent half a dozen javelins flying at Laelia.

The weapons were deflected by the shield raised around the girl, who rose her two guns in return. They were not in a closed hallway this time, where it was easy for Laelia to defeat Ayelen due to her range and firepower. They were in a larger area, where Ayelen could use her more versatile weapons to her advantage.

A single javelin appeared in her outstretched right hand as Ayelen leapt forwards. Laelia raised her twin machine guns to fire, shouting, "Erwine, get out of here!"

The javelin was only a distraction, as Ayelen let go of it to hit the floor. She slid a little as the spear continued forwards to bounce off the shield. The gunfire cut through open air, tearing into the bookshelves in the opposite end of the room. But all the javelins had bounced off the shield, and now lay in a pile round Laelia. Ayelen scissored her legs to stand up, bringing the javelins up with her. They floated around her as she ducked down, her back brushing against the shield as she spun around.

The javelins followed her as she spun to hit the shield once again. They bounced again, and this time Laelia targeted them with her guns. They were destroyed in a few bursts of fire, but Ayelen was now behind the girl.

Laelia spun around, dropping downwards with the intention of blasting her opponent's legs out. Ayelen saw this coming and jumped up. The ceiling was high enough for her to get over the top of the shield, which was instantly pushed outwards by Laelia.

Ayelen was knocked across the room, as she was climbing over the top of the dome. She hit the wall near Erwine and fell to the floor. Erwine was still watching the fight, confused as to what was going on. She took several steps back from Ayelen as the girl rose, laughing maniacally.

She glanced at Erwine as she stood, and Erwine's hand was raised to defend herself, but to both her and Laelia's surprise, nothing happened to her. Ayelen jumped back off towards Laelia.

The blonde was dumbfounded for a second before she pulled the triggers again. Ayelen's rush was crazed this time, and she was hit several times even as she tried to dodge. Blood spattered onto the floor and the couch she had just leapt over as she was brought down to her knees. She hit the floor face first.

She took a few more short breaths, before they faded away completely. At that moment, as if on cue, Adrianne entered the room. She saw the scene before her, saw Erwine, and waved for the girl to come to her. "Erwine," she said, "Please come here,"

Erwine quickly ran as she was told, shouting, "What's going on?!"

She was steadied by Adrianne as she came to the door. The inquisitor explained, "It's a problem Ayelen has, nothing to truly worry about. It passes, doesn't happen often. Just go and get out of here while I wrap this up."

"You need to explain this to me," Erwine said, her voice trembling.

"I will," Adrianne promised, before she spun and allowed Erwine out of the door. Adrianne watched her go, then spun around once again and saw Laelia standing there with her guns still in her hands. The inquisitor observed the damages to the room.

"I expect these all cleaned up," Adrianne said, her voice absolute, "And make sure this does not happen when Erwine is around again. I don't care what excuses you have, we already talked about this."

"Yes," Laelia said, looking down in shame.

"Good," Adrianne said, "Now let's hope that I can put this in a way that does not make Erwine start to hate me again,"

"You're going to lie to her about this?" Laelia asked as the inquisitor walked away.

"I didn't cause this issue," Adrianne called back from the doorway, "I think we both understand very well whose fault this all is." The door closed, and Laelia was left alone with a corpse. The corpse of her friend. Of her little sister, effectively.

Laelia had a few tears come to her eyes, before she tried to shake them away. It did not work, even as she set about the task of picking Ayelen up.

Some things, some mistakes, could not just be shaken away.

It was three days later, only a short time before exit from the warp, when Laelia had the courage to visit Ayelen after being spoken to so harshly by Adrianne. Ayelen said that she would be able to control the issue on Hadiens. She could have controlled the problem in the library, if Laelia had the time to help her.

Unfortunately, Laelia did not have the time with Erwine in the room. Ayelen would have calmed herself down given enough time, but Erwine could not see any more. Adrianne would not have been very happy. She would have been even angrier than she already was.

The door opened before Laelia, and she entered the room beyond. There she found Ayelen lying on her bed, half-awake. "Hello," Ayelen said as Laelia entered the dark room. _Fully awake then, _Laelia thought,_ judging from the tone. _

"Are you doing alright?" Laelia asked.

"Yes, I guess I am," Ayelen said, "Sorry about the outburst with Erwine, you know how it is,"

Laelia nodded. It was slower, as if she had more to say or express, but kept that to herself. She went closer to the girl, sitting on the side of the bed. "It's alright, Ayelen, you know that you just can't control yourself when that kind of stuff happens to you,"

The room was silent, Laelia laying a comforting hand on the leg of Ayelen. Ayelen sat up a little, "Why do these things keep happening?" she asked, "I know that Adrianne did all that to me…but everything else is something of a blur. Adrianne did those things, and I'll never be able to truly forgive her for those, but there has to be more. The problem you described can't just be caused by that,"

Laelia was suddenly happy that she had closed the door. That meant that it was pitch-black in the room. For she was frowning now. That frown turned into a full grimace. Ayelen was not the only one with painful memories. But Ayelen's memories were of being a victim. Laelia's were of a different sort.

"I don't know," Laelia said, speaking quickly but trying to steady herself at the same time. The combination resulted in her words sounding completely unnatural. "Maybe she did more than you can remember, have you told me everything?"

"I don't know," Ayelen said, hugging her knees to her chest, "I can't remember most of that stuff. I don't know why, I almost feel like something's making me block out those memories,"

"Maybe Adrianne made it so you could not remember. Ayelen, you need to think really hard about this. There seems to be a lot of evidence against her."

Ayelen shrugged, "I don't know. She's not that bad. Just misguided. Maybe it's just been me. Look at how accepting Erwine is of her…maybe I'm wrong…"

Laelia smiled a little. If Ayelen had seen it. She would have seen that the smile was bright. Laelia leaned in and embraced Ayelen tightly. She gave her a kiss on the forehead, "Just remember that I'm always here for you," she whispered, "I'd never do those things to you,"

Ayelen smiled as well, before she embraced Laelia back. "Thanks Laelia," she whispered. She paused, before taking a deep breath and declaring, "I just want to let you know that you have been the greatest person I have ever met in my life up to this point."

Laelia could not help but cry at this comment. Ayelen shed a few tears as well. But both girls smiled. For different reasons. They cried for different reasons.

In the end, it was good that both were cloaked in shadow.

Adrianne and Bolton did enjoy their respective seats in the latter's room. They always sat in them, whenever they did speak in there. It was enjoyable, not having to think about where one would sit.

"So you seem to have everything planned out," Bolton observed, Adrianne having finished the description of her plan for Hadiens.

"Not entirely. That's just the start. After that, I'll have to improvise, but things shouldn't get too hard, at least not at first. We'll be here long enough for Estelle to catch up, so I'll have to worry about her." Adrianne shrugged, "Unfortunately."

"Don't really seem to mind."

"Erwine is going just fine. This is probably the happiest I've been in a while." The girl didn't look very happy, but Bolton said nothing about that. "Things will turn out fine with Erwine in full condition, which she should be in about a week, assuming nothing goes wrong."

Bolton nodded. "About to exit the warp. We should be ready."

Adrianne nodded, standing up. "Right."

"Stay safe out there," Bolton said, standing up follow her, "Not much of a purpose for me if you're gone."

Adrianne said nothing, not seemingly paying attention to what he said.

* * *

The Inquisition shall be an entity consisting of layer after layer of safeguards, overseers for overseers. Heresy cannot be allowed to take root in the organization designed to protect the Imperium from heresy. To this end, the Inquisition shall be laid down as follows. In the future, it may be necessary to change the structure. Should the members of this council not live to see that time, then ensure that all changes made are absolutely for the best.

The Inquisition shall be commanded at its highest level by the Grand Inquisitor. She will have the final world in all matters. However, she will be elected by the Imperial Inquisitorial Council. This body shall be a permanent one, and will be based on Terra itself. The Grand Inquisitor shall be elected and monitored by this council, which will also handle all matters regarding the wider Inquisition. The Grand Inquisitor's role is to create a position of absolute power in the event of crisis. However, the position is always absolute, so the council must choose wisely.

From there, the Imperium shall be broken down into its various Segmentums, which will be overseen by a Segmentum sect. Located on the largest world in the Segmentum, this sect shall consist of a ruling council, and then a standing force of magical girls directly commanded by the council. The Segmentum sect shall be responsible for oversight, and direct intervention in matters of great importance. It shall also oversee the flow of grief cubes.

The Segmentum council is responsible for the creation of the Multi-Sector-Oversight-Committee. These committees shall each be created to watch over a set number of sectors. They shall not wield direct power, but will rather be a bureaucratic body, designed to report back to the Segmentum Sect.

There are then the Sector Sects themselves. These councils will be responsible for the control of all inquisitors in their sector of control. Inquisitors shall submit weekly reports to the Sect of whatever sector they are in, which will be sent up the chain of command. Finally, the inquisitors themselves will function as relatively free agents, limited only by Inquisitorial Code and by the orders of their superiors.

This bureaucracy, while it will be massive once it is properly set up, will be vital in maintaining the cleanliness of the Inquisition going forwards. Should this system need to be reformed, which it may need to be, then I pray that it is done with the utmost intelligence and careful thought.

Further detail on the specifics can be found further in this decree.

-Excerpt from the decree issued by Her Ladyship Tomoe and Her Ladyship Kazumi, establishing Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition.

The Puritans and the Radicals, and the little spat associated with them, could perhaps be one of the strangest wars ever fought. The two sides originated as a divide of a simple issue. That issue would be the way to properly persecute the war against the enemies of the Imperium. However, there is a problem.

The broad categorization of these two groups is what causes issues. Everyone who bears any similarities to one faction will be assumed to be of that faction. What's more is that the issues discussed are incredibly varied. Some insist that the Puritans are those who absolutely worship The Goddess, participating in ritualized, tradition-laden praise of Her Holy Majesty, while the Radicals are those who disregard such ideas and merely treat her as a mother figure. Others say that the Puritans disagree with all usage of heretical knowledge, but what heretical knowledge is varies from person to person.

The war between the groups takes many forms. Some inquisitors merely pump out hundreds of papers per year to support their side, while others engage in straight-up attacks at Magicstrates controlled directly by the other side. It's an awkward war, and many inquisitors have inadvertently found themselves being targeted by one side or the other purely by chance. A single action is all that's needed to tip the scales in the eyes of some.

-_A Jolly Little War _


	16. In Which Murder is Attempted

Telepathy has always been the immediately-proposed solution to any mental issue had by a magical girl. Even though the Ordo Psychatus crusades for relevance and recognition, the immediate solution of merely sealing away bad memories has always been the first proposed.

However, it is not as neat as it seems. While it is useful at first, it is like a bandage. The bandage will stop a bleed for a while, but it cannot magically suture a wound together. That is a rather correct analogy, based on what research has uncovered.

Telepathy will temporarily block away a bad memory, or a fear, or anything that one wants to seal away. But eventually, it will start to leak out. The wound is still there, and it needs to be healed by carefully working through the problem.

While the blood inside leaks out, it will start to come in bursts, the person violently reacting based on what emotion was originally sealed away. Telepathy is merely a short-term solution. As fanatical as Ms. Hoptmen is, she's very correct in that what she proposes is the proper solution.

-Excerpt from _Telepathy, Is it the Right Way?_

* * *

At the edge of a solar system, there was a hole in the very universe itself. A growing, pink and purple vortex flashed into existence in the blink of an eye. Lightning flashed out from the edges of this vortex, quickly dissipating as it went away from the gap.

This hole was not dangerous. That was a lie. The hole was incredibly dangerous, if it was not closed quickly. Luckily, it was not created by the creatures on the other side of the gap, instead being created by creatures from this universe.

That meant that the gap was already going to close without the support of the ship traveling through it, and as the ship came out of the gap faster than a bullet, the gap collapsed around itself, sealing the hole in reality.

The ship that had traveled through the gap was now on its way to the world closer to the center of the system. It was always standard to never enter the warp near a planet, or other large celestial body with an extreme gravitational pull. Doing so would result in many unpleasant things for all within several hundred thousand kilometers.

The _Rosie _had entered into the system as close as was legally possible to Hadiens Prime. The ship was a rogue trader, meaning that they had more freedom than other ships, but military and inquisitorial vessels could jump much closer in, due to the higher importance of such craft.

And while Adrianne could easily have identified the _Rosie _as being in service of the Inquisition, it would have blown the cover she had carefully established. And while Estelle knew where Adrianne was going, there were other people not fond of the radical, so she tried to keep safe.

Hadiens Prime, being the capital of the sector, experienced a large amount of ship traffic. Hundreds of ships came to it every day, of all types and sizes. Were the planet not the size planets were, and were ships not so incredibly insignificant compared to the size of the planet, then it may have looked quit crowded from a distance.

But as it was, the skies above the planet only looked crowded when one was among the ships in orbit. From a distance, the distance that the Rosie was at when it was greeted by an Imperial Navy vessel, the planet looked quite clear of any traffic.

The Imperial Navy ship was nothing more than a destroyer, but being the size of ships in the Imperial Navy, it was 1.75 kilometers of death, designed to kill ships twice its size and bigger. The _Rosie _could fight, but there was no need to. Adrianne figured that there was a routine inspection which could be handled by Bolton identifying himself as a rogue trader.

She stood on the bridge as the man called the approaching ship, sending his identification. The message, text only, was not a pleasing one. It stated that the ship had been alerted of possible heretical activity aboard, and that the _Rosie _was to prepare to be boarded.

Adrianne saw this and immediately knew who was responsible for it. "Estelle," she growled, before storming off the bridge. _Everyone, meet me near…_"What airlock?" she asked.

Bolton rattled off the name of the airlock the Navy was to be boarding through, and Adrianne told the others of this. _Erwine, follow Laelia. _The young girl had been once again sent to study with Laelia.

Adrianne stormed through the ship, managing to arrive at the airlock before the boarding occurred. Airi was already there, as was Ayelen. "What's going on?" the latter asked.

"We're looking at some kind of idiocy on the part of Estelle. She had the identification of the Rosie from Airi's mind, and she's called the Navy on us. They're going to board." Adrianne echoed what she said to Laelia and Erwine, who were close to the airlock.

"What will we do?" Airi asked. She knew the answer, but wanted to clarify that there was nothing else that she needed to know.

"The same thing as always, I'll flash my credentials, and if this is not the Navy, then we kill them and say we can because I'm an inquisitor." Adrianne explained, "But of course, they should run as soon as they see my symbol."

Laelia and Erwine arrived as the destroyer was pulling up alongside the Rosie. Now, two ships pulling up alongside each other in the depths of space, with their lack of friction, while traveling at tens of thousands of kilometers per hour is not safe, so the procedure took some time. But Adrianne knew that letting them dock easily would improve relations, making them take a shuttle over would only antagonize the men.

The airlock was heard opening, and Adrianne removed her soul gem from her wrist as the men entered the depressurization room. As the ship checked that the pressure and atmosphere was the same, it unlocked the door into the _Rosie _proper.

The dozen men that came out of the airlock were armed, and did not seem pleased to be here. They did not look aggressive, nor were they ready for battle. They just looked annoyed that they had to take time out of their days to come and check on this issue.

Of course, this was merely one of the many possibilities Adrianne considered in her mind as the men stood in the airlock. Their faces were covered by the airtight suits they wore, fitting their positions as marines of the Imperial Navy. They held lasrifles close to their chests, and the leader of the group stepped out in front of the rest, asking, "Who are you?"

There was a hint of suspicion in his voice, but that suspicion was overpowerd by the fear. _He wasn't expecting to encounter any magical girls, _Adrianne thought, _he's not sure if we're the enemy now. He doesn't seem too stubborn, at least not after seeing me. _

Adrianne held out her soul gem, in egg form, displaying the Inquisitorial seal upon the bright surface of the gem. "I am Inquisitor Adrianne Azure of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition," she said, intentionally using the entire title of the organization to make the largest impact upon the man before her.

"Milady," he said, after a couple seconds of hesitation, "I must apologize for the intrusion, but we have been ordered to search your vessel,"

"There is nothing for you to find," Adrianne replied, "I know that for certain,"

The marine sighed. The sigh was not loud enough to be heard by human ears, so the human personnel nearby him did not hear this sigh. However, Adrianne did pick up on the sound, so she knew that he was going to push on, for no reason.

"Milady, we have been ordered by another inquisitor," he said, "By the name of Estelle Adramartis. She has told us that your vessel must either be thoroughly searched from top to bottom, or it is to be destroyed."

"You will search this entire ship with twelve men, maybe a few more, depending on you can wake up?" Adrianne asked, "I doubt you will be able to cover a quarter of it in the next day,"

"Then we will escort your vessel into port, so that it may be more properly searched," the man said. His voice told Adrianne he knew that he was walking on thin ice. Thin, slippery ice, with a lake of fire ready to immolate him below if he made one false step.

"You are diligent in the accomplishment of your job," Adrianne said, "And I must commend you for that. But right now, you are walking a fine line between doing your job and obstructing my job."

"Do you know what I can do to you?" Adrianne asked.

The man was silent. "I can ruin your career, I can have you discharged, imprisoned, fined." The inquisitor answered, "But if you hold me up any longer, than keep in mind that I can also have you, your family, everyone your family knew, all your comrades aboard that ship you just walked off of, and anyone else I choose killed, without any questions asked."

The man nodded. He took a step back. "I understand, milady," he replied, "What should I tell the Lady Adramartis?"

"Tell her that her latest attempt to hinder my progress has failed, and that I will be taking the issue up with her and our superiors," Adrianne replied, before turning around.

The man nodded once more, before he signaled for his men to turn around. The airlock was set to be closed, and the marines ready to return to their own ship. "Of course, she'll never receive that message, at least not from you,"

There was a long pause in between Adrianne speaking and a response coming. The airlock had not closed yet, but the process was stopped by the man to which Adrianne had just spoken.

The other magical girls had not turned around. Erwine did not exactly understand what was going on, so she watched with uncertainty as Adrianne turned around slowly.

Without a word, the dozen men in the airlock died. They did not die physically. They turned around, their guns raised, ready to fire. They all aimed at Adrianne. In but one second, she would be torn to pieces by the hail of fire.

She never was. She was not even touched by a single bolt. A dozen daggers impaled the heads of a dozen men. The airlock was now covered with carcasses, victims of their own foolishness.

Adrianne did not wait for any questions to be asked. She explained, "The man I spoke to, he was too stubborn. He was clearly trying to buy time to figure out a way to exit the situation smoothly. If he had no intention of doing any harm, then he would have just left and let me go on."

"That's not enough," Airi said, "You may have just killed a dozen innocent men,"

"But I told them the message would not be sent, and they turned to fire. If they had never had any intention of fighting, then they would have just asked why. But they tried to fight, and I was ready for that move." Adrianne explained.

"What do we do about the destroyer?" Laelia asked, "It can still kill us with ease. If we destroy it, then we are guilty of attacking an Imperial ship. The Navy can't get at us, but the rest of the Inquisition will be all over you,"

"No they won't," Adrianne said, "We aren't destroying anything."

"Then what do we do?"

"All ships must travel through the warp, therefore, all ships must have a navigator," Adrianne explained, "Navigators, although the destroyer is not in the warp, still have some power, as does the astrotelepath."

"You're betting on them being loyal?" Airi asked.

"A magical girl would never betray one of her own on the order of an inquisitor they do not know and have never met," Adrianne said, "I'll try and get in touch with them."

"Are you sure you can get them to do what you want?" Airi asked, "What can they even do?"

"A telepath can kill everyone on the ship, but she'll just make them turn around and head back," Adrianne said, "Estelle certainly told these men that there would be a heretic in the guise of an inquisitor. It is unfortunate that they had to die, but if things go well, then no more innocents will be harmed today."

"Did those men have to die?" Erwine asked. She was afraid of asking the question, but it seemed like an obvious question she should be asking.

"They did," Adrianne replied. Her eyes met Erwine's. "They had every intent of killing me right there. Perhaps they knew not what they were walking into, but they were ready to kill."

Erwine shook her head, refusing to believe that simply following orders robbed men of the right to live. "They were just doing what they were told,"

"All humans just do what they are told," Adrianne said sadly.

"That doesn't give you the right to kill innocents, who died and made you a god?!" Erwine shouted.

"No one," Adrianne replied. She looked back towards the airlock, "Victoria read their minds as they were boarding. Normally astrotelepaths aren't as good, but she's given up some of her long-range sending in order to refine her mind reading, seeing as how we've never had a telepath. Those men were mercenaries, but someone provided them with all the pieces to dress up as an Imperial Navy vessel, and I think I know who. They were paid to kill everyone on this ship."

Erwine shut up.

Adrianne reached out, casting a telepathic message out to the ship that was connected to the _Rosie _at the moment. _Hello? _She asked, wondering if anyone was even there to receive the message.

_Yes? _A quiet, shallow voice replied. It was the voice of the navigator. They were always quiet due to the mental terrors they went through every time a ship jumped into the warp. They served on ships until they died as a result of the ship being destroyed or as a result of their soul being taken by daemons. Either way, their end was never pleasant.

_Yes? _This voice was louder, the normal volume for a telepathic conversation. The girl spoke in a clear tone, absolutely free of any interference. This was due to both the small distance between the two girls, and the fact that this girl was an astrotelepath.

_I am Inquisitor Adrianne Azure of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition. I command the ship your ship is currently boarding. If you have any respect for the men aboard that ship, then you will somehow get them to detach from my ship, and head back to port. They mean to kill me. _

_You are serious? _The telepath asked.

_I would not lie, _Adrianne said, sending her memories of the men attacking her to the telepath. She would not understand the full story, so Adrianne hoped the image of the men turning around first would be enough.

_I am suspicious, mind if I check? _The telepath asked.

_Refusing will only confirm my guilt, _Adrianne thought, _and if she checks, then she may be surprised. _But the inquisitor agreed, and felt a small annoyance in her mind as the telepath peered inside.

…_I see…_the telepath's voice trailed off as she started to consider her options. _You are certainly who you say you are…_

_Just do what I say, _Adrianne ordered, _and I'll put in a good word for you. Friends with the navigator? _

_Yes…why? _

_You work for these people?_

_For the Navy? _

_For a mercenary group? My telepath tells me something else. _

_You're kidding. _

_Unfortunately no._

_Damn, we were assigned to this ship by Inquisitorial orders. Didn't really like it, but we followed them. If someone put us here, then that someone is what put those mercenaries here. _

_I know, and I can get you off this ship, get you out of some tiny little posting like this. Just turn the thing around, and I'll do you a rather large favor. _

…_Sounds like a deal, _the telepath said. _It won't be hard to get the ship turned around, if you just give me a few minutes. I'll have to get into the captain's mind first, but the men around here are pretty green, not at all shielded. _

_Understood, _Adrianne said, _I'll be waiting. _ She dropped the connection, and looked at Erwine once more. The young girl was still uncertain of her feelings on the situation. "Erwine," Adrianne said, "You know what you are getting into now, do you not?"

"I suppose I understand," Erwine confirmed, "…It's just a little hard to accept still,"

"There's nothing wrong with that," Adrianne said, "Just make sure you aren't affected too much." The inquisitor spun around, making her way back towards the bridge.

The other four girls were left to stand in the hallway in silence. None really knew what to do or say, especially with Erwine in their midst. Airi walked off after Adrianne after a couple seconds passed, while Ayelen turned around and started to go back the way she came, leaving Erwine alone with Laelia.

"Adrianne is not always going to sorrowfully explain the nature of things to you," Laelia said, "We can't afford to waste time every time you feel bad about something that was done,"

"She just killed them," Erwine said, "She knew who they were and what they were doing, but still…she just cut them down…"

"That's correct, but sometimes, things like that must be done for the good of the Imperium," Laelia said.

"I know that," Erwine said, "And perhaps the worst part is that…that I should be over this fear of mine already…after Siothea I shouldn't be afraid, or confused, or angry…"

"We can't always have what is ideal," Laelia reminded her, "Unfortunately, we all have grief that we have to deal with. Sometimes, that grief just never goes away." She walked away down the hall. Erwine was alone.

For a time she stood there contemplating things. Then she let the issue go. Or at least she tried.

Soon after the contact was made with the astrotelepath, the _Rosie _was on her way as the telepath carefully guided the crew of the ship to move back to port. The _Rosie _accelerated forwards, dashing through space as Adrianne ordered Bolton to push the ship up as fast as was allowed in such a populated system as this one in order to make up for lost time.

Meanwhile, the inquisitor prepared to go down to the planet of Hadiens Prime. She was waiting, with the rest of her retinue, in the hangar bay where they had landed on their return from Siothea, seven days before.

Erwine was not exactly happy to be amongst the group. No longer was she certain of anything, save for the fact that she had sworn to serve and help Adrianne carry out her mission. Something in her mind kept telling her that there was a rational, completely justifiable explanation for the killing of the dozen marines, but no such explanation could be found by the young girl.

Adrianne was inside the shuttle, resting in the cockpit. The other four were outside in the main compartment. They were all resting, but Erwine was not amongst them. _I can't believe Adrianne would do something like that, I know that she hasn't had an easy life, but that's no reason for her to do something like what she did to those men. _

The girl shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the issue. She was tired of having to deal with things she did not understand, but hearing Adrianne's story, and seeing the sorrow Adrianne experienced everyday had convinced Erwine that she had to help this girl.

Erwine had been sitting in the craft for the past two hours, making her way to the hangar after Adrianne had called her. The _Rosie _was close to Hadiens Prime by now, but Erwine had no way of knowing that. She was getting tired of sitting and thinking.

She stood up, her fists clenched. Her heart beat wildly, her fear filling her mind with the thought of just sitting down and letting this whole issue go. _Things may turn out better that way,_ she thought.

Erwine walked down the length of the compartment, towards the door to the cockpit. Before she opened the door, she turned her head. She swore she caught a glimpse of all three girls behind her moving, but no one was looking at her at the moment. Everyone looked as if they were sleeping soundly. Something in the back of Erwine's head told her otherwise, but she shooed that thought even further back, and hit the button to open the door.

Adrianne was leaning back in one of the two chairs. The seat next to her was open. Erwine considered sitting down. _No, I should stand up, it makes me seem less afraid. _Erwine took a couple steps forward, moving right next to Adrianne, who seemed to be asleep like the others.

The girl took a deep breath, staring at the sleeping inquisitor in front of her. There were many things she wished to say, and the only thing preventing her from saying those things was her own fear. Erwine took another deep breath, wondering how she should approach waking up Adrianne.

_If I do it the wrong way, then she'll be annoyed from the start. She won't let me run once I start this, so I have to do it right. _Erwine's muscles tensed up even more as she struggled to open her mouth.

Eventually, after a minute of struggling against herself, Erwine turned towards the door, and started to walk out. Before she opened the door, however, Erwine turned around, _I can do this, _she repeated again and again in her head.

The girl did not truly believe she had the will to talk to her superior like this, but she had to do this. _Do I really? _Erwine wondered, _must I actually start something? Right now? At this time? _

This thought made Erwine more likely to just walk out, but she remembered the movement she thought she saw before coming in here. _They aren't asleep! I'll be the laughingstock of the entire group if I walk out now! _Erwine's feet locked into place, as she became trapped between two unfavorable options.

Eventually, after a moment of being trapped in this position, Erwine took several steps forward. This brought her next to Adrianne once more. Taking a deep breath once again, she looked down at the inquisitor, and opened her mouth.

"Adrianne?" she asked, in a calm and collected tone. Her voice was as polite as possible, and she made sure to stay in place and not make any noise beyond the slight sound of her breaths.

"So, you actually decided to stay and talk?" the inquisitor asked, opening her eyes and turning her head towards Erwine.

…_She was awake the entire time. _Shock was displayed on Erwine's face, as Adrianne grinned mischievously. "Why did you not just talk to me in the first place?" Erwine asked.

"Because that would have been pointless, because you would have been scared and unprepared to talk to me. You had to gather the courage to come in here and initiate this yourself, without my help,' Adrianne explained, "I can tell you all the things you want me to tell you, but none of it will have any effect on you if you aren't willing to converse with me,"

"You don't even know what I want you to tell me!" Erwine declared, crossing her arms.

"Yes, I do," Adrianne explained. She took a look at the chronometer on her wrist, and the vox in the shuttle crackled. Bolton's voice came through.

"We're in orbit around Hadiens Prime," he said, "You should get moving as soon as possible."

"Affirmative," Adrianne said, before shutting the device off. She sat up in her seat, and moved it forwards to a position where she was more able to actually fly the craft. She started the engines, and the hangar doors started their opening procedure.

"Sit down," the inquisitor said, "Or else this won't be enjoyable."

Erwine, remembering her less-than-pleasant experience on her journey up to the _Rosie, _quickly sat down in the chair next to Adrianne, and strapped herself in. She started to breathe slowly and deeply, doing her best to keep calm as the shuttle prepared to fly out into the void of space, at which point Erwine would start to experience the effects of zero-gravity.

The hangar doors were fully open, and the shuttle flew out. Adrianne talked as she flew the craft, speaking calmly, "I do know what you want me to tell you," she replied, "You want to know why those marines had to die as they did."

"Yes," Erwine replied, "There has to be some logical explanation,"

"There is, and I am certain of it," Adrianne replied, "Something in my gut tells me that was not Estelle. She's a sly little devil, but she wouldn't doom men to certain death like that. Someone may mean to play us against each other, but if we're attacked like that again, then I'm not going to mess around with her."

"So you're saying those soldiers may not have been loyal?" Erwine asked.

"Not entirely," Adrianne said, "In fact, I suspect the whole ship's crew, save for the magical girls, is disloyal. Any destroyer with a sensible crew would just walk away if an inquisitor was on a ship, even if they were told by another inquisitor. They would report the incident, blow our cover, and slow us down, but they wouldn't try to shoot anyone."

"They may have been afraid," Erwine pointed out, "You never know,"

"I do know," Adrianne said, "And I do know that those men may have been completely innocent, which would make me a murdered. But, they should not have turned their guns on a magical girl. One should not turn to fire at one they are afraid of. I was giving them the chance to leave, and if they truly wanted to just go home, then they would not have turned around when I said what I did."

"I can interpret that evidence differently," Erwine said meekly, as if she would be rebuked for her criticism. The shuttle was moving down towards Ahdiens Prime now. It was about twenty seconds from reentry.

"Please don't vomit," Adrianne asked, "This ride may be a little bumpy,"

Erwine looked at the inquisitor, eyebrows raised. She then looked back, her mind telling her that she had not even admired the sights around her. She caught a glimpse of the massive amounts of stations and ships around the planet of Hadiens Prime. She could also see small bright dots, moving quickly down towards the planet.

Erwine had no time to ask what these were. As soon as she opened her mouth to voice the question, the entire shuttle shook like it had just slammed into something. As a matter of fact, the craft had just hit something. It had hit the atmosphere of a planet.

Erwine bounced in her seat as the shuttle tore into the air of the world below, and the skin of the craft began to heat. She stared at it with worry, before remembering the cryptic explanation Adrianne had given her before. _I understand that now, _Erwine thought, recalling the long sessions she had spent with Laelia. _I guess that's why Adrianne wanted me to study as much as I did. _

"Anyways," the inquisitor said, "I understand that I am interpreting it in my favor, but the fact is that it was the past, and there's nothing we can do about it. We can't save those people, unless you know someone who can wind back the clock several hours. We can only try and find out why they had to die, and I feel that the explanation's location may be found by our first stop here."

"To the records office?" Erwine asked.

"Yes, apparently, the one on this planet is part of the Adminstratum headquarters, down in one of the lower floors. I'll set us down on the landing pad outside, and you'll stay here while I go out and find what we need, understand?"

Erwine nodded, before she gasped in shock. She had lived in a large city most of her life. She had seen two hives from the air. She had seen them from space. But from this high altitude, on this cloudless day, she was amazed by the sheer size of the capital city of the planet, which also served as the capital city of the entire sector.

It stretched on and on for kilometers and kilometers in either direction. The largest buildings reached high into the atmosphere, high enough so that compared to the smallest buildings, they were humans compared to ants. The shuttle was moving towards a cluster of them near what seemed to be the center of the city. Due to the fact that she could not come even close to seeing all of it, Erwine had no idea where the real center was.

"We may run into some trouble down here," Adrianne warned, "Of what kind, I don't know, but the incident a few hours ago indicates somebody has some sway here, and that they may direct forces against us."

"Do you have any idea who?"

"Well, it was a mercenary group outfitted to look like the Navy. They mentioned Estelle. It could be a rogue inside our ranks, but it's oddly specific. I doubt she'd do something like that, and my anger at her at first was only because I impulsively thought of her. But she's not this stupid or intent on getting me. I feel like I'm being played, but if I can't find any other leads, then Estelle may be the same person as this rogue inquisitor."

_I wonder what caused Estelle to hate Adrianne so much, _Erwine wondered, _they sound like they've been enemies for a long time. I'll have to ask her at some point, but the subject seems even touchier for her than what happened to her friends, so I'm not sure. _

The shuttle was still making its way down towards the city below. The buildings were rushing up fast, and Erwine had to avert her eyes as she started to feel a little sick due to the perspective of the descent she had.

"We'll be challenged by a telepath as we descend. Let her read your mind, and push all thoughts related to the archives to the forefront. We've nothing to hide, but we need to make this quick," Adrianne ordered, "If we were native of the sector, then we'd have the current codes to rattle off that would confirm our identity, but even then, we'd still be read."

Erwine nodded, and then prepared her mind to be read. She wasn't really sure how, but she just did as Adrianne said, and thought about what Adrianne was going to do in the records. Erwine wondered what it would feel like, having another person in her mind for a few seconds.

It worried her slightly, but she also knew that she had nothing to hide, nothing that mattered to this random telepath on a planet far from her home at least.

Once Adrianne had made her course clear, she sent a signal ahead, informing the telepath below of her intent to land. _Understood, inquisitor, _the girl below said, _I shall have to read you all._

_Go ahead, _Adrianne said, gritting her teeth as she felt the procedure begin.

Erwine nearly jumped out of her seat as it began for her. She grasped at her head, rocking back and forth as she felt the telepath go around in her mind. _Stop…stop…_she said to herself, not thinking of the fact that someone else was currently in the same space as herself. It felt horrifying, like someone was violating her, but in a mental rather than physical manner. She had tried to loosen up her mind, but didn't really know how, or what that even meant.

_Apologies, _the telepath said, _I had no idea this was your first time. _With that, the girl left quickly, moving onto the other people in the craft. Erwine looked around, not believing that the experience was over.

The sensation had been one of somebody rooting around in her mind, looking for everything about her. The feeling had been one of pressure, unbearable pressure on her very mind, not even on her actual, physical head. She looked around wildly, seeing Adrianne sitting calmly, as if nothing had happened at all.

There were many other craft flying through the air. Large and small vessels came to and from the city below, ferrying the thousands of things which may be brought into or out of such a massive city as Hadiens.

_And one of those vessels, if we're lucky, is one that we're looking for, _Adrianne thought to herself. Incoming ships were always carefully checked if they came into a major port, but the lesser ports were not always as well policed. _I doubt they're shipping the grief cubes in via the upper city. If anything, it'll be the lower city, and all records would be wiped by their operative in the Inquisition. Leaving any trace of their shipments would be disastrous. _

The Inquisition would crack down harder on the smuggling of grief cubes than most other crimes an individual could commit. The objects were vital to the survival of the Imperium. This meant that there were overall fewer such smuggling operations, but the ones that did exist were tough nuts to find. But not tough nuts to crack, unless they had some serious backing by rogue magical girls, they would fall easily to even a single inquisitor and her retinue.

_In this case, Ishna seems to have devoted a lot to this effort. Of course, it does seem intended to distract me, so that means that her actual goal is something massive. _The shuttle flew into a nest of starscrapers and was immediately dwarfed by the kilometers-high buildings that now rose around it.

Adrianne flew the craft towards the bottom of one of the buildings, and Erwine saw a small landing pad far below. Looking around, she could see that although this landing pad was low, it was not even close to ground level. The upper hive began several hundred meters off the ground, and not even the lower hive actually began on the surface of the planet.

The shuttle touched down softly on the landing pad, and Adrianne immediately stood as soon as the engines were cooled down. However, she left them on a little. She was expecting trouble of some kind.

"Stay here, don't leave this craft unless you come under attack. If you do, then get inside, and do not engage. Chances are the attackers will be Imperial Guard or Arbites, or look like one of those two," Adrianne explained, before walking out of the cockpit and into the main compartment.

Erwine watched her go, before leaning back, and taking some time to admire her surroundings. It was truly amazing, how the massive structures around her towered higher than some mountains, reaching into even the clouds, high enough so that their tops were obscured by the layer of smog over the city, from the massive amounts of industrial production.

In between the buildings snaked mazes of roads and rails, allowing people to move throughout the higher tiers of the city. The 'surface' of the upper city, which was about three hundred meters above ground level, was dotted by the bases of the massive starscrapers, as well as many smaller structures.

The roads down there were tightly packed with the wealthy denizens of this upper area, as well as members and servants of the various official Imperial organizations which were headquartered in this tier. Erwine wished she could get out so that she could have a better view, but as it was, she could only barely catch a glimpse of the 'surface' from her space in the cockpit.

So she looked upwards once more, and watched dozens of craft, both atmospheric and aerospace, fly in between the buildings. They were Imperial craft, noble transports, wealthy merchants, and myriad other types of craft, many looking exactly the same, so that only the symbols on the side of the craft marked out which craft was of which type.

And in the sky above, through the few cracks in the layer of smog, the tips of the starscrapers could be seen, and above those more vessels flew. And even higher than that, Erwine could make out the dim outlines of the larger starships in orbit around the planet.

Nothing could be heard, however, which Erwine supposed was a benefit. The craft was well-soundproofed, so that the noises of the outside, which had to be absolutely overpowering if one was unprotected, did not reach Erwine's ears.

It was still breathtaking, to actually sit and take in the sights of the massive city, one of the largest in the sector, yet so incredibly miniscule compared to the great cities on more vital worlds. Erwine had never gotten the chance, since she had joined the Inquisition, to just sit and admire the astounding things humanity had built.

And yet, even this city, this massive city spanning dozens of kilometers horizontally, and half a dozen kilometers vertically, was nothing compared to other worlds. Erwine had read, in Laelia's books, of the great cities of Holy Terra, populated by billions and billions of people, and spanning entire continents.

Erwine knew that she would never see that holy world, and its grand cities, but it was a dream of hers that she one day would. _I cannot even imagine what the place must be like to experience with one's own senses, to be so close to the Goddess…_Erwine shook her head. _Fantasies don't come true, I should stop dreaming. _

And yet, as Erwine gazed out at the massive city around her, she wondered if someone had dreamed of this universe one day, because their dream would be a reality. _Maybe dreams do become real, but not in one's lifetime…_

Adrianne stepped out of the shuttle, pausing for a few seconds to let the door close behind her. She looked up into the sky, seeing the same sights Erwine was seeing as she sat inside the craft the inquisitor had just left. It was a strange necessity for a girl like Adrianne to have, needing to hear the sound of the door of a small, flimsy craft closing all the way.

It made her feel as if she was doing her part to protect the lives of the girls who followed. _Even though the state of the door will not make much of a difference if someone seriously comes after them while I'm inside. _Nevertheless, it calmed Adrianne's nerves, and she walked away from the shuttle as soon as she heard the door close all the way.

The entrance to the records office was a pair of doors at the end of the walkway leading away from the landing pad. The doors were not decorated in any way, they were just two metal slabs, thin enough to be easily moved, but resistant to most forms of assault.

Adrianne did not bother looking around the city anymore as she made her way to the entrance. She had seen enough hive cities to fill an entire lifetime, and she didn't know how many more she would see before it was the end of her life. The inquisitor sighed as she got closer to the doors, knowing she would have to put up with the lovely, efficient, user-friendly, bureaucratic system that was the Inquisition.

_Chances are they'll be friendly, but as soon as I get my reputation started, they'll check me a thousand times before they even let me see where the records are stored. _Luckily, this was the inquisitor's first visit to this particular office, and she had not spent long in the sector, so unless Estelle had come ahead to spread rumors, then she should be fine.

Adrianne waited at the doors, as she was scanned by the devices hidden in the walls next to the doors. It was a necessary process, for security, so the inquisitor let it happen. She produced her soul gem, in egg form, and held it up to the devices, letting those inside know her identity.

The doors opened on their own, activated by the click of a switch within the building. They swung outwards, and Adrianne quickly stepped through.

Walking into the office was not a strange experience. Adrianne had developed a standard idea of what they all looked like. _There will be a main desk, which will have me sign in. Then, they let me through the barrier between them and me, and into the archives behind them. _

Sure enough, the room Adrianne walked into was a small lobby. It held nothing at all, not even a single chair. There was only a wall bisecting the room, with a door on one side, and a small barred window a meter from that door.

There was a girl behind that window. Adrianne told in an instant that this girl was not the telepath who had scanned her. _That means there's at least two, and there's hopefully half a dozen more, or else I'm making a complaint about how unsecured this site is. _

"Adrianne Azure?" the girl at the window asked.

The inquisitor nodded, "That is me," she confirmed, walking up to the window. The girl opened a small panel at the bottom of the window, and pushed through a datapad. It displayed a list of names.

"Your name here," the girl said. Adrianne typed her name in, as well as her reason to visit.

"You've come here to access the archives?" the girl asked for confirmation, "And make a note on your own file?"

Adrianne nodded. She knew that the girl already knew this, and was just asking to be absolutely certain. _She has a cheery demeanor, but I can see that she's just waiting for the opportunity to call me out for something. _"May I come in?" the inquisitor asked.

"Of course," the girl replied, opening the door to her right with a press of a button. Adrianne stepped through. It was a straight shot into the archives, providing no opportunity to get to where the receptionist was. The door closed behind Adrianne as she walked into the large space of the Hadiens Sect Archives.

Rows of tall shelves filled the space ahead of her. Each one was stacked completely with small folders, the spine of each one marked with the name of an inquisitor known to be in the sector. They were organized alphabetically, so it did not take long for Adrianne to locate the folder marked with her name. Although she had not visited anywhere except Siothea since she had entered the sector, she bet that Estelle had let the Sect know she was in town, despite Adrianne's best efforts to stay under the radar.

She located her folder, near the end of one of the shelves, and flipped it open. She grabbed a pen from a holder at the end of the shelf, and looked at the papers in front of her. On the left side was a brief summary of her and her operation history, while the right side contained a paper filled with boxes both large and small. They were organized neatly in rows and columns, giving her spaces to fill out which would tell everything about this entry. There were spaces for why the record was made and when it was made, and then the usual boxes about the next destination of Adrianne, when she was leaving, why she was leaving. A single entry took up half the page, such was the detail demanded, but it was no real problem, and it only helped the inquisition keep the best records possible.

Adrianne knew she would next have to go and enter the information into a cogitator, and then she would submit the report telepathically to the resident telepath. This meant that it was near impossible to lose any of the information, and this was how every entry procedure worked. Adrianne could have just called her report in telepathically, but she didn't have the credentials nor the reputation to receive the contents of a file telepathically.

And besides, actually coming to the office made her look responsible. Adrianne finished filling out the papers, before returning to the front of the massive room, near the entrance, where there were several cogitators across the back wall.

Adrianne quickly filled out the report form on one of those machines while sending a copy telepathically to the telepath. As soon as the receiving of the message was confirmed, Adrianne was off looking for a needle in a haystack. She knew that someone had to be a rogue, but in order to find them, she had to check all non-official shipments in the sector that were approved by an inquisitor, and then she had to check them to see if there was even the slightest chance they had gone bad.

There was an entirely different area for shipping records, which was around the same size as the personnel records area. It was organized by the type of shipment, and then further divided into who was responsible for that shipment.

Unofficial movement of grief cubes was a crime, so Adrianne knew it would not be under any obvious category like that. It would not be under miscellaneous, as that would be too obvious as well. _It'll probably be under something as inconspicuous as possible. Not too noticeable, but also common enough so that it would not come under suspicion if it was noticed. Can't just choose a random product that's incredibly rare around here, as that would raise suspicion easily if it started coming in. _

Adrianne had noticed that some planets in the sector had a penchant for alcoholic beverages of all kinds, in the time she had been studying the sector before actually arriving there. _Of course, _she thought, _I bet it's even used to make a little money on the side. _

The inquisitor arrived in that section, and then looked for a name of a group that was not one of the major families or companies. _Won't be under Osbeorne, that would make a connection between the two. Most likely a small group, one that I would never have heard of. _

Adrianne located several such names, but only one had their shipments being approved by an inquisitor. The record explained that she was tired of the incredibly strict customs everywhere, and had a strange liking for the small group's amasec. It was a perfectly reasonable explanation for anyone who was not looking for a traitor. But to Adrianne, this was a clear sign of a traitor who knew what they were doing.

_Inquisitor Askateal Ethen, _Adrianne thought, before returning to the personnel records office, _I've heard that name before. _She hunted down the girl's file, before opening it to see that she was currently part of the Hadiens Sect. Adrianne kept thinking about the name as she found the girl had a mansion on Hadiens Prime, but tended to be quite reclusive.

Adrianne's eyes widened,_ Askateal! How could I forget?! _The inquisitor muttered under her breath, "She went down two years ago, back in the Marcostas Sector. Her ship was supposed to have been caught by some Chaos raider vessel, it went down with all hands,"

_The bitch must have switched sides! _Adrianne thought, before closing the folder after assuring she had memorized the location of the girl's mansion. _Let's go find her, then. _

The inquisitor turned towards the front, and started to walk out of the office. The doors were opened before her, and a polite goodbye was given to the receptionist. Adrianne walked out of the doors, to hear a distinctive sound she had only had the pleasure, or displeasure, of hearing a few times.

Erwine, while she found the city she was staring at quite amazing, did not have the pleasure of staring at it much longer. A minute after Adrianne left, the door behind her opened. Erwine turned her head to see Airi standing there.

"Could you come out here?" she asked, "We all need to talk to you,"

Erwine wondered why, but Airi had already walked back by the time she stood up. Erwine followed her into the larger compartment and sat down on one of the seats away from the others. Airi was closer to the cockpit on the left side, Laelia was a few seats down from her, and Ayelen was right beside her. Erwine sat alone on the right side, in between Airi and Laelia.

The three girls looked at Erwine, silent at first. Erwine said nothing, wondering why she had been brought out her in the first place. _I'm starting to get a little worried, _she thought, _they seem unsure on what to say to me. _

"Why did you bring me out?" Erwine asked, after two minutes of silence had passed.

"We need to ask you a question," Airi said, "But we aren't sure how to ask it,"

Erwine said nothing. She had nothing to say that would help the three. Erwine just leaned back and stared out the window to her right, once again gazing at the city which amazed her so much.

"Erwine," Ayelen said, getting the girl's attention. Her voice was stern, commanding, different from her usual tone, "Do you like Adrianne?"

"What do you mean by 'like'?" Erwine asked.

"Do you trust her? Respect her?" Ayelen clarified.

Erwine took a deep breath, and nodded her head, "Yes," she said, confident in her words, "I do,"

"Enough to follow her loyally through anything?"

"At this point," Erwine paused for a second, "Yes. Why am I being asked this?"

"Because we're worried," it seems that Airi had finally gained the courage, or whatever she needed to gather, to speak, "We don't want you suffering in the future due to what Adrianne has been doing,"

"You mean bringing me up so fast?" Erwine asked, "I understand the necessity of it,"

"It's not entirely necessary, you know that, right?" Laelia asked. All three girls were speaking in a similar tone, calm and stern, to the point where Erwine was wondering how exactly they had planned this out, "You're not obligated to do what Adrianne asks of you,"

"I swore that I would assist her," Erwine said, "With a clear mind, which was not persuaded by Adrianne. I appreciate that all of you care about me this much, but I do not need the pandering,"

"We're not pandering you," Ayelen said, her tone was getting a bit more annoyed, as Erwine had said something personal, "I am still dealing with various damages caused by Adrianne,"

Erwine paused for a few seconds. Laelia cut in, knowing that letting Erwine and Ayelen speak on this matter alone would help nothing, "However," she said, "Adrianne is certainly putting more attention into helping you. She effectively threw Ayelen aside once she had served her purpose. With you she is devoting a large amount of time and energy to making sure you are cared for,"

Erwine frowned, "She just…threw Ayelen aside?"

Laelia nodded, while Ayelen looked away from Erwine and Airi said and did nothing. "Adrianne was not exactly…helpful, when Ayelen started to suffer from various afflictions related to stressful experiences…amongst other issues…" A glare was shot at her from Ayelen, "Which we…do not need to bring up."

Erwine shook her head, "No, Adrianne wouldn't do that to somebody," Her voice told the other three girls all they needed to know. Erwine truly believed in Adrianne to do only good, and chalked up the few bad things as results of the role Adrianne played.

"Remember all the bits of gore in the corridor that one day?" Ayelen asked.

Erwine nodded slowly, waiting for what she was about to hear with stubbornness and fear. "Well, that gore was me. Laelia had to mess me up quite a bit in order to get me to stop trying to kill her and everyone else on the ship. There's a very deeply-rooted problem in my head, makes me have little fits of psychopathy, had one earlier today, in fact. Really don't know why it occurs…Laelia has some ideas…but even they seem a bit _flawed_. Sad thing is I can't even remember what happened to me to cause this…"

Laelia looked uncomfortable, the look she gave Ayelen telling the girl to stop talking. Erwine didn't take notice, too concerned with the revelation of this new issue.

Erwine's eyes widened, before she shut them quickly, shaking her head at the mere possibility that Adrianne was hiding things from her. "No, Adrianne wouldn't let that happen to anyone,"

"Yes, she would," Airi replied, "Don't think that you're the rule, you're the exception, because you are the most useful out of any of us. Even I'm just someone that gave Adrianne some assistance," Airi's mouth stretched into a thing smile, "Even after I brought her out of her depression when she recruited me, I'm still nothing…" she explained sadly.

Erwine was silent. She knew that the people in front of her would not lie to her. She also thought that she knew Adrianne completely. "You do not come even close to completely understanding her," Laelia said, "So unless you are alright with no longer idolizing her, then I suggest you take the opportunity to get out while you can,"

"But she has apologized for what she has done, and there's not much more she can do at this point!" Erwine cried.

"She has not told you everything about being a magical girl," Airi said, "Not even close to all of it, but I suppose that's for the better. You'll be ready by then."

"What we are asking, Erwine, is whether or not you want to continue serving Erwine, you can get out if you want to," Laelia explained, "We know that she has already asked you and warned you, but we wanted to tell you this ourselves without her watering down the truth,"

Erwine immediately said, "No." She had made her decision long before this moment. "I swore to serve her, no matter what," Erwine sighed, "I understand that she has her issues, but I will continue to do what I swore to do,"

Airi shrugged, "Then there's nothing we can do," she said, "You can go aback now, if there's nothing more to be said." No one said anything, and Erwine stood up, before the world seemed to explode.

Adrianne had been in combat many times. But most of that combat had been between magical girls, hidden away from the eyes of many others. She had grown able to recognize all the sounds of battle, from the sound of a shell casing tapping the ground to a sword cutting flesh and bone.

Few times had the inquisitor heard the noise she now heard, but those few times had stuck with her, as they had been some of the more important times of her career. Over the din of the city, Adrianne could recognize the sound of engines on a certain craft.

She turned her head to the right, and saw six black shapes diving down through the maze of buildings and roads above. They curved downwards towards the shuttle, and Adrianne was already signaling for the others to run. _Get out! _She ordered, knowing that if she sounded scared, the others would know she was serious.

The six black shapes had been seen once in action before by Adrianne, but multiple other times. That one time in action had been an assault on a traitor stronghold which was particularly well-defended. A few magical girls would not do the job in that case.

Adrianne was jumping into the air, her arm shooting out to the side as she kept her eyes glued on the gunships flying downwards. On close inspection, she realized it was even worse.

The six shapes were not the standard Valkyrie Gunships most commonly used. They were the modified Vendetta Assault Gunships, designed to kill tanks. Six of them, with their lascannons and missile pods, would have little trouble annihilating the little ship.

There was a bright flash from the six gunships as their lascannons fired. A hail of bright red beams lanced out towards the shuttle, followed closely by a cloud of missiles, screaming as they sliced through the air.

Adrianne's right arm flung a dagger at the wall of the building exited, and she pulled herself close to it her knees bending to receive the impact before she kicked herself back off towards the gunships.

The bright beams blasted away the armor and pierced the inside of the craft, leaving smoldering scars in their wake. The initial barrage crippled the craft, and anyone or anything inside would have been hard-pressed to survive the beams.

A split second later, the missiles hit. A bright pillar of flame erupted from the landing pad, towering into the air. Adrianne, traveling toward the rearmost craft, flung a handful of daggers into its rear. The chains attached to them pulled her close, and she used them to swing forwards towards the cockpit.

She kicked off the wing of the gunship as she swung, her back towards the front of the gunship. Four knives were in each of her hands, and the pilot of the Vendetta soon died from multiple pieces of metal to the skull.

Adrianne held four knives, and those went into the body of the craft. Still traveling backwards, she used the chains to pull herself in and kick the gunship to the side, towards its companion in the rear of the formation. She glanced around, and noticed that she was far from the landing pad.

She leapt away from the gunship as it impacted its companion. The two craft started to dance around in the air as Adrianne fell towards the ground, hundreds of meters below. A dagger thrown into a nearby building pulled her upwards, and she used this to swing herself forwards. She then threw a dagger to the left, hitting another building.

The air rushed past the inquisitor's face as she saw the smoldering landing pad start to crack and collapse. She swung forwards again, this time close to making it, but her destination, the pad where her ship had once sat, was now falling towards the city below.

Adrianne focused her magic, and her leg shot downwards. A release of her magic shot her upwards again. This gave her enough height to land a dagger in the wall above the front doors to the records office, and this pulled her inwards.

She spun around as her feet skidded to a stop on the walkway, seeing the flames as the two Vendettas tumbled to the ground together after hitting multiple buildings in their chaotic dance. Meanwhile, there was a distant crashing sound as the landing pad hit the streets below.

The shuttle was completely destroyed now, turned into charred remnants on the city floor. Adrianne sighed, annoyed at the loss of her ship, not wondering about the safety of her crew.

She turned around, knowing that they would be there. Erwine was shaking uncontrollably, and was possibly close to going into shock. Laelia was holding the girl softly, while Ayelen looked on at Erwine, concerned for her. Airi was talking with the receptionist, who was quite concerned about what had just occurred.

Adrianne stepped forwards, and assessed her options. _Erwine will take some time, and I don't want to be ignoring her, so let's do the official stuff first. _She walked towards the receptionist girl, "Excuse me," Adrianne said.

The girl, her petite face bright with anger and the blonde curls of her short hair ruffling slight as turned, asked harshly, "What was that?!"

"It was an attack on me and my companions," Adrianne answered, calm and collected.

"I know that, but would you like to explain why?!" the girl shouted back, "Those were Vendetta gunships, with Inquisitorial markings!"

Adrianne already had the answer to who sent that attack. "Have you ever heard of Estelle Adramartis?" she asked.

"Yes," the girl said, "She arrived in-system a day ago, are you saying that attack was her doing?"

"Yes I am," Adrianne replied, "She's out to stop me because she's a puritan and I'm a radical. I have now been attacked twice in this system. She is no longer putting up barriers everywhere for me, she's directly assaulting me."

The girl frowned, "A risky accusation,"

"And it is not one I shall make lightly," Adrianne replied, "I would like it if her name be kept out of your report when the Arbites inevitably show up. I'll arrange a meeting with her later, but you may be able to expect a report accusing the girl to come into the main office tomorrow morning,"

The girl nodded, "I'll keep quiet to her, but the Sect Council will have to know of your accusations," she warned.

Adrianne nodded, "As I expected, just don't make them think I'm going after her on my own,"

"Alright then," the girl said after a short pause, "I don't think there is much more to discuss at the moment, so I suggest you five find some other way back, before you get caught in the bureaucratic hellstorm that is about to descend upon this site,"

Adrianne smiled, "Thank you." The girl replied in kind, and then walked back inside. Her casual concern over the incident was brought about because of the lack of anything to take about. An inquisitor had been attacked by inquisitorial ships, but Adrianne had been checked telepathically, and was cooperative. The rogue craft would be hunted down at some point, so there was no need for the receptionist to worry, especially since her job was too important to abandon at the moment.

Adrianne pulled out a small vox from her coat pocket, "Bolton, get a shuttle down here, we had an incident and need some transport,"

She shut it off before saying anything else, and then turned to Erwine, who was acting as if she had just died and come back to life.

Although it was certainly possible for magical girls to die and come back to life, at least in terms of one's body, such a thing had not just happened to Erwine.

Instead, she had been ready to go back into the privacy of the cockpit when a sudden message had come from Adrianne. _Get out! _It was in a voice filled with fear, instantly shaking Erwine to the core. It sounded like Adrianne was more concerned for the receivers of the message than herself.

Erwine's eyes widened as she tried to run towards the door, but a hand on her arm stopped her, as Ayelen pulled her back towards Airi and Laelia. A blue shield came up around the four just as a volley of bright red beams pierced the craft.

The shield sparked and crackled, but did not break. Airi bent over, trying to look through the windows to see the outside. Teleporters could not go anywhere if they could not see the destination, but she caught a glimpse of the landing pad and right as explosions erupted around the shield the four girls were outside.

The shield was glanced by the force of the explosions, and Ayelen pushed Erwine forwards as they ran away from the ship. Adrianne was leaping off to strike back at the gunships as Erwine collapsed to the ground, staring at the pillar of flame that was only just beginning to dissipate.

Her entire body was shaking, and Laelia came to support her, kneeling down and propping her up against her chest as Erwine tried to calm down. The receptionist came running out, to be intercepted by Airi, who started to speak to her.

Adrianne returned after a short time, and after she cleared up things with the receptionist, the inquisitor turned towards Erwine. The young girl looked up at Adrianne, her breathing just now beginning to be calm.

Adrianne knelt down, "You alright?" she asked.

Erwine nodded, but from the way she was still shivering, Adrianne knew she was only trying to be brave for her. "It's alright to be scared," the inquisitor said, putting a hand on her head. She nodded to Laelia who stood up, and Adrianne held Erwine up. "There's nothing to worry about now," she said.

"I came close to…dying," Erwine choked out.

"No you did not," Adrianne said, "Even if you had been caught, you could have protected your soul gem and prevented any harm from coming to you."

"Remember," she said, "Always save your soul gem, and even if your body is destroyed, it can be reconstructed with magic,"

Erwine nodded, but she was still shivering a little. "Don't worry," Adrianne said, "I'll find out what Estelle is doing, because this…" the inquisitor's voice suddenly became hateful, "Is too far,"

She gritted her teeth, and had to struggle to maintain her calm as she looked down at Erwine. "It's not you," she said, as the young girl started to tremble again at the sight of Adrianne being angry, "It's Estelle."

"You think she did this?" Erwine asked.

"I know she did this," Adrianne said, "I know that for a fact. She's trying to kill me, so I'll have to be careful when I do meet with her."

"You sure about that?" Airi asked, "Walking up to her with such an accusation…won't be pretty,"

"Our relationship has never been pretty," Adrianne shot back, "She can file all the complaints she wants. I'll get it out of her, and then we'll finally have our current biggest problem off of our backs."

There was the roaring noise of engines as the Arbites arrived to take control of the situation, which coincided with the arrival of the other shuttle sent by Bolton. Multiple craft circled the walkway, all pointing at Adrianne. She held up her soul gem and ordered them aside as Bolton's shuttle approached.

The receptionist came out to get the Arbites off Adrianne's back. The girl was a good one, and managed to pin all the blame on some imaginary issue that she had quickly through up. Adrianne chuckled, being the last person to get in the shuttle, as she saw the girl throw a single glare at her through the mass of officers all around her, asking every manner of question.

_I owe you, _Adrianne said, as the shuttle took off.

_I'll remember that, _was the response that came from the solitary girl.

Adrianne was not even done talking with the receptionist before she was sending out a call to Estelle. She had no idea where the girl might be, where her ship was, or anything about any other place she might to.

But still, Adrianne knew her, and she knew that she was a telepath. So the inquisitor addressed a message across the entire city, calling Estelle. It could have been picked up by anyone, but could only be understood by Estelle, unless whoever else picked it up was good at cracking encryptions.

It took about a minute of broadcasting the signal before Estelle replied. She actually sent back a tight beam, aimed right for Adrianne. It was also one-way. She did not want anyone knowing that they were communicating.

_What? _Estelle asked. Adrianne shook her head. A single word was not worth the effort of creating such a tight and secure beam. She sent back, _actually talk to me you coward. _

The next beam that came was not a one-way message. _Fine, _Estelle said, sounding annoyed, _what do you want? _

Adrianne was angry at the girl, now that a direct attack had been made on her personnel. She said back at Estelle, in a voice that was threatening, cold, but also showed that she was not fazed, _no more games. The first attempt was grounds for minor censure, but the second can get you in some serious trouble. _

_What are you talking about, Adrianne? _Estelle asked, seeming disinterested, _are you talking about that attack that just occurred a few minutes ago? Was that you? _

_Shut up! _Adrianne screamed, unable to maintain a calm temper, thanks to Estelle's reply. _You will listen to me! We are going to meet somewhere tonight! I don't care where, but we need to make things very clear! _

_What? _Estelle was practically laughing, _Adrianne, I didn't think you're that crazy! Calm down, will you, and find some other scapegoat? _

Adrianne was breathing very deeply and slowly, causing the other girls around her to become a little worried. But none dared disturb her, as she was clearly not in a talking mood. _Estelle! _Adrianne shouted, sounding more desperate, _you delayed my ship, and sent some humans to kill me! That was just pitiful. But trying to assassinate my team?! That goes beyond anything you have done in the past! _

Estelle paused. She did not reply for a short time, but Adrianne was ready to start shouting again when she replied again. _I'm sorry, _she said, _There has been a severe misunderstanding, let us meet tonight, I agree. Talking in person will certainly make us more civil. I know this great restaurant in the upper hive, care to join me? _

Adrianne gritted her teeth. She knew the reason for meeting in such a public, high-class place was to prevent any possible violence. But she also knew that it was a good idea, as she doubted her ability to control herself entirely when dealing with a person such as Estelle. _Alright, _she said, _tell me where and when. _

Estelle gave her the time and the location of the restaurant, before cutting off. Adrianne sighed, before opening her eyes and looking at everyone else. "Seems I have a date," she said, before leaning back and closing her eyes once again.

* * *

PDG units will always operate with different levels of secrecy based on the world. With more presence of potentially hostile groups, they will stick to the shadows and their normal duties, and vice versa. However, the biggest exception is the PDG units on capital worlds.

Capital world, will always contain a central headquarters for the sect. The form this HQ takes can vary, anything from an underground base to a massive fortress. The PDG needs a place to center its operations around, and one will be found. This generally means that some people will be generally aware of the Inquisition's presence, and the fact that magical girls may be out and about.

However, the general populace should still be kept oblivious to this fact. Unless it is impossible to disguise the building, it should be sold as some official building, used by the Arbites or Administratum. Magical girls should not be seen coming in or out unless it is an emergency.

-Message from the Grand Inquisitor's Office, circa M35.


	17. Two Sides of a Coin

The Khyllis system has been fully investigated. Astroclairvoyants have swept every area of space. The planet has been looked over time and time again. There is no trace of anything Adrianne Azure reported. The ruins previously found on the planet are still present, but nothing more than that.

There are no traces, not even the slightest bit of radiation, to indicate that starships have been in this system, and even engaged in combat. It can be safely concluded that everything within Adrianne's report is a lie, whether she realizes that or not. We will continue searching for a few days more, just to confirm the information, but at the moment, that girl needs to be locked up and her mind ripped open, because someone put something in there making her believe all this.

-Message from the Khyllis Incident Invesitgation Team

* * *

The sun had set over the planet only a short time ago. And while the few gaps of wilderness between the great cities were mostly devoid of light, the massive nests of metal were lit brightly, and the skies were still abuzz with the lights of incoming and outbound craft.

And while the tired residents of the lesser districts were possibly just returning from work and getting into bed, the wealthy denizens of the higher areas were just getting started as yet another wave of parties and gatherings were kicked off. Such events were practically the lives of nobles.

They crowded each other's homes, or went out to the most expensive restaurants and bars that were seeded throughout the large towers. No matter where they were, that place was made so much louder by their presence.

And that was possibly why Adrianne had yet to speak as she kept running her eyes over her rival. It felt as if her skull was being pounded on by a jackhammer. Multiple times. Possibly more than one jackhammer too.

"You know Adrianne, if you just came to stare at my breasts we could have scheduled this elsewhere," Estelle said with a grin. Adrianne glared at her, knowing that the girl was well-endowed. Certainly more than herself, but that was completely beside the point.

Besides, Estelle had certainly made a point of emphasizing that fact via her clothing. Her normal uniform was a short white dress, with a long black coat over it. But now, her dress was longer, ballroom length, and while it usually covered all of her skin, there was suddenly a convenient opening in the chest area.

It annoyed Adrianne. It annoyed her greatly. Not to mention the fact that the black long coat, normally buttoned only once or twice in the middle to form a narrow V-shape above the middle of the chest and a wider V-shape below that spot, was buttoned up multiple times under the chest, purely to emphasize that area. And specifically what was in it.

Adrianne had no idea who Estelle planned to use this tactic on, but that did not mean it was not a dirty one. Adrianne gritted her teeth, and her eyes focused on Estelle's face. Her dark hair was tied behind her head in a large bun, pinned by a rather pretty pin, which clearly contained her soul gem.

The room they sat in was large. Quite large, as a matter of fact. They were seated on the edge of a rather large ballroom. The very edge. The wall was about an arm's length to Adrianne's right. Estelle had chosen the outer circle of tables for privacy. No one was out there. If they were, then they didn't want to pay attention to anyone else.

But still, it would be easy for one of the other people in the large room to notice the two girls if something went wrong. Not to mention the fact that Laelia and Celestine were there. Supposedly, they were separate, but both inquisitors knew the two would find each other.

Adrianne said nothing. Estelle kept grinning. "Didn't we have a purpose in this meeting?" Estelle asked, "I thought we did," There was a certain edge to her voice, an edge aimed quite clearly at Adrianne.

Adrianne said nothing for the moment. She was having a hard time shouting at Estelle, now that she was face to face with the girl. Not because of anything Estelle might have pointed out a minute before, but instead because Adrianne had to take time to seriously consider her accusations. She was angry, but she was also smart enough to understand blind rage was more dangerous than many, many things.

A waiter came over. Adrianne and Estelle placed their orders. Adrianne looked rather out of place, she began to realize. She had only extended her skirt and shortened her coat, while removing her hat and letting her hair fall down, while taking great care to comb her golden hair perfectly. She was not out of place in that she was underdressed, it was that she looked far too…fancy. Most other people were not looking to show off wealth, instead they were there to have a good time Adrianne and Estelle were trying to look good.

When the waiter left, Adrianne whipped her head back around, and hit Estelle with an icy cold glare. Estelle actually recoiled at this sudden change in the mood, and the air around the table seemed to cool down from the happy air that Estelle had instilled.

"I need to know something, Estelle. You're going to answer the question. I didn't come here to play games. You're not going to soften me up, you're not going to mention one thing about how you think I'm insane. You're going to tell me the truth. Did you or did you not order and organize the two attempts on my life or the lives of my people?"

Estelle raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're being forward. I can say for certain that neither attack was ordered by myself, nor presumably no one under me. I of course can't say for certain, but I highly doubt it."

"Then do you have someone else to point a finger at?" Adrianne asked, "Otherwise, the evidence points to you."

"Is my testimony not enough for you?" Estelle asked, chuckling a little, for the express purpose of throwing Adrianne off.

She didn't expect the reply she got. "Is it not enough for you?" The comment was made with a neutral tone of sorts, but there was a hidden venom that Estelle did not miss.

"That's something entirely different…" Estelle said. "And I thought you didn't want to talk about your insanity?"

"Don't start this," Adriane threatened, "I will walk out."

"Then go. Keep chasing after me, accusing me of doing these little things. You've nothing, and it just makes you look worse. Your accusations will probably get you in trouble once I explain your tenuous mental condition." Estelle grinned in victory as Adrianne shot daggers at her.

Adrianne gritted her teeth. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Who do you have to accuse?"

"When you called me, I looked into the matter a little. Someone, this morning, was making some kind of communications. They were marked as classified, but I looked into who issued that order. It was an Askateal Ethen, someone who I think we both know of."

"Yes," Adrianne said, "But still, who says you aren't in league with them?"

"I do," Estelle said. "You can trust me," she promised, "I have some physical evidence and a previous record of stable history to back me up. You had, and still don't have, anything to prove your words."

"I said don't start this…" Adrianne said, looking down at her lap with a heavy look on her face. "There are more important things."

She was saved, for a few moments, as their food came to the table. Estelle began eating immediately, her mind diverging from Adrianne for a few minutes as the girl sat there.

Eventually, Adrianne muttered, "You certain it was Askateal?"

"Certain," Estelle replied.

Adrianne made to stand up. She did get all the way up. Fingers wrapped around her arm, tugging her back. "Adrianne, come on," Estelle said. "I know that you're just denying the truth."

She sat back down. "I'm not," she shook her head, "You're the one denying the truth, to be perfectly honest. I don't know what you want form me at this point. I've spent twenty years of my life searching, hunting, tearing other people's lives apart without a care in the world…and you still think I'm lying to you…" Adrianne shuddered.

"It's not that I think that…there's just nothing to show any part of your story. Adrianne…the only reason you've gone on so long is because you produce results, results that the brass seems to enjoy. To every Sect, to every MSOC, we come into the sphere of influence of, I'm telling them about you. And they're letting you slide, having me monitor you, because you make things happen. But if you start accusing me of these kinds of things…given the previous assessments of your mental state…things won't go so well."

"Sure…" Adrianne said, "Then just do it already. Pull the trigger and end things for me already. It's not worth it, going on, if you're just going to hang over me like this for the rest of it."

"Stop your moaning," Estelle snapped. Her voice was harsh. "Let's take a look at the facts. Form an outside, objective perspective. You show up on a planet, saying that you were brought there by the Eldar, who rescued you after a long incident involving someone who _doesn't _exist, according to Imperial records."

"She did exist," Adrianne insisted, "There had to be some recording of her."

"Ishna Kleimar died at the age of twenty-four, some seventy years ago," Estelle said, "She was a magical girl, yes. She did serve in multiple high positions, yes. But then she died."

"Can you confirm that, is there any empirical evidence for that?"

"Yes. Her body was found. She was assassinated on a starship. This person is someone claiming to be her. There is no other record of an Ishna Kleimar ever being a magical girl. Sure, shapeshifters exist, and it could be someone masquerading as her, but your memory of the girl matches perfectly all other accounts of her."

"Then is that not proof that she was really there?" Adrianne angrily demanded.

"It could be, but it could also be proof as to how your memories are all false. I've read your mind, I know that according to you, those memories are one hundred percent true. But just because you believe them doesn't mean they're real." Estelle sounded desperate. Desperate to help.

"Nadine Edicossen never went to Khyllis. All of the reports she sent out beforehand indicated that she was en route to an entirely different sector. She would disappear there, with you being the only survivor. Adrianne…your memories were implanted to hide a far more sinister threat…I'm sorry…but you need to realize that this whole Ishna business…it's just a cover for something far more."

Adrianne shook her head. "My memories are true. They were not put there by anyone. I will hold by that till the moment I die. Ishna Kleimar is alive."

"Then continue believing that," Estelle said, "Ignore the obvious."

"What is obvious?!" Adrianne shouted, "What is so incredibly clear to you, that I am so foolishly missing?!"

"That…" Estelle sighed, "That you're not actually sane, Adrianne. I'm serious, you know for a fact that when someone's memories are reprogrammed, the treatment begins to fade away after a while. It begins to destabilize one's mind as your consciousness collides with an entirely different one. You know that, last time I checked. Need I bring up-"

"Don't talk about her," Adrianne interrupted the girl. "If you really don't believe me, then just pull the trigger. Take me down. Paint some horrific picture for the brass to come crashing down on. Rescue the people I've hurt before I hurt them more. Why don't you do it?"

"I still have some respect for you, Adrianne. There was once something besides animosity between us, and I'd like to think that there still is. So I'll let you go for now…no, it depends on what you've been doing with this Erwine I've heard of."

"Erwine?" Adrianne asked. She tensed up. "What might you want to know about her?"

"What are you doing with her?" Estelle asked, "Celestine told me that you were breaking her in over the course of one night. Not even twenty-four hours…not sure if I should be disgusted or impressed. So how is she now, a sobbing wreck who you've confined to some dark corner of your ship?"

"She's perfectly stable," Adrianne smugly replied,

"Why?" Estelle asked, "Why hurt her in that way, then somehow pull her out? What's your intention?"

"My intention?" Adrianne scoffed, as though Estelle was a fool for not knowing. "My intention is to create someone who can finish all of this. Who is certainly capable of destroying Ishna. To do that, I have to strip away all her grief, all hr fear."

"You want to remove the chance of her feeling grief, or seemingly any negative emotion, by breaking her now?" Estelle asked, not entirely grasping the intention.

"Yes, I'm slowly breaking her down, making her question everything about the world, one step at a time. I'm hurting her, then building her back up, one step at a time. By the end, she won't even recognize who she originally was, just a scared little girl. I need someone with potential, she seems to have it." Adrianne giggled a little, a bit maniacally.

"That doesn't make much sense," Estelle shook her head, "Will this even work?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Adrianne shrugged, "Who can say for certain? I certainly wish it does, it would make things go much faster."

Estelle sighed. "You're going to end up hurting her, irreversibly, if you don't stop this now. She doesn't need this."

"I don't care," Adrianne shook her head, "I need this. That's all that matters. She said she would carry out my wish, she's more loyal to me than anyone, maybe even more than Airi."

"You're mad," Estelle said, "This isn't going to work."

"Have you tried?"

"No, of course not."

"That's exactly my point, Estelle. You, and seemingly the rest of the Imperium, are unwilling to do what must be done when it comes to traitors." Adrianne spoke to Estelle as though the girl was an insect, "None of you are capable of doing what must be done, it's as though you've all gone mad."

"Gone mad?" Estelle repeated. "Gone. Mad? Really, is that what you think about the rest of us?" He voice suddenly rose. "Adrianne! You call out the rest of us for being insane, but you're too far gone to realize that!" She stood up, slamming her fists on the table, tossing the plates off as she shouted at the inquisitor. "Adrianne! We once had something worth calling a friendship! And here you are now, chasing ghosts, torturing little girls, and screaming at the rest of the universe when…" She shook her head, crying. Her voice was lower now, "When you're the one who's insane."

A switch was flipped in Adrianne's head. The girl whispered, "Huh?" She looked about in disbelief, almost unwilling to accept this. She slowly stood, shaking her head. "No, no. It's all you, it's not me." She turned around, running for the door.

Estelle watched her go, trying to restrain herself. "Don't go…" She called out, wishing her voice could be heard.

"Please…" She whispered, taking a few steps forwards, "Adrianne…I only want to save you."

* * *

Celestine and Laelia were busy eating their dinner. They too, sat on the edge of a large ballroom, but it was the opposite edge to where Adrianne and Estelle sat. Every now and then, a brief glance had been spared to check on the two inquisitors, but such glances had always confirmed that the two were not causing any trouble.

At least not any trouble for anyone else. From what Laelia could see, Adrianne did not look very happy, and Estelle did not seem that good either. However, both Laelia and her companion had explicit orders to not interfere unless a fight broke out.

Which meant that both Laelia and Celestine were paying very little attention to Adrianne and Estelle. The two were not friendly to the other, but they could maintain their calm in a public place such as this one. Which meant that Laelia and Celestine considered themselves free to speak to one another as much as they wanted.

They also had orders to stay away from each other, but those were quite easy to ignore. The two girls had spent the first bit of time making small talk, not thinking of tackling any major issues this night. The last few minutes had been spent in relative silence as they ate their food.

"How has Erwine been?" Celestine asked. She seemed genuinely concerned about the girl's wellbeing, but it was easy to tell that she was just asking the question for Estelle.

"Erwine's been doing very well," Laelia replied, knowing that telling the truth would be better than any lies she could hastily come up with.

"Really?" Celestine asked. It was both a challenge, as well as a normal thing a person with Celestine's prior knowledge might say.

"Yes," Laelia replied, her voice normal. Celestine's voice was as well. To anyone else, they seemed like two friends talking about another friend. "Adrianne's been a great help. She seems to be putting a lot of attention towards making sure Erwine is happy."

"She hasn't done that before," Celestine said, "I mean, I would assume that, from what I've heard about Ayelen." More challenges, trying to get Laelia to admit to lies.

Laelia knew she had to just whether the storm for a few minutes, before Celestine would cease her questioning and the two could go back to eating in peace. "She's doing it now. Erwine is very, very important to her."

"Doesn't sound like it, from the way she's being treated," Celestine remarked,

"Well, Adrianne was apparently treating her in that manner for the benefit of the girl. She just wants to see her succeed," Laelia explained, "Erwine is the one she wants to end her whole quest she's been on,"

"You seriously believe all of that story?" Celestine asked. She was challenging Laelia once again. The blonde-haired girl had already confirmed many time that she filly believed Adrianne's story, but every now and then Celestine just had to question that belief, as if Laelia had changed her mind over the course of a week, while she had held her beliefs firm for the past dozen years.

"Yes, I do,' Laelia said, sighing as she said the last word. It was enough to convince Celestine to get to the end of her pointless questions. Laelia was getting to be very annoyed with the never-ending parade of challenges and questions. _She's only serving Estelle, I understand, but there are ways to be subtle. Doing this is not one of them. _

Were these two girls normal human teenagers, than these questions may not be that suspicious. But the tone and abruptness with which Celestine asked her first question was a dead give-away, a sign that she was worried that she would run out of time before she could ask Laelia everything she needed to ask.

It was also the sign of a very poorly-thought out operation. Laelia figured that Estelle had informed Celestine that she needed a second person to support everything she heard from Adrianne. However, she had not understood that Celestine asking such questions of Laelia when the two were being very friendly was going to raise some alarms.

_Does she not get that we're very close, _Laelia wondered, thinking of Estelle. Nevertheless, Celestine continued to speak, "Are you certain that Adrianne knows what she is doing with Erwine?"

Laelia nodded, "Yes, I am a bit worried, but overall, I am inclined to trust the inquisitor." She was not sure if she trusted Adrianne because the inquisitor had truly convinced her, or if she only trusted Adrianne because Erwine, the person who she had abused so much, trusted her abuser with her life.

"Really?" Celestine asked, her eyebrows raised, and Laelia was now ready to slap that look off her face. Or shoot it off of her face. Whichever. Yet Laelia also understood the need for stealth in this scenario, and the fact that Adrianne and Estelle would not be pleased if the two security guards got into a fight while the people they were supposed to stop from getting into a fight talked perfectly fine.

Laelia was beginning to silently beg Adrianne to just finish the conversation with Estelle already, as she opened her mouth and said, "Yes, I do trust Adrianne. Are there any more questions to ask, or do you have enough to satisfy Estelle?"

Celestine's face took on a different light after this question. Suddenly, it was no longer questioning and inquisitive. It was now normal once again. She shook her head, looking down at her nearly-empty plate, and remarked, "Estelle put me up to this, yes, but it's not like I enjoyed doing all that,"

"I did not enjoy it either, so that makes two of us," Laelia said, her grin enough to instill the same feeling Laelia had previously had about the look Celestine's face had.

"If you're going to be rude, I can go find my own table," Celestine replied, not having the will for an argument.

"What's wrong?" Laelia asked.

"I didn't like having to treat you like that," Celestine said, "I don't like…having to confront the fact that you're my enemy,"

"Sorry," Laelia said, "But we're enemies, and sometimes, we have to do things to the other that we don't like doing, because we are obviously two opposing forces,"

"But why?" Celestine asked, "It's only because we serve two different people. If I were an inquisitor, wouldn't you want to follow me instead of Adrianne?"

Laelia shook her head, "I'm going to see this through with Adrianne, and as long as you are going to try and stop Adrianne, I'm going to have to come into conflict with you, and vice versa,"

"Why?" Celestine asked, "You owe her nothing, she's only hurt you,"

"And people have only hurt her," Laelia said, "That is no reason to not be kind to someone, to forget all their problems because they have done nothing for you."

Celestine was silent. Considering Laelia's advice, she slowly got back to finishing off her meal. Laelia was silent. She was already finished, so she just stared at her…whatever Celestine was to her.

When Celestine finished, she still said nothing. Her actions, her face, they told Laelia that she wanted to leave, but did not know how to leave without being rude. "You know," Laelia said, "I really want to be…your friend,"

"No you don't," Celestine said, "We both know what we actually want. We just understand that neither of us can actually have that."

"I don't think so," Laelia said, "Look at us now, it's possible, if we are both willing."

"Than what is stopping us?" Celestine asked, shaking her head in disgust at the current conversation. She was about to stand up, before Laelia clamped a hand down on her shoulder.

"No," she said, "You're afraid,"

"Of what? Estelle? Adrianne?"

"No, you're afraid of defying your ideals," Laelia explained, "But that's now that what I'm asking for. I don't want to become a different person for you either,"

"Than what are you asking for?" Celestine clearly would have been out of the restaurant by now, were it not for Laelia's steady hand.

"What are you asking for?" Laelia asked, "I can give much,"

"I just don't want anything between us to get in the way of our professional lives," Celestine said, "If we start working differently because of it, than we can't maintain anything,"

"I won't change," Laelia said, "I already said that. I'm asking you if you will change."

Celestine paused for a moment. The words seemed to slip out of her mouth inadvertently, like she didn't have control over her own muscles. "No, I won't change," she said.

"Fine," Laelia said, shaking her head in annoyance.

"Why do you even still bother with Adrianne? It's…it's obvious that she's not such a good person. You know that, so why?" Celestine leaned in. Her concern was real. _This isn't about getting me on her side, it's about actually trying to help me. _

"Adrianne…she's a terrible person, I will be the first to admit that. But…as much as I hate to realize this, she has a reason for that. Estelle…whatever she really wants, doesn't seem to get that. Adrianne has a drive, and I can respect that, because truly terrible things have happened to her."

"Then let's work together, there's no point in resisting this anymore." Celestine said. She really did sound desperate.

"We'll see what this meeting brings. At this point, Estelle has some reason to catch Adrianne. I won't let that happen. I would prefer that this girl's quest come to an end," Laelia explained.

"You're not making much sense. You follow her purely because you want to see her fulfill her goal, but you could just join with us, convince her to do the same, and we could work together."

"Unless she and Estelle can get over whatever difference they have, then it's not going to happen. I don't think it will happen. Adrianne's looking for redemption. At least that's why I stay. Ayelen will stay if I stay, and Airi has her own slew of reasons. Erwine's practically bound to her, so there's that. …besides, it's not like _I've _done nothing wrong…" the final words were said in a low whisper.

"What was that?" Celestine asked, hearing the whispered ending.

Noise from the right caused them to whip their heads in the direction. They looked to see Estelle finish her cries, then watch Adrianne run from the room. Estelle watched her go, only to sit back down in her chair, picking at the scraps of food on the plate.

"Well…" Laelia muttered, "Perhaps we ought to be going ourselves…or at least me."

"True," Celestine said. "Things couldn't have gone well"

"Certainly." Laelia agreed. The two did their best to not spend all their time staring awkwardly across the room at the remaining inquisitor. But they kept glancing back, to ensure that she wasn't leaving.

She sat there for perhaps ten, fifteen maybe, minutes more. Then she stood up. Several times the cost of the two meals was paid, despite her status as a magical girl rendering such costs pointless anyways.

"Do you really know nothing about their past?" Laelia asked, watching as the girl walked out the door. "Adrianne has said nothing, only that Estelle despises her, and she despises Estelle."

"That's all I know. Once, only once, Estelle mentioned something about helping Adrianne…to stop her from destroying herself. I don't know what's going on at this point…" Celestine was just as confused as the other girl.

"Well, I suppose we should go," Laelia said. They stood. They paid. They walked for the door, Laelia moving ahead of Celestine so as to attempt to hide something that was very obvious.

She stepped out. She saw Adrianne standing there, facing out towards the city, Estelle beside her. Laelia started walking backwards, bumping into Celestine before she spun around to silence her. "Let's give them a minute…" she insisted, pushing the complaining girl back inside.

* * *

Adrianne stood out there alone, wide eyes staring out across the city. Near silently, she repeated "No," Over and over again. The word seemed to be her only salvation at this point. She gripped the railing tightly, the wind tossing up her hair.

Somehow she knew it was Estelle who came up behind her. Adrianne flinched as she felt the hand tighten around her shoulder. "I know you don't want to admit it to yourself. I know that after tonight, we'll be back to the way things were before."

Estelle took a deep breath. She was hesitant to start. But she shut her eyes, pushing through the fear. "Adrianne, I know you won't listen to me, no matter how much I say. All you can do is go forwards until something else stops you. Something else _will_ stop you in your tracks, and you won't know what to do. You'll be scared, lost."

The inquisitor opened her eyes. She and Adrianne didn't look at each other. They both stared forwards. "When that happens, I promise I'll be there for you. Please, don't run away from me then. I want so desperately to save you…" Estelle choked up, "But I'm not sure I can keep up anymore."

She waited a few seconds more, then she walked away. Adrianne said nothing. She only raised her hand, brushing a tear away from her eye. "Ishna…" She muttered, as though the girl was right beside her, "I will kill you. I will get the life I desired back."

Since the category of Space Manipulation does contain tens of millions of cases, this section requires much subdivision. The intention is to make it easier to search through, and to give the magic theorists an easier time when sorting through all of this. Each of these divisions is not intended to be an entirely full assessment of that ability, because an ability in its most basic form is generally only held by a handful of people at one time. The most important thing is all those abilities which fall into the categories.

* * *

Telepathy: Usage of magic particles to affect the mind of others. Technically, all magical girls are telepaths, but the term specifically refers to those who can affect other minds, not just their own. Anything from improved communication to straight up mind control falls under the abilities of these girls.

Teleportation: Usage of magic particles to break down an object and then instantaneously relocate it elsewhere. In every recorded case, teleportation takes place in effectively zero time. The only time that passes is the teleporter making the choice to teleport. The teleporter may not be able to affect themselves, or they may be able to only affect themselves.

Healing: Usage of magic particles to repair wounds. Healing repairs all physical wounds, capable of reaching all the way down into the body. Healers cannot bring people back from the dead, but as long as the person is still alive, they can repair any wounds.


	18. The Line Between Foolishness and Bravery

The existence of timelines different from our own, following different courses of events, can only be speculated at via diviners. The possible futures they see must have some truth in them, or else they wouldn't be there at all. This multiple worlds theory is a difficult question. Despite the expansiveness of the _Grimoire Ingenium, _a girl with powers related to crossing worlds, or even directly gathering information from parallel worlds has never been found.

Since I shall be excommunicated for merely speculating on this, there is a possibility that there is a deeper element of the Inquisition dedicated to wiping out any trace for this theory, rendering it unprovable. However, there remains the chance that there are such other worlds, and that they may be capable of interfering with us.

-Writer expunged from history. Fragment of text destroyed, only found in the deeper memories of some Inquisitorial personnel.

* * *

She'd had to spend some time searching about the ship. It hadn't taken long, after she'd left her own room and went looking. Sure, Erwine wasn't at all familiar with the layout of the massive vessel. She was fairly certain that it was larger than the general area that she considered her neighborhood back home.

Yet she would find her target eventually. Following that, she would awkwardly stand just out of sight for a solid five or ten minutes, she wasn't exactly sure, quite unsure of what she was going to do to initiate the conversation.

Her head ducked out from around the corner every now and then, peeking in and out at the person sitting inside the room. That person was by no means the only one inside, but they were perhaps the most noticeable. Other people walked by Erwine. She would smile, and pretend that she was waiting, but the illusion didn't fool anyone.

She noticed that every now and then, the others inside would turn their heads towards the doorway, wondering if Erwine was still standing there. That only increased the amount of embarrassment the girl felt. Things would add up, and only get worse around the nine minute mark. While Erwine wasn't sure of the time, it had been nine minutes since she first arrived when she remembered that magical girls had heightened senses.

That only got better with age. And the one inside was over thirty. Erwine felt as though her face would catch on fire as her face pulled itself in two directions, jaw dropping down and eyebrows shooting up. She started hyperventilating, a hand slamming down on her mouth as she did so. It was her hand, and she now knew that her cover was blown, superior senses or not.

She calmed herself, taking only a couple seconds, and stepped around the corner and into the cafeteria. Airi was sitting along at a small table. Raised eyebrows were aimed at the doorway. "H-Hello…" Erwine said, "Can we talk?"

"We can," Airi said. She gestured to the open seat in front of herself. "Take a seat," she said.

Erwine nodded. Her feet started carrying her forwards, each step over the hard floor making not much of a sound. She gently tugged a chair away from under the table, and sat down. Erwine was shaky as she looked at Airi.

"What did you want to discuss?" Airi asked.

"I just wanted to talk…about you, I guess." Erwine said.

Airi frowned. Erwine immediately responded to this. "I can go if you want me to!" She was about to stand when Airi reached across the table, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Sit down," Airi said. "It's fine, I'm just wondering why you're so worried about wanting to talk about me."

"Well…" Erwine looked at the ground, trembling. "It's cause I wanted to ask…something that I guess is something of a personal question."

"What question might that be?" Airi wondered. Erwine looked hesitant. "Come on, is it something you don't want Adrianne to know about? She won't be back for another few hours at least."

"I've noticed how you look at Adrianne…or me…or when the two of us are together…" Erwine looked up at Airi, a confused gaze, "Why do you look at us like that? I don't know what…what emotion that might be…but it doesn't look like a good one."

Airi sighed. "That's a question…" she remarked. Erwine was nearly driven crazy by the long silence that followed. She looked around the room, noticing heads turning away wherever she looked. There were humans in the room.

"I have an answer," Airi replied, "But I think you need to know more about me before you can get the answer."

"I know that you were the first person Adrianne recruited after she went out on her own," Erwine said, "That's about it."

"Adrianne was effectively…effectively insane at that point," Airi explained. "You see, I had already contracted, and was already part of the local forces. Adrianne had lost everything that was dear to her, and had never entirely recovered from it."

"I started getting close to her while she was there, and then I decided to go out with her when she left." Airi cracked a bit of a grin. "I knew that it wasn't something I ought to do, and that I would probably end up killed by this girl's insanity…but I did it anyways."

"Why?" Erwine wondered. Confusion was still what her face showed, above all else.

"There was something…something I liked. I wanted to help her, to see that she became a good person. Not so that she wouldn't hurt others…I didn't want her to hurt herself. I was young back then. I didn't have the experience you have. I was fairly foolish." Airi had a nostalgic tone, her eyes looking off to the side, as if seeing the distant memories before her eyes.

"What ended up happening?"

"Adrianne was going to tear herself apart back then. I'll spare the details, but she was almost psychopathic. And towards innocents as well. I managed to slowly work her out of it, she began to trust me more than anyone else in the world." Airi nodded. "Yeah, I meant the most to her back then. I guess even today, she'll tell you that I saved her back then. That if it hadn't been for me…she would never have gotten this far."

"But that's changed, hasn't it?!" Erwine cried, "Because of me!"

"Yeah, it has." Airi agreed. She was much calmer than the other girl. "Don't blame yourself. Don't blame yourself for existing. Adrianne is the one who chooses to put her trust in you."

"Do you blame her for that?"

"No. She created her plan to make the ideal inquisitor to solve all her problems. I agree with it. Some of the things she has done to you have been going too far…" Airi explained, "But others…I understand why…why she's doing them."

She sighed. She did her best to smile. "Adrianne…well, she basically means everything to me. You mean more than I do at this point. I was just something to get Adrianne to the point where she is now. But I've spent my whole life helping that girl. I'll see her actions to the end. Leaving now, even though you're here, would just be stupid."

"Do you regret your actions?" Erwine asked.

Airi chuckled. "If I say yes, then I admit to wasting a good twenty years of my life. If I say no…" Her face darkened. Her eyes went away from Erwine's her head tilting down. "Then I might just be lying to myself…"

Erwine shuddered a little. Then Airi seemed to focus. "No. Not lying to myself…I do regret everything I did." She looked Erwine in the eyes. "All of this…it isn't exactly ideal if you haven't noticed. But I know for a fact that I did something good. It's a fact. Adrianne would be dead right now if not for my intervention."

"And I'm like you, I made a promise to that girl." Airi smiled. "I'll see her to the end of her quest. No matter how long it takes, no matter hwo far I have to go." She reached her hand out across the table. "Therefore, I have no choice but to accept that regret…and know that it's a foolish feeling."

Erwine nodded. "You're…you're very brave."

"Not nearly as brave as you are," Airi replied, "You're the bravest person I've ever seen."

"How?" Erwine asked. "I'm scared…all the time, practically, I'm scared."

"Not quite," Airi replied, "You've managed to forgive Adrianne for everything she has done to you. Sure, it might just be foolishness, but I see something in you. Something that tells me you really understand what you're doing."

"Do you really think so?" Erwine asked.

"I won't lie to you, Erwine. You have a lot of potential. There's a hidden courage in you. Think about that courage for a while, try to bring it out." Airi stood up. "I assure you, you just might become that hero you've envisioned."

The girl walked away, Erwine standing up and turning to watch her go. She almost ran after her. Yet she was far too struck by the words the girl said to pursue her. She took a deep breath, remaining where she stood.

Erwine reached upwards. She tugged off the crown on her head, looking at the gem on it. She stared into the silver depths, her eyes lost in the majesty of it.

* * *

The young girl almost stumbled through the halls of the ship. Her fancy, regal clothing did not suit her trance-like walk through the tight spaces. She didn't seem to have much of a direction either, as if she didn't know where she was going.

An outside observer would most likely have been worried. In fact, a lot of the humans she passed by were worried about her well-being. However, they did not ask, as nothing seemed obviously wrong with her, and her soul gem was still pure and bright. And on this ship, the humans had not had the best experiences when dealing with magical girls, so they gave Erwine a wide berth.

The reality of the situation was that Erwine was just deep in thought. Very deep in thought, but still in thought. Her trance-like state was simply because the issue was one that she had come to realize was very important to her well-being.

Her bravery. _Am I brave…am I a fool? _The question plagued Erwine. A struggle that her indeed torn her mind apart ever since Airi told her to think deeply about herself. She knew that it really shouldn't be tearing her apart like this. But Erwine was just telling herself that. Maybe it should be such a massive problem?

Who could really say? Erwine didn't know if Adrianne was back yet. She'd received no telepathic communications from the girl about her return, but it could not be long now.

_Am I really such a brave person? Adrianne…she doesn't scare me, she's just hurt me. So does that mean I'm a fool for trusting her? For forgiving her? So then I'm a fool for being kind and understanding? How can I be understanding yet also foolish? To be a fool means one does not learn, but I try to comprehend, so I am a fool? _

Erwine wasn't particularly sad. She was not at all lost in sorrow or despair. Not even close. As a matter of fact, she found herself rather light and happy. She was merely locked in a struggle to decide what she really was. _Merely…_Erwine thought, _is that all this argument with myself is? _

_I haven't overcome any particular hardship. I've just realized that Adrianne is my best way to get to understand the world. There we go…I want to understand the world. So I can't be a fool, if I just want to learn. But am I brave? Am I stupid, dumb? _

Erwine wondered if she heard a sound coming from behind herself. She tilted her head back, listening for a moment. There was plenty of ambient noise in every place of the ship, but it was not enough for the sound of someone walking to be lost.

Erwine found that she heard nothing besides these ambient noises. She shook her head, figuring that she was just imagining things. Erwine found that she really was lost in thought. The part of the ship she was in was not familiar to her. The corridors were a bit dark, and no one seemed to be around. She looked around, knowing that she could just retrace her steps. A sigh escaped her lips as she turned around, knowing that it would take some time to get back. She was about to reach out with her telepathy, intent on finding Adrianne, when she saw…someone.

It was just a glimpse. Of dark hair. Long dark hair. Flying out behind someone's head. Erwine shouted out in shock. She spun around, running for where the figure was. The hair…Airi had dark hair, but it was too long for Airi. It wasn't a ponytail. Besides, she'd just come out and talk to Erwine.

Erwine reached her right arm out, her sword flashing into existence, mainly driven by fear. The bright flash of the action, gave a bit of light for a few moments. There was nothing there. Erwine held her free hand out, wondering if her magic could somehow generate light. Not _her _particular ability, but just magic in general.

All it took was imagining the action and directing some energy, and a gentle, warm light slowly flickered into existence in the palm of her left hand. The corridor was lit. There was nothing there.

Erwine turned around.

There was nothing there.

Her stomach turned, and Erwine gained a sense of uneasiness, as if something impossible had just happened. The entire place had a strange aura about it now. Erwine looked down the way she had come. She looked back the other way. Still nothing. She looked up. She looked down.

"Reveal yourself!" Erwine shouted, using her magic to amplify the command. If someone or something was there, the command had no effect. Not a single sound besides the echo of the words off the walls.

Erwine hesitated for a moment. She took a deep breath, trying to steel herself, and face whatever was there. Erwine ran down the way she had come. In her mind, she told herself she wasn't scared of whatever was back there. In reality, she truly was.

Long hair like that generally indicated a girl. A girl in a place like this, where Erwine was alone, would mean a magical girl. Another magical girl on the ship would mean that either Adrianne knew and was hiding something, or the more likely option that no one else knew and that they were all in danger.

There was a third option too. That option was that Erwine saw nothing. That a mind, deep in thought, simply saw something that wasn't really there.

Erwine emerged through a bulkhead door into a brighter part of the ship. She heard someone else coming her way. Footsteps, a walking pace. She looked out, seeing Ayelen walking towards her. The girl paused suddenly, seeing first Erwine's greatsword drawn. Next she saw the fear on her face.

"Erwine?" Ayelen asked, approaching slowly, "What happened?"

Erwine went over the possibilities. Those three options. Again and again, right there as Ayelen came towards her. She had to propose one of the three, so she picked the one that made the most sense.

"I think I saw someone back there," Erwine said, "Another girl."

"No one is back there," Ayelen replied. "Adrianne is with Airi at the moment, and they're nowhere near here. Laelia just got back as well, and she's in her room. You're sure it was a magical girl?"

"She hid herself from me," Erwine said, "And she somehow disappeared. Perhaps an invisibility generator or teleporter."

Ayelen nodded. She immediately sent. _Adrianne. Erwine may have seen someone else down here. Another magical girl. I'll go check with her, don't worry about it, Erwine might just be seeing things. _

_Understood. Get an answer as soon as possible. _Ayelen sent an affirmation, before looking at Erwine. "Let's go take a look, Adrianne will be ready to give support if needed. Airi is there, so they can come down instantly if they have to."

"Why don't they come down now?" Erwine asked. "If this is so important? If they're not coming down…then you don't believe me?"

"It's a simple check," Ayelen explained. "They're probably taking about something. I don't want to disrupt them just to go see if you were seeing things or not."

"You really don't believe me?" Erwine asked, a bit stunned.

"Can you give me specifics?" Ayelen asked.

"She had long, dark hair. It was flipping out behind her. I couldn't get a good glimpse of her face. I was turning my head around to look behind me, and by the time I turned around, she was gone." Erwine explained, shaking as she recounted the event.

"That doesn't sound like anyone I know…" Ayelen shrugged, "Not unless the Archtraitor rose from the grave and is on our ship." Her attempt to insert humor failed entirely, as Erwine simply became more scared.

"A joke," she explained, yanking open the door, "Come on, let's go make sure everything's alright." She paused, before looking back at Erwine. "Look, I think that you saw something…but I'm not entirely sure it was as bad as you think. You can't just chalk something like this down to imagination when things like teleportation, invisibility, and time manipulation are possible. We don't want Adrianne and Airi down here if it's something truly dangerous, or it could kill us all in one swoop. This way, if we go dark, then they can know something's bad. If we need help, they'll be here right away. But it's best to not put all our eggs in one basket."

Ayelen started off down the hall, a light in her left palm. Erwine still had the light, but she gripped firmly onto her sword. She was not going to be putting that down anytime soon.

"What were you doing down here anyways?" Ayelen wondered, "I was coming to find you, told Adrianne I'd just like to talk so she's left you alone. Especially after Airi told her you had some things you needed to think about."

"I was thinking…about bravery, I guess. I just had a conversation with Airi about it. I needed to figure some things out about myself." Erwine explained.

"Trying to figure out how brave you are?" Ayelen asked.

"I think this whole scenario answered that question for me," Erwine replied. "Running from something in the dark…"

"Hey, you didn't know what it was. You were running from an unknown entity. Don't feel bad, I would've done the same." Ayelen said, "It's harder to admit that one should retreat than fight a losing battle."

"So you're saying I was brave after all?" she asked.

"I'd argue that," Ayelen nodded. Erwine paused.

"This is the spot where I saw her," she said. She turned around, then pointed to the spot on the floor. "She was standing about there."

Ayelen looked all about. She felt a sense of uneasiness as well. "This doesn't seem good…" she muttered. _Adrianne, there's nothing here, but I'm not liking that. I've a distinct feeling that something was here, but it's entirely gone now. _She opened the channel to Erwine as well, who merely listened.

_I suppose they could have teleported off the ship, teleportation radius is massive given time and magic. She could have gone the hundreds of kilometers down to the planet, even. _Adrianne replied. _I don't think we need to worry. If they had malicious intentions, they could have killed Erwine. _

_That doesn't feel complete, _Ayelen replied, _there has to be more. _

_But we know nothing, and we've nothing to follow up on. Just get Erwine back and make sure she's perfectly fine. _

_Understood. _Ayelen replied. She looked at Erwine. "I suppose we should get back."

"Yeah." Erwine said. She still held her sword in her hand all the way back. Only when she was through the bulkhead was the weapon dissipated into a cloud of particles.

"You really were brave," Ayelen added, "Actually telling me about it, I'm sure you must have thought it was just a hallucination."

"I did," Erwine admitted, "But I…I told because I was scared."

"No one can be perfect, Erwine." Ayelen added in. "I'm certainly not perfect. I can act happy, have fun, but in the end there's something else going on with me."

"What was that?" Erwine asked.

"Supposedly it was induced by trauma. However, I happen to know a thing or two about trauma, and it doesn't turn people into psychopathic killers at the drop of a hat." Ayelen explained. "So I think there's something else at work…but I can't know for certain."

"Laelia must be hiding it from you," Erwine said, "She seems to know things about you."

"If she's hiding something, it's for a good reason," Ayelen countered. "I trust her. She trusts me. If there was a way to end this…without destroying me entirely…I think that she'd have done that already. Besides, what reason would she have to keep me in pain?"

"I guess there's no point…" Erwine said.

"Yeah. I handle it. Maybe it'll get better eventually. It certainly can't be around forever…" Ayelen chuckled, "Although I guess memories do last forever."

"Why did you talk to her about that?" Adrianne's eyes were not exactly conveying happy emotions. The incident with whatever Erwine had seen was done, but Airi was now the one cowering in fear.

"I was merely intending to-"

"Disrupt her development? Ruin everything I've been working towards? That girl is a very, very fragile thing. You put too much on her, she falls apart. But if you don't give her enough support, she'll also fall apart. You support her too much, and she forgets how to stand up." Adrianne walked across the room, narrowed eyes glaring into Airi's.

Airi explained frantically. "Adrianne…I'm sorry. I don't think it negatively impacted Erwine in any way. In fact, I'd say it helped her. You wanted a brave person, right? That's what I was trying to do."

Adrianne paused. She was thinking for a few moments. She remembered something. That talk…that talk with Estelle. IT had barely been an hour since that. "Please, ask me if you're going to say those kinds of things again." She said. She was calmer now.

"Erwine approached me first, I didn't initiate-but wait, I get that I still continued in the way I did, and I'm sorry for that." Airi said. She gently approached Adrianne, reaching her hands out in a calming manner.

"I know…" Adrianne said. "I'm the one who should be apologizing." The past ten minutes had been ones of anger for Adrianne. Directed at Airi, ever since the girl described what she had done with Erwine.

"Adrianne? What's wrong?" Airi asked, "Why aren't you mad at me?"

Adrianne sighed. She looked down at the ground. "Because…because Estelle made me realize some things...much as I hate to admit that the girl ever did anything right. She just might have right now."

Airi stepped closer to Adrianne. She wrapped her arms around the girl, gently pulling her in close. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah…" Adrianne whispered, "I'm fine." She replied to Airi's embrace by hugging her back. She looked up into the girl's eyes.

"Airi…you forgive me, right? For all the things I've done?" Adrianne wondered. _Please say no, please say no. _Adrianne thought.

"I forgive you," Airi said. Adrianne saw it was the truth. "Because I know that you really do seek revenge. You've left a path of destruction, and as a result despise yourself for it. Adrianne…it'll all be okay in the end."

"Sure…" the inquisitor muttered, "Sure it will be…"

"Don't deny it," Airi ordered, "I know you hate this…hate me and Erwine…the fact that we can forgive you, while Ayelen and Laelia can't necessarily. You hate us, blame us for forgiving such a terrible person." She smiled.

"Adrianne…you've been the one thing that's made me enjoy my life for the past twenty years…" she explained, "Now don't make start questioning all of that now. I hope Estelle made you realize that you can be redeemed. I think you can."

Adrianne nodded. "That's why you can forgive me?"

"Of course. The things you were doing to Erwine…they've had a positive effect so far. She's been hurt, and she'll be perhaps scarred for a little while, but she'll be better for it in the end." Airi explained. "So yes, I can forgive you."

"Sorry," Adrianne whispered, "Sorry for dragging you into this whole mess. Out of all of them, you were the one with the most potential to live a happy life without me."

"Not at all," Airi countered. "You didn't drag me." She whispered softly. "I came of my own accord, and you know that."

Adrianne smiled a little. "And here we have Erwine. She's come along with you, even though you have her a chance to get out."

"You have the two of us," Airi said, "Don't hate us for forgiving you. Find hope in that fact, and search for a chance to do something right."

Erwine once again found herself staring out the windows of a shuttle craft. It was not the one that Adrianne preferred, but it was still a useful little ship. Erwine scanned her eyes out the windows, a bit different from the previous small little ship she'd flown around in. It was a different class after all. _I got used to that specific shape so quickly? _Erwine thought, _I fall into habits better than I thought. _

It was true, and she supposed that some additional evidence was in the form of how she had a tendency to stare out a window and be amazed at what she saw. However, she also realized that she also had a reason to be amazed at whatever she was seeing, as it was always a new experience for her, even though it was boring and stale to even Ayelen.

This time, she was observing the ground the shuttle was currently flying over. Although Hadiens Prime was primarily a hive world, it also sported some forested regions out in the mountainous regions of the planet. One day, those mountains and forests may be gone, torn down and built over by the unstoppable will of humanity, but for now, they were safe.

And this wilderness harbored the retreats of many an important or powerful individual. Due to its proximity to the capital and secluded nature, many inquisitors, especially the sect lords, maintained mansions out in these woods and mountains.

One of these mansions as owned by an Askateal Ethen. Erwine was not entirely sure why she was being targeted by Adrianne, but she knew better than to question the reasons of her master. She learned that no matter what, they were valid.

So she put her mind off of that subject and kept looking down at the woods. She had never really seen so many trees in one place before, only seeing a few scattered ones throughout the waste of her planet, which were practically sticks compared to the masses of leaves she now saw.

In some places, the ground was completely obscured by the canopy, but in other places, Erwine could see the strange sight of a green ground. She actually had to ask the others if that was something she had read about. The term had been used in some books she had read. Supposedly the green covering on the ground was made up of small plants, called grass.

It amazed Erwine that something like this could actually exist. This had brought out laughs from everyone else, but they were humorous, not harmful. Erwine just kept staring out the window, so interested so that she had actually turned herself around, and sat backwards in her chair so she could get a better view of the outside world.

Unfortunately, she was interrupted by the emergence of Adrianne from the cockpit, where she had been sitting alone for a few minutes now. Erwine turned around at the inquisitor's emergence, knowing she would only come out if it was important.

Everyone else also focused their attention on Adrianne, who sat down near the door she had come out of. Erwine suddenly frowned, as she realized that no one was in the cockpit. "Who's flying this?" she asked hesitantly, afraid that there was an obvious answer she was missing, as no one else seemed concerned in the slightest that the pilot of the aircraft was no longer in the cockpit.

"The automatic pilot system," Adrianne said, "It's a cogitator program which flies the shuttle for us, so no one has to fly it personally. It takes data you input, such as flight patterns, others things in the air, weather patterns, the destination, and so on, and then computes a path which adheres to the parameters given."

Erwine did not entirely understand how such machines worked, so she could only nod and accept this explanation, assuming that it was correct. "Anyways," Adrianne said, "I'm sure you are all wondering why we are going to the mansion of Ms. Askateal Ethen."

"The reason is that she died in the Marcostas Sector several years ago, and never operated in the Hadiens Sector before that point, according to the official records. Multiple shipments of an amasec company have been approved by this girl. The company is small, practically unknown. But she has a taste for it, apparently."

"The evidence is there, but unfortunately it does require some interpretation. It is highly possible that the girl owned a mansion in this sector prior to her death, or it is possible that there was an error with the records," Adrianne sighed, "However, we have no other lead, and everything points to this girl being the single link to the operation. We have to take a risk, and while I would prefer we did not have to, sometimes we must trust that the most likely answer is the correct one."

"But you don't really know for sure, do you?" Airi asked, "Can you say for certain that Askateal switched sides?"

"No, I cannot," Adrianne said, "But it is highly unlikely that a girl supposedly dies, as she went down with all hands on a ship she was on. It was attacked by a Chaos raider vessel, there is no way she could have escaped. Unless that ship's loss was misreported in some way, or never happened, a mistake which is unexpected of even the Administratum, that girl died there three years ago, and should not be here."

"However, if we are wrong," Airi said, leaning in towards Adrianne, "Than we are assaulting another inquisitor directly,"

"Yes," Adrianne said, leaning back in her chair as she sighed a little "I do not intend to heed the warnings of any signals we get from the estate,"

"Then there is no reason for us to be doing this, other than evidence which can be fought by someone like Estelle," Airi said, and then shook her head, "If we mess this one up, then it's all over,"

"I know," Adrianne said, "I am completely aware of the consequences that we will all suffer if I made an incorrect decision. I will most likely be jailed, and you all will be under suspicion."

"So why is Erwine here?" Airi asked, "If this is so dangerous?"

"Because I am correct," Adrianne said, "I know that for a fact. I cannot prove to you that I am correct, the evidence does not say I am correct, not certainly, but I know that I am."

Airi said nothing. She seemed doubtful, but she had enough faith to trust Adrianne when she spoke like that. Adrianne sighed, "I also wrote in the records that we will be out of the system in twenty-four hours, which I highly doubt at this point."

"Seriously?!" Airi shouted, "You may be correct about Askateal, but you just lied on an official report, which Estelle will pounce on. You may end up in jail for something like this."

"Estelle has taken care of it," Adrianne explained, "Besides, there's no reason to let our enemies know exactly what we want. If they do have an inquisitor on their side, then writing down our true destination and plan would be idiotic. She could easily check the records and know our entire plan."

"Estelle is taking care of it?!" Airi shouted, standing up suddenly, "What do you mean by that?!"

"She has agreed to inform the sect council and records office that we were held here by unexpected circumstances, out of our control," Adrianne explained, gritting her teeth as she realize she had made a poor choice bringing this up.

"You trust her to do that?" Airi asked, taking a step towards Adrianne.

Adrianne paused before she spoke again, shutting her mouth as she opened it when she realized what she had done. "Estelle may be closer to you than it may seem, but she is not your best friend by any means. I highly doubt she's going to drop this opportunity to get us."

"Unless what we find at this estate leads us off-planet, then I will have lied," Adrianne said, "I doubt it will lead us away from Hadiens prime for the moment, which means that Estelle will take the chance."

"This better pay-off," Airi explained, "Because as far as the Hadiens Sect knows, Askateal Ethen is a loyal servant. We are attacking her estate, so unless we can immediately obtain cold, hard evidence that supports your conclusions, than we are in big trouble."

"I had Victoria call the Marcostas Sector for her records from that sector, but they won't arrive for another few hours," Adrianne said, "And what I have found so far does little to support anything we're about to do,"

"So we get in, and then get it out before we can be caught by the authorities, and we hope that we can explain ourselves to them and Estelle once things have calmed down," Airi guessed.

Adrianne nodded, "That is the plan." Her legs straightened out, she stood. She took a deep breath, looking at the eyes of everyone there. "This is perhaps the closest we have ever come to Ishna. I know something's off, and she's…" Her mind flashed back to all that Estelle said the night before. For a moment, there was regret.

Steeling herself, "She might be luring us in to kill us, but we can't know unless we try. This…this is going to be a real battle…I don't blame anyone of you if you don't want to do this." No one took that comment at face value. All could tell, from the tone in which it was delivered, and especially the way her eyes kept lingering on Erwine for just a bit too long.

So it was fitting that everyone but Erwine was quiet until the girl was ready to reply. Erwine was uneasy. She looked around, having realized that her reply was needed, but not entirely ready to make the choice. Her stuttering breaths became the main source of noise in the small space.

Shakily, Erwine got to her feet. Her eyes, they looked from right to left. She was uneasy, tense. Her weight shifted from foot to foot as each one raised off the ground irregularly. She took a deep breath. She thought of all that she had done. Almost every moment of importance had been burned into her mind.

Erwine knew without a doubt that this was of extreme importance to Adrianne. Erwine had sworn to help Adrianne. She wasn't going to back down on that promise. Not now. Not ever. She remembered all that Airi and Ayelen said to her. She really did believe that she was brave.

The words were faint at first, barely more than a slight whisper. "I-I-I…" Erwine shut her eyes, and concentrated. "I'll fight." She declared, more sure of the words than many other things in her life. Besides, she'd already killed. There was no point in denying her duty any longer.

Adrianne was ashamed to be proud of the girl for making such a decision. _Barely fourteen, yet she's already with such resolve. _But at the same time, Adrianne was pleased. Even proud. Of both herself and Erwine.

The inquisitor smiled. "Then prepare yourself, we are close by." She looked over Erwine, thinking to only herself. _She's still very young. She's at full magic at the moment…but if things go bad…she won't be able to do much. Certainly her will, desire, and hope will give her everything she needs to win this…but at the same time…_Adrianne shook her head, letting go of her anxious thoughts, _I'll just keep an eye on her._

* * *

Based on the recommendation of Inquisitor Adrianne Azure, Maximillian Bolton is found not guilty of the charges of heresy presented against him. Inquisitor Azure's investigation found that while the man's ship was indeed attacked by a Chaos vessel, he is free of taint, and was not responsible for any actions that destroyed his ship.

His Rogue Trader license shall not be revoked, and he shall be immediately released from Inquisitorial custody. This concludes this court's proceedings.

-Record from the Trial of Maximillian Bolton, circa M41.015

Rogue traders are indeed a growing problem. Too often are they getting involved in affairs they should not be. Their letters of marque are the issue, as they give them almost full immunity, unless a direct, major crime can be fully proven. They're also good at running, with all the contacts they have.

Therefore, I advise the creation of a special group. Perhaps an entirely new Ordo, perhaps just a general committee. However, something that monitors rogue traders and regulates their operations is absolutely necessary to ensure the safety and security of the Imperium.

They'll merely monitor them, not necessarily serve as a police force. They won't be breaking the agreements made either, as they won't move in directly. Instead, they'll exist as a steady monitoring force. So long as a rogue trader operates, no matter where they are, they'll have to remember that they are being watched, and if they do something they really shouldn't, they will be shut down.

-Speech made at the Galactic Inquisitorial Council, circa M34.


	19. Realizations Amidst Questions

Fighting a magical girl is the hardest thing you will ever have to face. You've heard of Orks, perhaps the Eldar, maybe even the Tau, and considered things even worse than that. But a magical girl is different than all of those things. They may look cute and pretty, but they are far deadlier than you will ever be. A single one of them, maybe even one still in her teens, could kill you easily.

You might shoot her a hundred times, but she'll keep coming at you. They do not feel pain, not like you and I do. They are smaller than you, but they are stronger than you. A couple punches to your head and you'll find your brains spilling out. They could accidently break your arm if they squeeze too hard.

The only way to kill them is to destroy their gems. Find that, destroy it, and they are instantly gone. However, good luck doing it when they're flipping through the air at you. They have many different powers, they all have some kind of weapon. This weapon will not yield to any armor you'll have. It will pierce it, and you will be wounded.

The most important thing to remember is that there will hopefully be more of you than them. And that lasgun in your hands, at full output, can fire hundreds of beams in a matter of seconds. Hold your ground, and fire. Remember their maneuverability, and try not to get hit by them.

Hopefully, you never have to fight one. If you do, then try your best, and pray that one of our own will be right behind you.

-Speech given at an Imperial Army training camp.

* * *

She walked into the cockpit, and Erwine followed close behind, wondering what she was planning. Erwine glanced out the front window, and saw a rise in the distance, and above it the color of grey. "That's our destination," Adrianne said, as she started to input a new flight plan into the autopilot.

Laelia, Ayelen, and Airi were all standing behind Adrianne just outside the cockpit. Adrianne had shut off the radio, but she knew that the warnings from the automated systems to stop the approach were already coming in.

"They have to know we have a teleporter, and a shield generator, so if they don't see a shield, then clearly we teleported away and left the shuttle as bait," Adrianne said, "But we're staying in here,"

"Why don't you pilot it, then?" Erwine asked.

"That would make it obvious that the shuttle is occupied," the inquisitor replied, "We have to stay in the back. Airi and Laelia can get us out of trouble if it arises, but when the shuttle reaches a couple kilometers away, then Laelia brings her shield up, and I fly us in for the final approach."

It was an ambitious tactic, but Adrianne had to hope it would pay off. She had no way to know how many enemies they would encounter, so she had to go for high-risk, high-reward tactics, rather than playing it safe and slow. Especially because the Arbites and the rest of the Inquisitor would be called in once the attack started for real.

If they were not in and out fast and effectively, then they were all in serious trouble. Adrianne stood up, and Erwine saw flashes of light from the rise as they approached. "That's them firing at us, right?" she asked.

"Yes, long-range missiles are being released right now," Adrianne said, knowing that inquisitors took their security very seriously.

"Get in the back," she ordered, and everyone hurried back to their seats and strapped in. Adrianne sat down next to Erwine, and got close to the girl. "Remember," she said, "You are fighting heretics who have betrayed the Goddess. Do not give them any mercy, as they shall not give you any."

"This is the purpose I did all this for, Erwine." Adrianne said. "We magical girls…almost like we're always stuck in a state of acting like a scared little girl half the time, or at least it affects us far too often."

"You…you're the bravest person I have seen at your age. Maybe my actions have paid off after all…"

Erwine still worried, and her body started to tremble, before Adrianne wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Not for your fear," she explained, "Just wait." A couple seconds later the shuttle banked sharply to the right before shooting upwards. The compartment swerved around wildly as the shuttle weaved form left to right, and up and down.

"We're just evading the missiles," Adrianne explained, "There's nothing to worry about." Erwine thought that there was something to worry about, but Adrianne did not seem too concerned, and the rest of the compartment did not seem worried. In fact, Ayelen seemed to be enjoying the bumpy ride they were now all on.

Laelia was bored, her eyes closed as if she had experienced this before. Erwine did recall that the girl was from a battle cruiser, so it was easy to imagine how she had experienced worse things than this. Airi was a bit relaxed, not very concerned about anything, but still throwing little glances at Adrianne that said how highly she thought of Adrianne's little plan.

Erwine started to breathe quickly as the shuttle continued to swerve around in the air, and loud bangs were heard outside. "Flares," Adrianne explained, "To distract the targeting systems of the missiles,"

The fact that such things were needed only scared Erwine. "Don't worry," Adrianne said, "We can easily escape if we are hit, which is highly unlikely. There's about a minute of two left until I have to take control again, but we're only ten kilometers away."

The shuttle had to slow down immensely to be able to turn and weave as it was at the moment, especially when it had entered the range of the ballistic weapons, and the larger swarms of short-range missiles. Volleys of lascannon and ballistic fire rose from the wall around the mansion to trace the path of the craft, struggling to hit the fast object.

Several glancing hits were scored, but none were enough to totally stop the shuttle from continuing its approach. The missiles were beginning to be too much, and the remaining flares were expended quickly. Only a minute remained before the shuttle would be absolutely wiped out.

However, most of the defenders were not looking to the skies. They looked at the forests around the small foothill, trying to locate the magical girls that had to be quickly moving through it. Even some of the cannons and missiles platforms were aimed downwards, and a few experimental shots were sent into the forest, as there was surely no reason for the magical girls to remain in danger on the shuttle.

Suddenly, Adrianne stood up and jumped for the cockpit. The door was left open, and a pair of daggers she threw pulled her close via the chains attached. She strapped herself into the pilot seat. "Shield up!" she called, as she straightened out the shuttle, and aimed it directly towards the compound they were approaching.

Laelia projected the bubble of her shield around the shuttle, forming it into a ovaloid shape that covered the long craft. A series of booms were heard as weapons fire started to slam into the protective bubble. Adrianne throttled the engines to maximum power, and the speed of the craft increased greatly. "Everyone up!" she ordered.

Erwine carefully unstrapped herself, but ended up being yanked out of chair by Airi, who dragged her close to the cockpit door before she stood right next to Adrianne. Erwine could see the mansion was getting increasingly closer, and that Adrianne had aimed the shuttle's nose down towards the ground. She hit the autopilot on, before she stood up.

"Weapons," she ordered, daggers appearing in her hands. Airi summoned her bow, Laelia her machine guns, Ayelen a pair of javelins, and Erwine reluctantly called out her blade.

Before Adrianne could reply, the inquisitor nodded, and the five girls were in a different place. The shuttle was above them and to the left, and behind them was now the wall of the compound. Erwine turned her head to see the shuttle smash through the top of the wall before it careened into the ground.

Damage had caused it to light aflame, and it flipped end over end towards the mansion, the flaming wreckage crushing everything in its path. Adrianne had managed to angle the craft exactly so that the nose of the plane would impact in the proper position to cause it to tumble forwards.

It wrecked the landing pad which had once been there before it hit the mansion structure itself. Explosions erupted from the wreck as the fuel tank caught ablaze, as well as the munitions Adrianne had ordered stored on the craft before leaving.

The ensuing explosion wiped out a third of the mansion, leaving that part in ruins. The rest was still standing strong, and the elaborately constructed building was not going to fall so easily. Laelia's shield was still up, which was good, as the grounds around the building were bustling with guards, their lasguns firing wildly at the group of girls.

Erwine stared at the men, her body refusing to move for a brief second, as she considered the implications of what she was about to do. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. _You'll be a hero…_those words still echoed in her head. _I'm brave, _she kept telling herself that.

After a second, she actually believed it. She'd killed before. She'd sworn to help Adrianne to the end. She understood why this all had to happen.

This odd world…it was starting to make sense now.

She raised her massive sword in front of her, "Nada," she whispered, "I won't let you down." When her eyes opened, Erwine Braune was truly a magical girl.

The other four girls, even Adrianne were completely surprised. The inquisitor had expected many things from Erwine during this battle…but not this. As the young girl ran past them all, out of the shield and towards the enemy, not a single bit of fear was on her face.

Erwine leapt forwards, her magic helping her leap as her arms moved behind her and brought her sword horizontally across her body. The world went into slow motion as blood spurted into the air. A man was cut in half. Bisected by the other four around him stepped back instantly, their guns all focusing on Erwine.

Her sword being on the left side of her body, Erwine sidestepped to the left, and swung across once again. Another man was bisected at the waist. The tip was pointing forwards now, and Erwine lunged, impaling a guard's stomach.

She then turned her head to the right, and then her feet shifted to turn her body that direction as well. Both men had dropped their weapons. Their backs were turned to her. They understood what they were up against.

Erwine frowned as she felt herself jumping forwards. Her arms were swinging her zweihander into their backs, only the tip catching them. Their spinal cords were severed, and they fell forwards unable to move.

They moaned in pain on the ground, begging for release. Erwine gave them that release. When it was done, she noticed the blood on her blade. She noticed the blood on herself. Not a single drop of it was her own blood.

One might think that Erwine was not feeling any fear. Erwine would deny that person. She was more scared than she had ever been before, but that fear honed her skill, increased her focus. She did not feel afraid. She felt alive.

It was a truly terrifying kind of alive. Her body rushed with energy, and she felt more aware than ever before. Yet the horrific realization that she was killing with ease was at the forefront of her mind.

With wide eyes, fear in her heart, and a trembling body, Erwine continued her battle. The others had joined the battle, but Erwine now found fire coming at her from another group of soldiers. More had spilled out of the mansion, and the ones on the wall were firing down at her. Erwine saw the volleys of lasbolts coming at her, ready to punch her full of holes.

She shifted to the side, untouched by the bolts. Instead, the ruby beams scorched the grass she had just stomped on. Erwine was running to the wall, lasguns still tracking her. It was about three meters high, which was more than enough to stop an external threat when combined with the steep hill it was on.

Erwine made it to the top with a single leap. An overhead swing of her sword cleaved a soldier's head, easily splitting the armor designed to stop gunshots. Erwine used the sword in the man's skull as leverage to pull herself onto the wall. She crouched down as she landed, before leaping up, wielding her sword with only her right hand.

She flipped in midair as she trailed her sword behind herself. The six foot blade cut a man down the middle as she spun in the air. She landed into another crouch, before she aimed the sword straight forwards, the tip facing the two men in front of her. They were about two meters away.

A human attacker would have been hard-pressed to reach them in time before being cut down. Even Erwine would have suffered some wounds. "Stop!" she shouted, remembering what her magic was. A second later, both men were impaled on her sword, their faces, hidden by their helmets, expressing shock as an unknown force compelled their fingers to move just a bit slower as they went to pull the trigger.

Erwine froze for a second, seeing the men writhe in pain as they struggled to remain alive. Lasbolts from farther down the wall ripped into the backs of the men, as the soldiers frantically fired. They seemed entirely untrained. It was if they'd never seen a magical girl in their lives.

Erwine stepped back, drawing her blade out of the two bodies, both falling to the ground. Then she realized the other guns firing at her. She leapt into the air.

In the air, a storm of ruby bolts sought to strike her down, but an elaborate spin and a flourish of her blade dodged or deflected all of them. Erwine rolled as she landed, swinging her blade out in a wide arc. Several were cut down. Only one remained. He threw his weapon away, and started running scared. Erwine frowned. It really was as if he was a total rookie.

She heard screams coming from within the covering helmet. She just didn't get it. Her blade, red with blood, was raised. She tried to force herself to move forwards, to chase down that one who was running away.

His organs were released from his body in a storm of red as gunfire from afar ripped him in two. Erwine recognized the sound and effect as being Laelia's.

She didn't hate the girl for that. The man had to have known what he was doing. Rather, she felt conflicted. _Should I…feel happy? Or should I feel sad? _She knew which one was the right thing to do, but she also knew which one was the thing she wanted to. The two were different.

Erwine leapt down to the ground. There were a couple small groups of retreating men and women. Haphazard fire emerged from them, but they were far too panicked to even come close to striking their targets. Erwine shut her eyes, shuddering as she heard them die.

Still, she was a magical girl. In the Inquisition. She had made a contract. She had been granted a wish. _And look at me now…I wanted control over my life. I have it. I am in control. _Her grip tightened on her sword, perhaps feeling a bit sad. Yet determination easily overpowered that.

She was a magical girl, after all.

She then looked up at the smoking ruins of this side of the mansion. The wreck of the shuttle was to her right, but further access into the mansion could be gained by simply moving forwards. That is what Erwine did. The will of the defenders was completely broken. They could fight no longer.

Those that had managed to live had run into the mansion. Possibly more were inside, but it did not matter. Only the magical girl defenders actually mattered.

Step by step, Erwine walked towards a corridor, the end of which was annihilated by the shuttle crash. Her blade was stained deep red with the blood of the fallen, and her clothes were dripping blood in some places. She looked at that with disdain. She would have wiped it off, were it not for the fact that it would dirty her own hands.

A figure was walking down the hallway. From the size and gait, it was another girl. A young girl. A magical girl. Erwine kept her same pace as the enemy approached her. The enemy paused when Erwine was about five meters away. She tried to open her mouth to say something. Erwine anticipated this, "Shut up!" she ordered.

She leapt forwards, her sword trailing behind her. She swung when she entered range, the last two feet of her blade clipping through the wall and dragging out a cloud of dust as it swung. The traitor seemed a bit surprised as she found her jaw closing, but she had the sense to summon her weapon. It seemed the other girl was not expecting Erwine's particular brand of magic. It seemed that everyone they encountered here was mysteriously uninformed and unprepared.

It was a mace. It was not large, but it was heavy enough to take Erwine's swing. The traitor actually slid backwards a meter, such was the power held within her opponent, but she had her own magic to use. Lightning shot out from the mace and curled around Erwine. It did not touch her, instead rebounding down the hall.

Erwine was still pushing hard as she clashed weapons with her opponent. However, unexpectedly, the coalesced at the end of the corridor and shot back towards her. Erwine grunted as she was struck in the back by multiple bolts of lightning. The energy from the blasts pushed her forwards, but she was off-balance and easily pushed onto her back by the traitor.

Erwine hit the wooden floor with her singed back as the traitor jumped forwards with an overhead swing to capitalize on her success.

"Miss!" Erwine ordered, grinning as she brought her zweihander across her body. She wielded it in her right hand alone, but her left hand grabbed onto the hilt as it came across her body. The traitor was not entirely controlled by Erwine, but she was affected, and her blow was off center, meaning that Erwine could strike.

A second before she was hit, she rolled onto her left side and swung the zweihander upwards. The traitor barely had time to adjust her fall and block before she was hit. The power of Erwine's blade knocked her into the wall, and she barely avoided injury.

However, being locked against the wall put her in the perfect position to kick down. Her foot became electrified as she struck downwards, and Erwine's body went limp as lightning coursed through it. The traitor kicked off the wall and rolled forwards onto the ground.

As she went down, she let her mace trail out behind her. The metal head took Erwine in the stomach and rolled her onto her back. The traitor stood up and spun quickly before raising her weapon with an intention to bring it down on Erwine's head.

Erwine had the time to roll onto her right side and swing horizontally towards her opponent's feet. The traitor hopped over the blow, and then magically pushed her torso downwards to swing down towards Erwine's head. Erwine kept rolling till she hit wall, and the traitor hit the ground.

But as Erwine tried to get to her feet, the traitor used the fact that the head of her mace was in the ground and Erwine was behind her to pull her legs, still in the air, in and kick outwards. Once again electrified, they once again made contact with Erwine. She blocked the blow with her blade.

Electricity still burned her, and she gritted her teeth to stop any kind of scream from escaping her lips. The traitor kicked off Erwine and rolled onto the ground, her body hitting the wall as she moved forwards. But Erwine was knocked out for a couple seconds by the traitor, who was spinning around swinging her mace towards Erwine's head.

Six knives then shot past her arms as they came in front of her. The knives then curved around, the chains they were attached to pulling tight around the heretic's arms as the knives shot back around to wrap the traitor's arms.

Adrianne stood at the end of the corridor. "You're good," she said, "But no one is going to hurt Erwine." Her words were clearly final. Erwine's shot open to see the traitor struggling in the grasp of Adrianne's chains. The traitor, however, conducted her lighting back down the metal towards Adrianne.

The inquisitor saw this coming, and had dropped the chains. Erwine was effectively incapacitated on the ground. The wounds finally caught up to her, and she found her singed body and disrupted nerve functions unable to move. She tried to use her magic to force herself, but there was only so much she could do.

The enemy girl crouched down over another set of daggers, swinging her weapon down at Erwine's head, ready to crush Erwine's soul gem. Then Adrianne leapt down the hall, twisting in the air to release a huge storm of daggers.

It was too many to block, even as the girl projected lightning out from her mace. The chains wrapped around the girl as multiple daggers plunged into her body. The soul gem on her right forearm was unharmed, but from what Erwine could see, it seemed intentional.

Adrianne kicked out as she came close, sending the girl flying back down the hallway. Erwine watched the inquisitor jam the sharp heel of her boot into the girl's chest. There was a loud crack as the long heel pierced through the bone and then a softer squish as it tore through the heart. Then the ball of the foot impacted and sent the girl back.

Adrianne touched down right next to her protégé, and nodded to the young one, "Good job," she said. She knelt down for a few moments, restoring Erwine's body from the wounds it had taken. The inquisitor then walked on. Erwine quickly stood up as Adrianne walked towards the traitor.

She moved ahead of the girl, worried that the enemy might be back up. However, the girl seemed quite dead. Her soul gem was still in decent shape, though. Erwine felt a bit bad, having lost to the girl. It was just shame.

The shame didn't compare to the fear she'd felt in the moment before Adrianne arrived. The lingering terror threatened to drive her wild even now. "Sorry," Erwine said quietly, as the inquisitor knelt beside the girl, reaching into her pocket. She summoned a dagger, ready to plunge it into the girl's soul gem.

"It's alright," Adrianne said, her hand freezing up. "She was older than you, and it was your first time fighting a magical girl. I admire the fact you were able to hold out for as long as you did."

"You're going to kill her?" Erwine asked.

"Do you want me to?" Erwine looked down at the girl's face. The look on her had been one of shock. At Adrianne's intervention, of course, but there was something else there.

"You have to, right?"

"No. There are other ways to handle things like this. She's obviously rather young. Can't have contracted more than a year ago. Which means that her betrayal was most likely an outside influence." Adrianne thought of that girl back on Siothea. Was it the same story as here?

"Then what about the girl…the girl back on Siothea?" Erwine asked, trembling in fright. "She was so young too…"

"No." Adrianne said. "Ones this young, they tend to regret their actions to an extent. She didn't even attempt to get out of it. She was most likely a deep cover agent, probably in her thirties. Modifying her 'parent's' memories wouldn't have been hard for a good telepath."

"This one…" Adrianne dropped the dagger. She reached out for the soul gem. Her other hand took a small black box out of her pocket. It was like a grief cube container. Placing the gem inside, Adrianne replaced the box as it was shut. "A small anti-magic field," Adrianne explained, "Hinders the gem from regenerating the body once the hundred-meter radius is breached. However, it can still regenerate and control within that radius." So she lifted her foot up, stomping the head of the girl into a bloody mess.

"I'll hand her over to the sect here once things are done. There's a chance she hasn't done anything, and her original personality will be spared. If not, then it won't be too hard to reprogram her mind. Really hard to do the older and more determined one gets. Older traitors are hopeless, their soul is powerful enough to overwrite any external rewriting of the mind, so only younger ones have this chance."

"Chance?" Erwine wondered. "But they won't exist anymore?"

"A similar personality will exist, but the basic ideas of the traitorous one before will be gone." Adrianne explained.

Erwine shuddered a little at the thought, but at least held out hope that the girl could be saved. "Let's move on." Adrianne said.

Erwine looked at the sides of the corridor seeing that there were many rooms off to the side. Some were small, some were large. Some had one entrance, others led into other rooms. They didn't explore at all. Erwine followed Adrianne, and she seemed to have a goal.

The inquisitor stopped, leaning her head back. She turned it towards one of the doors to the side. "Keep moving, someone's inside." Erwine did as she was told, Adrianne leaping into the small room, bursting right through the door.

Ahead of her was a large entrance hall. It was likely that the intended use of the hall was as an entrance hall for the main entrance in the front, and that this hallway could not even be accessed from any other exterior entrance. But the crash of the shuttle had changed that, so Erwine marched forwards into the rather grand hall.

She stood in front of the main door, looking at the way forwards which led further into the ground floor, and then the two staircases which turned to lead up to the same second floor platform.

There was a figure walking down one of the staircases. _Nada _was raised as the figure tensed. She opened her mouth, "I am Askateal Ethen," she said, "Are you Adrianne Azure?"

"My name is Erwine Braune," Erwine replied, looking over the traitor, "And I know who you are, heretic,"

"I am no heretic," Askateal said, holding up a finger. She was wearing her magical girl uniform, consisting of black leggings under a blue skirt. A red coat had a white tie running down over it from her neck, and a similarly red capelet was draped over her shoulders down to her elbows. Her arms were covered by the sleeves of the coat and her hands were left exposed. Red boots covered her feet. Everything that was red had small blue lines scattered throughout the ninety-percent red clothing. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail.

In her right hand was a long gun. It did not look like a lasgun, nor any other modern gun. It looked to be a plastic-like material, and Erwine thought that it looked like an olden ballistic assault rifle.

It looked very archaic. It even looked a bit fragile. Erwine figured she could easily break the thing over her knee. _Then again, I can break a lot of things over my knee. _The gun was held by the trigger guard, but no finger was on the trigger, and the gun was pointed downwards.

Erwine waited, knowing that she may want to listen to this girl. She looked exactly like the Askateal Ethen that Adrianne had described to them all earlier. It was no fake. It was the exact person.

Erwine paused. Askateal smiled. Erwine was still on a sort of high from the battle, so she was cautious as Askateal stepped off the staircase and down towards her.

She was smiling brightly as she walked towards Erwine, but the young girl got the impression of a hunter stalking her prey. Which was why her blade raced to impale the girl's gut. Erwine acted on her instincts, but a shout stopped her. "No! Erwine!" it was Adrianne, leaping into the hall.

The inquisitor ran into the room, which was brightly-lit by the sunlight that streamed in through the large windows around the door. "Askateal?!" she cried upon seeing the girl and realizing that she did not see someone trying to pass herself off as the inquisitor.

"Yes?" Askateal asked. Then she truly looked over the new arrival. Her face brightened a little. A cheerful tune chirped. "Adrianne!"

Adrianne nodded, but as Askateal stepped towards her, Adrianne put a knife to her throat. "You faked your death, then?" she asked, as the edge of her knife was close to the soul gem that was located in the knot of the girl's white tie.

The inquisitor mocked Askateal's tone as she asked, "To switch sides, I assume?"

The traitor gritted her teeth, "I did this to get undercover. I was trying to find the source of the large operation that had been set up. Faking my death and pretending to switch sides was my only option." She sounded desperate, like a loyal servant who realized that she was in too deep. "If you've a telepath, you could read my mind."

"Then you will have no problem giving me all your information?" Adrianne asked. The inquisitor had reason to distrust Askateal, but she also knew the girl personally. This person was exactly like Askateal Ethen. It was not even a magical girl who had transformed her body to look like Askateal. It was the real thing. And even if she was lying, Adrianne knew that she would know.

Everything was spoken in the most sincere tone Adrianne could imagine. There was previous evidence to doubt Askateal's actions, but if she could point her straight to Ishna, then Adrianne was going to take the was a good chance that Ishna had even visited this planet directly.

"Follow me," Askateal said, "To the basement, that's where the underground bunker is accessible. Ishna was here last week. I can point you straight to her, and tell you everything she is planning."

Adrianne nodded, before she turned to Erwine, "Clean up the mansion, come down when you are done,"

_You are not concerned? _Erwine privately asked Adrianne.

_I am concerned, _the inquisitor countered, _but there is too much at stake here. If Askateal really is lying, then I kill her and get out. If she isn't, then we win. Her story makes sense, and she's offering far too much for this to not be planned out. _

Erwine nodded, but she was still suspicious, _let me follow behind you, at least, _she begged.

Adrianne sighed, then nodded, _close behind, do not let Askateal know. She may be trying to keep this secret so she can maintain her cover after this attack. _

Erwine nodded, before her inquisitor walked off with Askateal. The two went deeper into the mansion through the door Erwine had seen earlier, and after a couple seconds, Erwine followed them through that door.

She was thinking about everything Askateal had said and done, trying to find some kind of evidence for her belief. However, Erwine was beginning to realize that Adrianne's evidence was all based on belief and assumption in the first place, and Erwine was simply interpreting it the way it was interpreted originally by Adrianne.

She followed Adrianne and Askateal through the mansion, watching as they walked through the large building till they reached a large pair of doors. A key and a keycard held by Askateal opened them, and the two walked down.

Adrianne telepathically sighed to Erwine. _Yeah, this is a trap. Let it play out. I'm notifying Airi, she'll be ready if anything happens to get me out. If anything, they'll just show their hand. _The inquisitor replied, but the lack of urgency told Erwine that nothing had happened as of yet.

However, the doors were closed before Erwine could get closer to them, and they locked upon closing again. Erwine sighed, leaning against the doors.

Adrianne turned to Askateal, and asked, "Why did you say Ishna's name?"

"I said Ishna's name because she is the leader of the enemy," Askateal said, her fingers randomly tapping on the wall as she and Adrianne walked towards a corner of the basement.

Before Adrianne could say anything else, Askateal jumped back. She had her gun out, but Adrianne already had her knives out. Both were ready for battle, but then the wall behind Adrianne exploded, knocking her forwards. Askateal turned and ran as the basement began to explode, the bombs triggered by her tapping on the wall.

As the traitor ran up the stairs as the world exploded behind her, she started to change. Her face was first, then her hair, her body, and her clothes followed.

When Erwine, who had heard the sound of detonations below, heard the door opening, she drew her sword. She was ready for battle, ready to do anything to save Adrianne from death at this point.

However, all she saw was Adrianne Azure walking out of the basement. She held up the key and card. "Askateal tried to get me with explosives, I trapped her down there," she said, with a bright smile.

There was a brief flash of suspicion in Erwine's mind, as she looked at the person in front of her, checking to see that everything was as it should be. Even the facial expression was exact. The voice was true. It was Adrianne Azure. That was not a lie, at least not in Erwine's mind.

"Is she still alive?" Erwine asked, concerned. She looked down past Adrianne, seeing nothing but smoke and rubble coming up from the basement. The ground was starting to shake, and the floor actually cracked a little.

"We did blow out the entire bottom floor, which has destabilized the entire building, so no," Adrianne said, "But if she is alive now, then she won't be in a minute or so,"

Adrianne started to move, "Come on," she said, "We need to get out of here,"

"Did you get anything out of her?" Erwine asked, "We need something to go on!"

Adrianne paused, as if she was unsure of the answer to that question. "We have nothing, but Estelle and reinforcements are sure to be here anytime now. We have to get out of here before it is too late, there's no time to look for anything. There are other leads."

"That's not true!" Erwine shouted, "Why are you walking away from this?!" Then, she paused. Erwine's eyes widened a little, but as Adrianne turned around, she did her best to look calm. _Askateal was supposed to have died. Absolutely no record of her. Now Adrianne is acting strange. _

This could mean that Adrianne was simply disheartened by her loss…or it could mean that Adrianne was not Adrianne. Erwine held out her sword. She had no idea what could be going on, but she knew for certain that this girl in front of her was not Adrianne. The girl had really made only one mistake, and one mistake alone.

There was a certain appearance to Adrianne's face, something about the way she looked at Erwine. Erwine had noticed it long ago, and she'd seen it every time Adrianne had looked at her. She'd never really been able to figure out what it was, whether it was shame, grief, happiness, pride, or something else.

But what she now realized was that it couldn't just be copied by making one's self look like Adrianne. It was a look conveying an emotion. And if the person in question lacked that emotion, then no matter how good they were the rest of the time, there was no chance of fooling those closest to Adrianne.

"Stay back," Erwine said, knowing that it was also not Askateal. _Askateal did die, but someone assumed her identity, but that assumption was perfect…how?! _

Adrianne cocked her head to the side, "Why would you say that, Erwine?" she asked. The floor shook, and more cracks spread in the ground as the more middle parts of the mansion started to cave in.

"You are not Adrianne," Erwine said, shaking as she spoke. _Airi, Laelia, Ayelen, Adrianne, I need you right now! _She called out to surrounding area.

"Yes I am, Erwine," Adrianne replied, "I know that the past week has been taxing on you, but you can't break down now, not after you've come so far."

_How…how does she know what has been happening with me?! She can't possibly be Adrianne! _Then again, Erwine realized that she had no real proof that this person was not Adrianne. It could just be Adrianne acting a little strange. But the girl stepped forwards, arms held out, a smile on her face, "Please, Erwine, calm down, I'm here for you,"

Yet Erwine did not listen. She stepped away, still holding her blade out. Then, she had an idea. In the sternest voice she could muster, she shouted, "Tell me if you are truly Adrianne Azure!"

Adrianne said, "Yes," the reply came perfectly naturally. Erwine was thrown off for a moment. Then Ayelen was there, smashing in through the window of the room as Erwine pointed her sword at Adrianne and lunged forwards.

Ayelen screamed as Erwine lunged forwards, but as she moved, Erwine shouted, "Tell me the truth! Are you actually Adrianne!?" Erwine was not just angry or scared now.

This girl, whoever or whatever she was, had hurt, maybe even killed, the person that Erwine considered her second mother. Adrianne was closer to her than anyone else in the entire universe at this point, and she was not about to let this girl go unpunished for what she did to Adrianne.

Therefore, Erwine was more forceful in her commands. Magical girls are powered by emotions, and the anger Erwine felt only empowered her. So, the enemy was compelled to answer, in a whisper, but loud enough for Ayelen to hear, "No," The girl's face conveyed surprise, not expecting Erwine's determination to be this overpowering.

Even then, the massive command knocked the magic out of Erwine, she was vaguely aware of how little she had left, thanks to all the fighting. If a fight broke out now, she wouldn't last long at all.

Then Ayelen was moving as well. Before the enemy could even bring up her weapon, she was grabbed onto by Ayelen, who was closer to her than Erwine. Instantly, the arm that Ayelen grabbed felt as though it was being slowly burnt by a searing flame, and Adrianne grunted as Ayelen forced her to the ground as that pain spread throughout her entire body.

The floor in this room started to crack more and more, but the cave-in was restricted to other parts of the house more directly damaged, as the entrance to the basement led about ten meters forwards.

Airi then ran in from another hallway. She saw what was happening and connected the dots quickly. She looked at Erwine, eyebrows raised. _Downstairs, Adrianne may be trapped. Hurry, we have this girl. _

Laelia ran in next, her guns drawn. She understood the situation as Erwine knelt down in front of the doppleganger. She had both hands held behind her back by Ayelen, who was applying as much pain to her nerves as possible.

Erwine, still raging, demanded, "Where is Ishna?!"

The false Adrianne opened her mouth as Ayelen raised the amount of pain she felt and at the command of Erwine, "I don't know. I really don't know. She was here yesterday, but she said she is going away from this system. She's out of system by now, she could be headed anywhere."

_We just missed her! _Erwine cursed her luck. Those strikes by this fake inquisitor at the records and in space had been meant to delay them and frame Estelle. If they had not occurred, then Adrianne would have gotten here when Ishna was still there.

"Where are the soul gem shipments going to?!" Erwine demanded, "What is their purpose?!"

"I don't know!" the fake Adrianne cried, "The sector is going to be taken by Chaos soon, but there is nothing else I know! The soul gems are brought here, but then shipped out of system in some other way! I don't know what!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of aircraft outside. Laelia looked at Erwine, "Shuttles," she said, "Estelle's here,"

When Erwine looked back to the fake Adrianne, she was looking at Estelle. Erwine swore she had felt the girl struggling, but that had not been the case. Her entire body had changed, so that she now looked exactly like the Estelle that Adrianne had once described to Erwine.

"A shapeshifter, I figured," Laelia said, "Watch out, she means to use this against us,"

Ayelen still applied pain to the shapeshifter, but she managed to scream out, "Help! Celestine! Someone!" Erwine shut her up before anymore could be said, but at that exact moment, a rocket flew in through the window that Ayelen had come in from the outside through.

The three girls hit the floor, dragging the shapeshifter with them as Laelia raised her shield to deflect the explosion of the rocket as it hit the staircase. The sound of several more rockets firing was then heard, and then there was the sound of about two dozen of the weapons firing off.

With a bright flash of orange flames, and a sound like that of a sharp crack after a blast of thunder, the entire section of the mansion as obliterated. Laelia was the only person standing after that onslaught, as Erwine and Ayelen still held down the shapeshifter.

However, that shapeshifter used this distraction to her advantage. She broke away from Ayelen and knocked Erwine away from her. As she scissored her legs and leapt up, a dozen of the gun that Askateal had held were around her. Four guns focused on each of the three girls around her.

Laelia's shield was down, as she knew that Estelle's girl, a clairvoyant by the name of Justinia, could see the inside, and if she saw that not shield was up, then she would not fire. Laelia spun to stop the shapeshifter, but she was too slow.

Then, out of nowhere, a rapier buried itself in the girl's stomach. The blade went through the girl, only stopped by the hilt. The shapeshifter was pushed backwards, and a wild kick Ayelen threw carried enough of her magic behind it to temporarily shock the shapeshifter.

Right after that, Celestine was there, her sword flashing to cut off both the arms of the shapeshifter. Her sword had just enough of an edge, and she had just enough speed and force, to perform the motion, but she was too late to do anything more.

The shapeshifter realized the plight that she was in, so she turned her twelve guns on herself, and a second later, she blasted hundreds of holes in her body. She fell to the ground, her soul gem broken, and her body dead. The remaining girls froze. Celestine stared awkwardly at Laelia, Ayelen, and Erwine as the smoke from the barrage of rockets cleared. Standing around the group was Estelle, Justinia, and the other three girls in the inquisitor's entourage.

At that point, Adrianne appeared in the center of the group. She was carried by Airi, who was holding the inquisitor draped across her arms. The inquisitor's body was covered in blood and dust, and she was missing the limbs on the left side of her body. Her face was scarred with blackened skin, and her right arm was nearly completely crushed. Her right leg was the only one of the four limbs that came close to coming out in one piece, only being cut and burnt in a dozen different pieces, down to the bone in some.

Her torso was also a mess of cuts and burns, but her soul gem was held gently in Airi's right hand. Adrianne had sacrificed the rest of her body to save the soul gem. She was already beginning to regenerate, and even as Erwine flinched from the gruesome sight, she could see that Adrianne's flesh was starting to grow back already. The teleportation had been instantaneous.

_Estelle, _Adrianne said, _how are you doing? _She broadcasted to all magical girls in the area, but a full company of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers had formed a semicircle behind Estelle, and half a dozen gunships circled overhead.

_Adrianne, what have you done? _She asked.

_My job, _Adrianne said, just as casually as the previous question, _what have you done in the past few days? _Airi took a step closer towards Laelia, who corralled Erwine closer to the others as the five gathered tightly together.

_How are you going to get out? _Estelle asked, _you have no ship, and I doubt that Airi will be able to teleport all the way back from this distance, not after healing you. _

_Just watch. _Adrianne ordered. Airi flashed the five girls forwards about twenty-five meters, past the circle of troopers. Then she turned towards the spot where a single gunship was landed. It had obviously carried Estelle had her crew.

Airi caught a glimpse of the inside due to the open door, and then the five girls were inside the empty ship. Laelia and Ayelen rushed forwards, activating the ship quickly as Laelia brought up her shield. Airi handed Adrianne to Erwine, suddenly turning and handing the broken body to the girl as Airi turned towards the door.

Her bow was in her hand. She fired groups of three shots as fast as possible, forming the arrows out of magic and firing them to ward off the other gunships. It did not hit them, but she made sure that they did not try any attack runs. Then the ship took off, and Airi shut the door quickly, as the gunship turned and flew back towards the city.

Erwine sat back in a chair holding Adrianne's body. She looked down at the scarred inquisitor, _will you be alright? _Erwine asked.

_After what you did today, I don't think anything could make me sad at this point, _Adrianne said, her mouth attempting to smile.

Erwine had nothing to say, but that was because she had never expected that she would truly be able to reach the place she had just achieved. She expected some kind of remorse, some kind of regret. She only felt a sense of pride, and duty.

It felt good.

Erwine smiled too, only holding the battered body tighter.

Back at the ruins of the once beautiful mansion, Estelle stood surrounded by the five other magical girls. She watched the gunship hijacked by Adrianne and her friends fly off into the distance.

A girl with strange, yellowish-green hued hair, asked, "Should I stop them?"

Estelle shook her head, "I could slap her with impeding another inquisitor, but that would be so hard to actually prove to a council that it would be worthless. The evidence is on her side for once."

"Then what do we do?" Celestine asked, closer to Estelle than the rest.

"We wait for her to make a move," Estelle said, "Because at this point, she has six hours to get off planet. After that, she lied on record, and all her actions make her suspicious. We have a chance to really get her here, and it needs to be now."

"Because?" Celestine asked, feeling that Estelle had more to say.

"Because Erwine has reached the point Adrianne wanted her to get to. So now, Adrianne will be content letting herself die if she must," Estelle said, turning around and walking back towards the mansion. The look on Estelle's face was one of deep concern.

The place had yet to be cleaned up, but Estelle looked for something very specific among the remains. She searched the area around the shapeshifter's body, looking for something. After a few minutes, she cursed, then muttered, "By the Goddess…Adrianne doesn't know what's coming to her…"

* * *

Shapeshifter: A shapeshifter uses magic particles to modify her body's appearance to perfectly fit someone else's. The user does not need to have in-depth, complete knowledge of the other person's body in order for this to work. Rather, all they need is to have communicated with the person, then completed a short mental scan of them, using a limited sort of clairvoyancy to analyze the body. Physically, the shapeshifter is indistinguishable from the target of their mimicry when they are transformed. Shapeshifters may suffer from a disorder that results in loss of their original body after some time, but this is unlikely.


	20. The Beginning of an Arduous Night

Fighting a magical girl is the hardest thing you will ever have to face. You've heard of Orks, perhaps the Eldar, maybe even the Tau, and considered things even worse than that. But a magical girl is different than all of those things. They may look cute and pretty, but they are far deadlier than you will ever be. A single one of them, maybe even one still in her teens, could kill you easily.

You might shoot her a hundred times, but she'll keep coming at you. They do not feel pain, not like you and I do. They are smaller than you, but they are stronger than you. A couple punches to your head and you'll find your brains spilling out. They could accidently break your arm if they squeeze too hard.

The only way to kill them is to destroy their gems. Find that, destroy it, and they are instantly gone. However, good luck doing it when they're flipping through the air at you. They have many different powers, they all have some kind of weapon. This weapon will not yield to any armor you'll have. It will pierce it, and you will be wounded.

The most important thing to remember is that there will hopefully be more of you than them. And that lasgun in your hands, at full output, can fire hundreds of beams in a matter of seconds. Hold your ground, and fire. Remember their maneuverability, and try not to get hit by them.

Hopefully, you never have to fight one. If you do, then try your best, and pray that one of our own will be right behind you.

-Speech given at an Imperial Army training camp.

* * *

She walked into the cockpit, and Erwine followed close behind, wondering what she was planning. Erwine glanced out the front window, and saw a rise in the distance, and above it the color of grey. "That's our destination," Adrianne said, as she started to input a new flight plan into the autopilot.

Laelia, Ayelen, and Airi were all standing behind Adrianne just outside the cockpit. Adrianne had shut off the radio, but she knew that the warnings from the automated systems to stop the approach were already coming in.

"They have to know we have a teleporter, and a shield generator, so if they don't see a shield, then clearly we teleported away and left the shuttle as bait," Adrianne said, "But we're staying in here,"

"Why don't you pilot it, then?" Erwine asked.

"That would make it obvious that the shuttle is occupied," the inquisitor replied, "We have to stay in the back. Airi and Laelia can get us out of trouble if it arises, but when the shuttle reaches a couple kilometers away, then Laelia brings her shield up, and I fly us in for the final approach."

It was an ambitious tactic, but Adrianne had to hope it would pay off. She had no way to know how many enemies they would encounter, so she had to go for high-risk, high-reward tactics, rather than playing it safe and slow. Especially because the Arbites and the rest of the Inquisitor would be called in once the attack started for real.

If they were not in and out fast and effectively, then they were all in serious trouble. Adrianne stood up, and Erwine saw flashes of light from the rise as they approached. "That's them firing at us, right?" she asked.

"Yes, long-range missiles are being released right now," Adrianne said, knowing that inquisitors took their security very seriously.

"Get in the back," she ordered, and everyone hurried back to their seats and strapped in. Adrianne sat down next to Erwine, and got close to the girl. "Remember," she said, "You are fighting heretics who have betrayed the Goddess. Do not give them any mercy, as they shall not give you any."

"This is the purpose I did all this for, Erwine." Adrianne said. "We magical girls…almost like we're always stuck in a state of acting like a scared little girl half the time, or at least it affects us far too often."

"You…you're the bravest person I have seen at your age. Maybe my actions have paid off after all…"

Erwine still worried, and her body started to tremble, before Adrianne wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Not for your fear," she explained, "Just wait." A couple seconds later the shuttle banked sharply to the right before shooting upwards. The compartment swerved around wildly as the shuttle weaved form left to right, and up and down.

"We're just evading the missiles," Adrianne explained, "There's nothing to worry about." Erwine thought that there was something to worry about, but Adrianne did not seem too concerned, and the rest of the compartment did not seem worried. In fact, Ayelen seemed to be enjoying the bumpy ride they were now all on.

Laelia was bored, her eyes closed as if she had experienced this before. Erwine did recall that the girl was from a battle cruiser, so it was easy to imagine how she had experienced worse things than this. Airi was a bit relaxed, not very concerned about anything, but still throwing little glances at Adrianne that said how highly she thought of Adrianne's little plan.

Erwine started to breathe quickly as the shuttle continued to swerve around in the air, and loud bangs were heard outside. "Flares," Adrianne explained, "To distract the targeting systems of the missiles,"

The fact that such things were needed only scared Erwine. "Don't worry," Adrianne said, "We can easily escape if we are hit, which is highly unlikely. There's about a minute of two left until I have to take control again, but we're only ten kilometers away."

The shuttle had to slow down immensely to be able to turn and weave as it was at the moment, especially when it had entered the range of the ballistic weapons, and the larger swarms of short-range missiles. Volleys of lascannon and ballistic fire rose from the wall around the mansion to trace the path of the craft, struggling to hit the fast object.

Several glancing hits were scored, but none were enough to totally stop the shuttle from continuing its approach. The missiles were beginning to be too much, and the remaining flares were expended quickly. Only a minute remained before the shuttle would be absolutely wiped out.

However, most of the defenders were not looking to the skies. They looked at the forests around the small foothill, trying to locate the magical girls that had to be quickly moving through it. Even some of the cannons and missiles platforms were aimed downwards, and a few experimental shots were sent into the forest, as there was surely no reason for the magical girls to remain in danger on the shuttle.

Suddenly, Adrianne stood up and jumped for the cockpit. The door was left open, and a pair of daggers she threw pulled her close via the chains attached. She strapped herself into the pilot seat. "Shield up!" she called, as she straightened out the shuttle, and aimed it directly towards the compound they were approaching.

Laelia projected the bubble of her shield around the shuttle, forming it into a ovaloid shape that covered the long craft. A series of booms were heard as weapons fire started to slam into the protective bubble. Adrianne throttled the engines to maximum power, and the speed of the craft increased greatly. "Everyone up!" she ordered.

Erwine carefully unstrapped herself, but ended up being yanked out of chair by Airi, who dragged her close to the cockpit door before she stood right next to Adrianne. Erwine could see the mansion was getting increasingly closer, and that Adrianne had aimed the shuttle's nose down towards the ground. She hit the autopilot on, before she stood up.

"Weapons," she ordered, daggers appearing in her hands. Airi summoned her bow, Laelia her machine guns, Ayelen a pair of javelins, and Erwine reluctantly called out her blade.

Before Adrianne could reply, the inquisitor nodded, and the five girls were in a different place. The shuttle was above them and to the left, and behind them was now the wall of the compound. Erwine turned her head to see the shuttle smash through the top of the wall before it careened into the ground.

Damage had caused it to light aflame, and it flipped end over end towards the mansion, the flaming wreckage crushing everything in its path. Adrianne had managed to angle the craft exactly so that the nose of the plane would impact in the proper position to cause it to tumble forwards.

It wrecked the landing pad which had once been there before it hit the mansion structure itself. Explosions erupted from the wreck as the fuel tank caught ablaze, as well as the munitions Adrianne had ordered stored on the craft before leaving.

The ensuing explosion wiped out a third of the mansion, leaving that part in ruins. The rest was still standing strong, and the elaborately constructed building was not going to fall so easily. Laelia's shield was still up, which was good, as the grounds around the building were bustling with guards, their lasguns firing wildly at the group of girls.

Erwine stared at the men, her body refusing to move for a brief second, as she considered the implications of what she was about to do. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. _You'll be a hero…_those words still echoed in her head. _I'm brave, _she kept telling herself that.

After a second, she actually believed it. She'd killed before. She'd sworn to help Adrianne to the end. She understood why this all had to happen.

This odd world…it was starting to make sense now.

She raised her massive sword in front of her, "Nada," she whispered, "I won't let you down." When her eyes opened, Erwine Braune was truly a magical girl.

The other four girls, even Adrianne were completely surprised. The inquisitor had expected many things from Erwine during this battle…but not this. As the young girl ran past them all, out of the shield and towards the enemy, not a single bit of fear was on her face.

Erwine leapt forwards, her magic helping her leap as her arms moved behind her and brought her sword horizontally across her body. The world went into slow motion as blood spurted into the air. A man was cut in half. Bisected by the other four around him stepped back instantly, their guns all focusing on Erwine.

Her sword being on the left side of her body, Erwine sidestepped to the left, and swung across once again. Another man was bisected at the waist. The tip was pointing forwards now, and Erwine lunged, impaling a guard's stomach.

She then turned her head to the right, and then her feet shifted to turn her body that direction as well. Both men had dropped their weapons. Their backs were turned to her. They understood what they were up against.

Erwine frowned as she felt herself jumping forwards. Her arms were swinging her zweihander into their backs, only the tip catching them. Their spinal cords were severed, and they fell forwards unable to move.

They moaned in pain on the ground, begging for release. Erwine gave them that release. When it was done, she noticed the blood on her blade. She noticed the blood on herself. Not a single drop of it was her own blood.

One might think that Erwine was not feeling any fear. Erwine would deny that person. She was more scared than she had ever been before, but that fear honed her skill, increased her focus. She did not feel afraid. She felt alive.

It was a truly terrifying kind of alive. Her body rushed with energy, and she felt more aware than ever before. Yet the horrific realization that she was killing with ease was at the forefront of her mind.

With wide eyes, fear in her heart, and a trembling body, Erwine continued her battle. The others had joined the battle, but Erwine now found fire coming at her from another group of soldiers. More had spilled out of the mansion, and the ones on the wall were firing down at her. Erwine saw the volleys of lasbolts coming at her, ready to punch her full of holes.

She shifted to the side, untouched by the bolts. Instead, the ruby beams scorched the grass she had just stomped on. Erwine was running to the wall, lasguns still tracking her. It was about three meters high, which was more than enough to stop an external threat when combined with the steep hill it was on.

Erwine made it to the top with a single leap. An overhead swing of her sword cleaved a soldier's head, easily splitting the armor designed to stop gunshots. Erwine used the sword in the man's skull as leverage to pull herself onto the wall. She crouched down as she landed, before leaping up, wielding her sword with only her right hand.

She flipped in midair as she trailed her sword behind herself. The six foot blade cut a man down the middle as she spun in the air. She landed into another crouch, before she aimed the sword straight forwards, the tip facing the two men in front of her. They were about two meters away.

A human attacker would have been hard-pressed to reach them in time before being cut down. Even Erwine would have suffered some wounds. "Stop!" she shouted, remembering what her magic was. A second later, both men were impaled on her sword, their faces, hidden by their helmets, expressing shock as an unknown force compelled their fingers to move just a bit slower as they went to pull the trigger.

Erwine froze for a second, seeing the men writhe in pain as they struggled to remain alive. Lasbolts from farther down the wall ripped into the backs of the men, as the soldiers frantically fired. They seemed entirely untrained. It was if they'd never seen a magical girl in their lives.

Erwine stepped back, drawing her blade out of the two bodies, both falling to the ground. Then she realized the other guns firing at her. She leapt into the air.

In the air, a storm of ruby bolts sought to strike her down, but an elaborate spin and a flourish of her blade dodged or deflected all of them. Erwine rolled as she landed, swinging her blade out in a wide arc. Several were cut down. Only one remained. He threw his weapon away, and started running scared. Erwine frowned. It really was as if he was a total rookie.

She heard screams coming from within the covering helmet. She just didn't get it. Her blade, red with blood, was raised. She tried to force herself to move forwards, to chase down that one who was running away.

His organs were released from his body in a storm of red as gunfire from afar ripped him in two. Erwine recognized the sound and effect as being Laelia's.

She didn't hate the girl for that. The man had to have known what he was doing. Rather, she felt conflicted. _Should I…feel happy? Or should I feel sad? _She knew which one was the right thing to do, but she also knew which one was the thing she wanted to. The two were different.

Erwine leapt down to the ground. There were a couple small groups of retreating men and women. Haphazard fire emerged from them, but they were far too panicked to even come close to striking their targets. Erwine shut her eyes, shuddering as she heard them die.

Still, she was a magical girl. In the Inquisition. She had made a contract. She had been granted a wish. _And look at me now…I wanted control over my life. I have it. I am in control. _Her grip tightened on her sword, perhaps feeling a bit sad. Yet determination easily overpowered that.

She was a magical girl, after all.

She then looked up at the smoking ruins of this side of the mansion. The wreck of the shuttle was to her right, but further access into the mansion could be gained by simply moving forwards. That is what Erwine did. The will of the defenders was completely broken. They could fight no longer.

Those that had managed to live had run into the mansion. Possibly more were inside, but it did not matter. Only the magical girl defenders actually mattered.

Step by step, Erwine walked towards a corridor, the end of which was annihilated by the shuttle crash. Her blade was stained deep red with the blood of the fallen, and her clothes were dripping blood in some places. She looked at that with disdain. She would have wiped it off, were it not for the fact that it would dirty her own hands.

A figure was walking down the hallway. From the size and gait, it was another girl. A young girl. A magical girl. Erwine kept her same pace as the enemy approached her. The enemy paused when Erwine was about five meters away. She tried to open her mouth to say something. Erwine anticipated this, "Shut up!" she ordered.

She leapt forwards, her sword trailing behind her. She swung when she entered range, the last two feet of her blade clipping through the wall and dragging out a cloud of dust as it swung. The traitor seemed a bit surprised as she found her jaw closing, but she had the sense to summon her weapon. It seemed the other girl was not expecting Erwine's particular brand of magic. It seemed that everyone they encountered here was mysteriously uninformed and unprepared.

It was a mace. It was not large, but it was heavy enough to take Erwine's swing. The traitor actually slid backwards a meter, such was the power held within her opponent, but she had her own magic to use. Lightning shot out from the mace and curled around Erwine. It did not touch her, instead rebounding down the hall.

Erwine was still pushing hard as she clashed weapons with her opponent. However, unexpectedly, the coalesced at the end of the corridor and shot back towards her. Erwine grunted as she was struck in the back by multiple bolts of lightning. The energy from the blasts pushed her forwards, but she was off-balance and easily pushed onto her back by the traitor.

Erwine hit the wooden floor with her singed back as the traitor jumped forwards with an overhead swing to capitalize on her success.

"Miss!" Erwine ordered, grinning as she brought her zweihander across her body. She wielded it in her right hand alone, but her left hand grabbed onto the hilt as it came across her body. The traitor was not entirely controlled by Erwine, but she was affected, and her blow was off center, meaning that Erwine could strike.

A second before she was hit, she rolled onto her left side and swung the zweihander upwards. The traitor barely had time to adjust her fall and block before she was hit. The power of Erwine's blade knocked her into the wall, and she barely avoided injury.

However, being locked against the wall put her in the perfect position to kick down. Her foot became electrified as she struck downwards, and Erwine's body went limp as lightning coursed through it. The traitor kicked off the wall and rolled forwards onto the ground.

As she went down, she let her mace trail out behind her. The metal head took Erwine in the stomach and rolled her onto her back. The traitor stood up and spun quickly before raising her weapon with an intention to bring it down on Erwine's head.

Erwine had the time to roll onto her right side and swing horizontally towards her opponent's feet. The traitor hopped over the blow, and then magically pushed her torso downwards to swing down towards Erwine's head. Erwine kept rolling till she hit wall, and the traitor hit the ground.

But as Erwine tried to get to her feet, the traitor used the fact that the head of her mace was in the ground and Erwine was behind her to pull her legs, still in the air, in and kick outwards. Once again electrified, they once again made contact with Erwine. She blocked the blow with her blade.

Electricity still burned her, and she gritted her teeth to stop any kind of scream from escaping her lips. The traitor kicked off Erwine and rolled onto the ground, her body hitting the wall as she moved forwards. But Erwine was knocked out for a couple seconds by the traitor, who was spinning around swinging her mace towards Erwine's head.

Six knives then shot past her arms as they came in front of her. The knives then curved around, the chains they were attached to pulling tight around the heretic's arms as the knives shot back around to wrap the traitor's arms.

Adrianne stood at the end of the corridor. "You're good," she said, "But no one is going to hurt Erwine." Her words were clearly final. Erwine's shot open to see the traitor struggling in the grasp of Adrianne's chains. The traitor, however, conducted her lighting back down the metal towards Adrianne.

The inquisitor saw this coming, and had dropped the chains. Erwine was effectively incapacitated on the ground. The wounds finally caught up to her, and she found her singed body and disrupted nerve functions unable to move. She tried to use her magic to force herself, but there was only so much she could do.

The enemy girl crouched down over another set of daggers, swinging her weapon down at Erwine's head, ready to crush Erwine's soul gem. Then Adrianne leapt down the hall, twisting in the air to release a huge storm of daggers.

It was too many to block, even as the girl projected lightning out from her mace. The chains wrapped around the girl as multiple daggers plunged into her body. The soul gem on her right forearm was unharmed, but from what Erwine could see, it seemed intentional.

Adrianne kicked out as she came close, sending the girl flying back down the hallway. Erwine watched the inquisitor jam the sharp heel of her boot into the girl's chest. There was a loud crack as the long heel pierced through the bone and then a softer squish as it tore through the heart. Then the ball of the foot impacted and sent the girl back.

Adrianne touched down right next to her protégé, and nodded to the young one, "Good job," she said. She knelt down for a few moments, restoring Erwine's body from the wounds it had taken. The inquisitor then walked on. Erwine quickly stood up as Adrianne walked towards the traitor.

She moved ahead of the girl, worried that the enemy might be back up. However, the girl seemed quite dead. Her soul gem was still in decent shape, though. Erwine felt a bit bad, having lost to the girl. It was just shame.

The shame didn't compare to the fear she'd felt in the moment before Adrianne arrived. The lingering terror threatened to drive her wild even now. "Sorry," Erwine said quietly, as the inquisitor knelt beside the girl, reaching into her pocket. She summoned a dagger, ready to plunge it into the girl's soul gem.

"It's alright," Adrianne said, her hand freezing up. "She was older than you, and it was your first time fighting a magical girl. I admire the fact you were able to hold out for as long as you did."

"You're going to kill her?" Erwine asked.

"Do you want me to?" Erwine looked down at the girl's face. The look on her had been one of shock. At Adrianne's intervention, of course, but there was something else there.

"You have to, right?"

"No. There are other ways to handle things like this. She's obviously rather young. Can't have contracted more than a year ago. Which means that her betrayal was most likely an outside influence." Adrianne thought of that girl back on Siothea. Was it the same story as here?

"Then what about the girl…the girl back on Siothea?" Erwine asked, trembling in fright. "She was so young too…"

"No." Adrianne said. "Ones this young, they tend to regret their actions to an extent. She didn't even attempt to get out of it. She was most likely a deep cover agent, probably in her thirties. Modifying her 'parent's' memories wouldn't have been hard for a good telepath."

"This one…" Adrianne dropped the dagger. She reached out for the soul gem. Her other hand took a small black box out of her pocket. It was like a grief cube container. Placing the gem inside, Adrianne replaced the box as it was shut. "A small anti-magic field," Adrianne explained, "Hinders the gem from regenerating the body once the hundred-meter radius is breached. However, it can still regenerate and control within that radius." So she lifted her foot up, stomping the head of the girl into a bloody mess.

"I'll hand her over to the sect here once things are done. There's a chance she hasn't done anything, and her original personality will be spared. If not, then it won't be too hard to reprogram her mind. Really hard to do the older and more determined one gets. Older traitors are hopeless, their soul is powerful enough to overwrite any external rewriting of the mind, so only younger ones have this chance."

"Chance?" Erwine wondered. "But they won't exist anymore?"

"A similar personality will exist, but the basic ideas of the traitorous one before will be gone." Adrianne explained.

Erwine shuddered a little at the thought, but at least held out hope that the girl could be saved. "Let's move on." Adrianne said.

Erwine looked at the sides of the corridor seeing that there were many rooms off to the side. Some were small, some were large. Some had one entrance, others led into other rooms. They didn't explore at all. Erwine followed Adrianne, and she seemed to have a goal.

The inquisitor stopped, leaning her head back. She turned it towards one of the doors to the side. "Keep moving, someone's inside." Erwine did as she was told, Adrianne leaping into the small room, bursting right through the door.

Ahead of her was a large entrance hall. It was likely that the intended use of the hall was as an entrance hall for the main entrance in the front, and that this hallway could not even be accessed from any other exterior entrance. But the crash of the shuttle had changed that, so Erwine marched forwards into the rather grand hall.

She stood in front of the main door, looking at the way forwards which led further into the ground floor, and then the two staircases which turned to lead up to the same second floor platform.

There was a figure walking down one of the staircases. _Nada _was raised as the figure tensed. She opened her mouth, "I am Askateal Ethen," she said, "Are you Adrianne Azure?"

"My name is Erwine Braune," Erwine replied, looking over the traitor, "And I know who you are, heretic,"

"I am no heretic," Askateal said, holding up a finger. She was wearing her magical girl uniform, consisting of black leggings under a blue skirt. A red coat had a white tie running down over it from her neck, and a similarly red capelet was draped over her shoulders down to her elbows. Her arms were covered by the sleeves of the coat and her hands were left exposed. Red boots covered her feet. Everything that was red had small blue lines scattered throughout the ninety-percent red clothing. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail.

In her right hand was a long gun. It did not look like a lasgun, nor any other modern gun. It looked to be a plastic-like material, and Erwine thought that it looked like an olden ballistic assault rifle.

It looked very archaic. It even looked a bit fragile. Erwine figured she could easily break the thing over her knee. _Then again, I can break a lot of things over my knee. _The gun was held by the trigger guard, but no finger was on the trigger, and the gun was pointed downwards.

Erwine waited, knowing that she may want to listen to this girl. She looked exactly like the Askateal Ethen that Adrianne had described to them all earlier. It was no fake. It was the exact person.

Erwine paused. Askateal smiled. Erwine was still on a sort of high from the battle, so she was cautious as Askateal stepped off the staircase and down towards her.

She was smiling brightly as she walked towards Erwine, but the young girl got the impression of a hunter stalking her prey. Which was why her blade raced to impale the girl's gut. Erwine acted on her instincts, but a shout stopped her. "No! Erwine!" it was Adrianne, leaping into the hall.

The inquisitor ran into the room, which was brightly-lit by the sunlight that streamed in through the large windows around the door. "Askateal?!" she cried upon seeing the girl and realizing that she did not see someone trying to pass herself off as the inquisitor.

"Yes?" Askateal asked. Then she truly looked over the new arrival. Her face brightened a little. A cheerful tune chirped. "Adrianne!"

Adrianne nodded, but as Askateal stepped towards her, Adrianne put a knife to her throat. "You faked your death, then?" she asked, as the edge of her knife was close to the soul gem that was located in the knot of the girl's white tie.

The inquisitor mocked Askateal's tone as she asked, "To switch sides, I assume?"

The traitor gritted her teeth, "I did this to get undercover. I was trying to find the source of the large operation that had been set up. Faking my death and pretending to switch sides was my only option." She sounded desperate, like a loyal servant who realized that she was in too deep. "If you've a telepath, you could read my mind."

"Then you will have no problem giving me all your information?" Adrianne asked. The inquisitor had reason to distrust Askateal, but she also knew the girl personally. This person was exactly like Askateal Ethen. It was not even a magical girl who had transformed her body to look like Askateal. It was the real thing. And even if she was lying, Adrianne knew that she would know.

Everything was spoken in the most sincere tone Adrianne could imagine. There was previous evidence to doubt Askateal's actions, but if she could point her straight to Ishna, then Adrianne was going to take the was a good chance that Ishna had even visited this planet directly.

"Follow me," Askateal said, "To the basement, that's where the underground bunker is accessible. Ishna was here last week. I can point you straight to her, and tell you everything she is planning."

Adrianne nodded, before she turned to Erwine, "Clean up the mansion, come down when you are done,"

_You are not concerned? _Erwine privately asked Adrianne.

_I am concerned, _the inquisitor countered, _but there is too much at stake here. If Askateal really is lying, then I kill her and get out. If she isn't, then we win. Her story makes sense, and she's offering far too much for this to not be planned out. _

Erwine nodded, but she was still suspicious, _let me follow behind you, at least, _she begged.

Adrianne sighed, then nodded, _close behind, do not let Askateal know. She may be trying to keep this secret so she can maintain her cover after this attack. _

Erwine nodded, before her inquisitor walked off with Askateal. The two went deeper into the mansion through the door Erwine had seen earlier, and after a couple seconds, Erwine followed them through that door.

She was thinking about everything Askateal had said and done, trying to find some kind of evidence for her belief. However, Erwine was beginning to realize that Adrianne's evidence was all based on belief and assumption in the first place, and Erwine was simply interpreting it the way it was interpreted originally by Adrianne.

She followed Adrianne and Askateal through the mansion, watching as they walked through the large building till they reached a large pair of doors. A key and a keycard held by Askateal opened them, and the two walked down.

Adrianne telepathically sighed to Erwine. _Yeah, this is a trap. Let it play out. I'm notifying Airi, she'll be ready if anything happens to get me out. If anything, they'll just show their hand. _The inquisitor replied, but the lack of urgency told Erwine that nothing had happened as of yet.

However, the doors were closed before Erwine could get closer to them, and they locked upon closing again. Erwine sighed, leaning against the doors.

Adrianne turned to Askateal, and asked, "Why did you say Ishna's name?"

"I said Ishna's name because she is the leader of the enemy," Askateal said, her fingers randomly tapping on the wall as she and Adrianne walked towards a corner of the basement.

Before Adrianne could say anything else, Askateal jumped back. She had her gun out, but Adrianne already had her knives out. Both were ready for battle, but then the wall behind Adrianne exploded, knocking her forwards. Askateal turned and ran as the basement began to explode, the bombs triggered by her tapping on the wall.

As the traitor ran up the stairs as the world exploded behind her, she started to change. Her face was first, then her hair, her body, and her clothes followed.

When Erwine, who had heard the sound of detonations below, heard the door opening, she drew her sword. She was ready for battle, ready to do anything to save Adrianne from death at this point.

However, all she saw was Adrianne Azure walking out of the basement. She held up the key and card. "Askateal tried to get me with explosives, I trapped her down there," she said, with a bright smile.

There was a brief flash of suspicion in Erwine's mind, as she looked at the person in front of her, checking to see that everything was as it should be. Even the facial expression was exact. The voice was true. It was Adrianne Azure. That was not a lie, at least not in Erwine's mind.

"Is she still alive?" Erwine asked, concerned. She looked down past Adrianne, seeing nothing but smoke and rubble coming up from the basement. The ground was starting to shake, and the floor actually cracked a little.

"We did blow out the entire bottom floor, which has destabilized the entire building, so no," Adrianne said, "But if she is alive now, then she won't be in a minute or so,"

Adrianne started to move, "Come on," she said, "We need to get out of here,"

"Did you get anything out of her?" Erwine asked, "We need something to go on!"

Adrianne paused, as if she was unsure of the answer to that question. "We have nothing, but Estelle and reinforcements are sure to be here anytime now. We have to get out of here before it is too late, there's no time to look for anything. There are other leads."

"That's not true!" Erwine shouted, "Why are you walking away from this?!" Then, she paused. Erwine's eyes widened a little, but as Adrianne turned around, she did her best to look calm. _Askateal was supposed to have died. Absolutely no record of her. Now Adrianne is acting strange. _

This could mean that Adrianne was simply disheartened by her loss…or it could mean that Adrianne was not Adrianne. Erwine held out her sword. She had no idea what could be going on, but she knew for certain that this girl in front of her was not Adrianne. The girl had really made only one mistake, and one mistake alone.

There was a certain appearance to Adrianne's face, something about the way she looked at Erwine. Erwine had noticed it long ago, and she'd seen it every time Adrianne had looked at her. She'd never really been able to figure out what it was, whether it was shame, grief, happiness, pride, or something else.

But what she now realized was that it couldn't just be copied by making one's self look like Adrianne. It was a look conveying an emotion. And if the person in question lacked that emotion, then no matter how good they were the rest of the time, there was no chance of fooling those closest to Adrianne.

"Stay back," Erwine said, knowing that it was also not Askateal. _Askateal did die, but someone assumed her identity, but that assumption was perfect…how?! _

Adrianne cocked her head to the side, "Why would you say that, Erwine?" she asked. The floor shook, and more cracks spread in the ground as the more middle parts of the mansion started to cave in.

"You are not Adrianne," Erwine said, shaking as she spoke. _Airi, Laelia, Ayelen, Adrianne, I need you right now! _She called out to surrounding area.

"Yes I am, Erwine," Adrianne replied, "I know that the past week has been taxing on you, but you can't break down now, not after you've come so far."

_How…how does she know what has been happening with me?! She can't possibly be Adrianne! _Then again, Erwine realized that she had no real proof that this person was not Adrianne. It could just be Adrianne acting a little strange. But the girl stepped forwards, arms held out, a smile on her face, "Please, Erwine, calm down, I'm here for you,"

Yet Erwine did not listen. She stepped away, still holding her blade out. Then, she had an idea. In the sternest voice she could muster, she shouted, "Tell me if you are truly Adrianne Azure!"

Adrianne said, "Yes," the reply came perfectly naturally. Erwine was thrown off for a moment. Then Ayelen was there, smashing in through the window of the room as Erwine pointed her sword at Adrianne and lunged forwards.

Ayelen screamed as Erwine lunged forwards, but as she moved, Erwine shouted, "Tell me the truth! Are you actually Adrianne!?" Erwine was not just angry or scared now.

This girl, whoever or whatever she was, had hurt, maybe even killed, the person that Erwine considered her second mother. Adrianne was closer to her than anyone else in the entire universe at this point, and she was not about to let this girl go unpunished for what she did to Adrianne.

Therefore, Erwine was more forceful in her commands. Magical girls are powered by emotions, and the anger Erwine felt only empowered her. So, the enemy was compelled to answer, in a whisper, but loud enough for Ayelen to hear, "No," The girl's face conveyed surprise, not expecting Erwine's determination to be this overpowering.

Even then, the massive command knocked the magic out of Erwine, she was vaguely aware of how little she had left, thanks to all the fighting. If a fight broke out now, she wouldn't last long at all.

Then Ayelen was moving as well. Before the enemy could even bring up her weapon, she was grabbed onto by Ayelen, who was closer to her than Erwine. Instantly, the arm that Ayelen grabbed felt as though it was being slowly burnt by a searing flame, and Adrianne grunted as Ayelen forced her to the ground as that pain spread throughout her entire body.

The floor in this room started to crack more and more, but the cave-in was restricted to other parts of the house more directly damaged, as the entrance to the basement led about ten meters forwards.

Airi then ran in from another hallway. She saw what was happening and connected the dots quickly. She looked at Erwine, eyebrows raised. _Downstairs, Adrianne may be trapped. Hurry, we have this girl. _

Laelia ran in next, her guns drawn. She understood the situation as Erwine knelt down in front of the doppleganger. She had both hands held behind her back by Ayelen, who was applying as much pain to her nerves as possible.

Erwine, still raging, demanded, "Where is Ishna?!"

The false Adrianne opened her mouth as Ayelen raised the amount of pain she felt and at the command of Erwine, "I don't know. I really don't know. She was here yesterday, but she said she is going away from this system. She's out of system by now, she could be headed anywhere."

_We just missed her! _Erwine cursed her luck. Those strikes by this fake inquisitor at the records and in space had been meant to delay them and frame Estelle. If they had not occurred, then Adrianne would have gotten here when Ishna was still there.

"Where are the soul gem shipments going to?!" Erwine demanded, "What is their purpose?!"

"I don't know!" the fake Adrianne cried, "The sector is going to be taken by Chaos soon, but there is nothing else I know! The soul gems are brought here, but then shipped out of system in some other way! I don't know what!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of aircraft outside. Laelia looked at Erwine, "Shuttles," she said, "Estelle's here,"

When Erwine looked back to the fake Adrianne, she was looking at Estelle. Erwine swore she had felt the girl struggling, but that had not been the case. Her entire body had changed, so that she now looked exactly like the Estelle that Adrianne had once described to Erwine.

"A shapeshifter, I figured," Laelia said, "Watch out, she means to use this against us,"

Ayelen still applied pain to the shapeshifter, but she managed to scream out, "Help! Celestine! Someone!" Erwine shut her up before anymore could be said, but at that exact moment, a rocket flew in through the window that Ayelen had come in from the outside through.

The three girls hit the floor, dragging the shapeshifter with them as Laelia raised her shield to deflect the explosion of the rocket as it hit the staircase. The sound of several more rockets firing was then heard, and then there was the sound of about two dozen of the weapons firing off.

With a bright flash of orange flames, and a sound like that of a sharp crack after a blast of thunder, the entire section of the mansion as obliterated. Laelia was the only person standing after that onslaught, as Erwine and Ayelen still held down the shapeshifter.

However, that shapeshifter used this distraction to her advantage. She broke away from Ayelen and knocked Erwine away from her. As she scissored her legs and leapt up, a dozen of the gun that Askateal had held were around her. Four guns focused on each of the three girls around her.

Laelia's shield was down, as she knew that Estelle's girl, a clairvoyant by the name of Justinia, could see the inside, and if she saw that not shield was up, then she would not fire. Laelia spun to stop the shapeshifter, but she was too slow.

Then, out of nowhere, a rapier buried itself in the girl's stomach. The blade went through the girl, only stopped by the hilt. The shapeshifter was pushed backwards, and a wild kick Ayelen threw carried enough of her magic behind it to temporarily shock the shapeshifter.

Right after that, Celestine was there, her sword flashing to cut off both the arms of the shapeshifter. Her sword had just enough of an edge, and she had just enough speed and force, to perform the motion, but she was too late to do anything more.

The shapeshifter realized the plight that she was in, so she turned her twelve guns on herself, and a second later, she blasted hundreds of holes in her body. She fell to the ground, her soul gem broken, and her body dead. The remaining girls froze. Celestine stared awkwardly at Laelia, Ayelen, and Erwine as the smoke from the barrage of rockets cleared. Standing around the group was Estelle, Justinia, and the other three girls in the inquisitor's entourage.

At that point, Adrianne appeared in the center of the group. She was carried by Airi, who was holding the inquisitor draped across her arms. The inquisitor's body was covered in blood and dust, and she was missing the limbs on the left side of her body. Her face was scarred with blackened skin, and her right arm was nearly completely crushed. Her right leg was the only one of the four limbs that came close to coming out in one piece, only being cut and burnt in a dozen different pieces, down to the bone in some.

Her torso was also a mess of cuts and burns, but her soul gem was held gently in Airi's right hand. Adrianne had sacrificed the rest of her body to save the soul gem. She was already beginning to regenerate, and even as Erwine flinched from the gruesome sight, she could see that Adrianne's flesh was starting to grow back already. The teleportation had been instantaneous.

_Estelle, _Adrianne said, _how are you doing? _She broadcasted to all magical girls in the area, but a full company of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers had formed a semicircle behind Estelle, and half a dozen gunships circled overhead.

_Adrianne, what have you done? _She asked.

_My job, _Adrianne said, just as casually as the previous question, _what have you done in the past few days? _Airi took a step closer towards Laelia, who corralled Erwine closer to the others as the five gathered tightly together.

_How are you going to get out? _Estelle asked, _you have no ship, and I doubt that Airi will be able to teleport all the way back from this distance, not after healing you. _

_Just watch. _Adrianne ordered. Airi flashed the five girls forwards about twenty-five meters, past the circle of troopers. Then she turned towards the spot where a single gunship was landed. It had obviously carried Estelle had her crew.

Airi caught a glimpse of the inside due to the open door, and then the five girls were inside the empty ship. Laelia and Ayelen rushed forwards, activating the ship quickly as Laelia brought up her shield. Airi handed Adrianne to Erwine, suddenly turning and handing the broken body to the girl as Airi turned towards the door.

Her bow was in her hand. She fired groups of three shots as fast as possible, forming the arrows out of magic and firing them to ward off the other gunships. It did not hit them, but she made sure that they did not try any attack runs. Then the ship took off, and Airi shut the door quickly, as the gunship turned and flew back towards the city.

Erwine sat back in a chair holding Adrianne's body. She looked down at the scarred inquisitor, _will you be alright? _Erwine asked.

_After what you did today, I don't think anything could make me sad at this point, _Adrianne said, her mouth attempting to smile.

Erwine had nothing to say, but that was because she had never expected that she would truly be able to reach the place she had just achieved. She expected some kind of remorse, some kind of regret. She only felt a sense of pride, and duty.

It felt good.

Erwine smiled too, only holding the battered body tighter.

Back at the ruins of the once beautiful mansion, Estelle stood surrounded by the five other magical girls. She watched the gunship hijacked by Adrianne and her friends fly off into the distance.

A girl with strange, yellowish-green hued hair, asked, "Should I stop them?"

Estelle shook her head, "I could slap her with impeding another inquisitor, but that would be so hard to actually prove to a council that it would be worthless. The evidence is on her side for once."

"Then what do we do?" Celestine asked, closer to Estelle than the rest.

"We wait for her to make a move," Estelle said, "Because at this point, she has six hours to get off planet. After that, she lied on record, and all her actions make her suspicious. We have a chance to really get her here, and it needs to be now."

"Because?" Celestine asked, feeling that Estelle had more to say.

"Because Erwine has reached the point Adrianne wanted her to get to. So now, Adrianne will be content letting herself die if she must," Estelle said, turning around and walking back towards the mansion. The look on Estelle's face was one of deep concern.

The place had yet to be cleaned up, but Estelle looked for something very specific among the remains. She searched the area around the shapeshifter's body, looking for something. After a few minutes, she cursed, then muttered, "By the Goddess…Adrianne doesn't know what's coming to her…"

* * *

Shapeshifter: A shapeshifter uses magic particles to modify her body's appearance to perfectly fit someone else's. The user does not need to have in-depth, complete knowledge of the other person's body in order for this to work. Rather, all they need is to have communicated with the person, then completed a short mental scan of them, using a limited sort of clairvoyancy to analyze the body. Physically, the shapeshifter is indistinguishable from the target of their mimicry when they are transformed. Shapeshifters may suffer from a disorder that results in loss of their original body after some time, but this is unlikely.


	21. The Truth is Finally Spoken

Duplicator: The magical girl uses magic particles to form an exact copy of something. This something changes based on the limitations of the ability. Some are able to duplicate bodies, generally themselves, others can duplicate weapons. The copy is just that, a copy, perfect in every way. It retains all the same functions as the original. Duplicated bodies will think in the same way as the one who created them, but lack duplication abilities of their own, and will decompose after a period of time related to how powerful the original duplicator is.

Don't do anything to her yet. Let her run about a bit more, see where she's going with this. This girl doesn't seem like the type to do things at random. While only she may see it, there is a method to her madness. I don't want to start some incident now, just let this lie until she does something that is directly a breach of a rule.

-Message from Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel to the Hadiens PDG.

* * *

Estelle did indeed start this 'it' that Justinia was referring to. She and Adrianne were attempting to have a polite and ordered conversation. Adrianne had chosen to get her talking about the state of the wider inquisition, knowing that their opinions strongly opposed each other when it came to that topic. She had certainly goaded Estelle on intentionally. After all, the whole idea was that she would distract the girl enough so that she'd not be able to properly respond when word did reach her.

Such a discussion would distract Estelle from the more important issue of what was actually going on here, which would be that the whole thing was meant to be a large distraction. However, a rather intense argument had started, and Adrianne could tell that it was going to go nowhere, and end up causing more problems than actually helping the whole plan.

So Adrianne had turned her back on Estelle as soon as the inquisitor had started a particularly long monologue that was clear to go on for an unnecessarily long time. This simple gesture from Adrianne angered Estelle more than anything else that Adrianne had done in the past twenty minutes.

She was just going into the particularly long part of a rant about exactly what Adrianne needed to be worrying about, her daggers appearing in between her fingers as she prepared for what this would bring.

Sure enough, Estelle shouted, "Listen to me!" as a halberd brushed past Adrianne's face as she turned to face the thrower of the strike. Adrianne stepped back with her left floor, brining herself into position to be barely scraped by the edge of the weapon as it passed by her.

"The girl that was there! The shapeshifter!" Estelle screamed, desperately trying to get the girl to calm down. Adrianne smiled, and her left hand flicked out, sending three daggers flying at Estelle, who immediately leapt over the projectiles. Adrianne's right hand came in towards her body, before flicking upwards, sending her projectiles upwards now. She then leapt up after them, summoning more of her weapons. "She was a duplicate! There was no remnant of her soul gem there! She was just a fake created by a duplicator!"

Estelle saw the daggers coming up and struck out towards them as she brought her halberd up and around. As it circled back into a resting position in her hands, she changed the motion to strike down at the dagger closest to herself. She threw out a magical charge which resulted in her being pushed back by the force she applied to the dagger.

Adrianne felt a tickling at the edge of her mind, and she knew that it was Estelle picking at her, hunting for any weaknesses. She had fought Adrianne before, but Adrianne had changed the layout of her exterior mind, not wanting to be caught by the same weakness twice.

"Shut up!" Adrianne replied, "That girl shapeshifted. There's no way a duplicator could have latent shapeshifting potential of that level, or the other way around! And the duplicate showed all the signs of being a full girl!"

She was already in the air, so she threw all six of her daggers at Estelle, but added chains dragging behind them this time. Estelle tried to knock them all away, but the strange curves that Adrianne used her magic to guide them at meant that two wrapped around the halberd haft and pulled it back towards Adrianne.

"Then explain how she could do both, as there was no remnant of her. We know that when a soul gem breaks, it always leave some kind of trace, even if it is infinitesimally small. The body broke down as well!" Estelle continued, "It was a duplicate! And it shapeshifted! Somebody made it!"

Estelle applied her magic to push herself downwards towards Adrianne, her leg outstretched, turning what should have been a minor win for Adrianne into a success for Estelle. However, Adrianne just barely managed to bend backwards enough to dodge the kick as it passed over her head.

"So what?!" she demanded.

This put her in the perfect position to strike back. As Estelle passed over her head, she let go of the daggers, before turning around in midair, dragging her leg out in front of herself. She spun around, and the side of her foot hit the side of Estelle's head as she spun. Estelle was knocked to the right, falling towards the ground with her back facing down.

Now looking up at Adrianne, Estelle looked as if she would cast her halberd upwards. But what she did instead was accelerate her descent towards the ground, before flipping in midair and falling down face first. She struck down with her halberd, giving herself extra height as she pushed herself off the ground.

"It means we're dealing with somebody who can create a duplicate that can use other powers!" Estelle said, "That requires a lot of skill and magic, something that most girls don't just have."

Adrianne had fallen downwards, having accelerated her fall to avoid the halberd that she thought would have been thrown at her. But instead she found Estelle coming at her from above, swinging her halberd down in a large overhead arc.

The strike was quick and powerful and Adrianne barely blocked it by crossing her six daggers over her head. Yet Estelle wasted no time, and bounced off Adrianne's guard to gain some distance before snapping out a kick that sent Adrianne flying backwards.

"It doesn't matter! I've already accepted Ishna's strength! I saw her fight back then. But it doesn't matter, I'll still beat her!" Adrianne swore.

Adrianne threw her daggers as she fell back onto her rear. The chains that trailed behind the blades should have encircle the open Estelle, but that was the time when Estelle choose to fire off her first mental attack. A lance of mental force, constructed from Estelle's will, slammed into Adrianne's mind, driving past the outer layer of defense.

Adrianne winced as she was hit, but it also caused all of her daggers to either be easily deflected or miss. Adrianne was still reeling, but she had learned to deal with such pain from dealing with telepaths like Estelle before. It felt as if someone had driven a sword into her mind. It did hurt greatly, but a host of negative emotions came along with the pain. Adrianne gritted her teeth and did her best to ignore the discomfort as the fight continued.

"Stop this!" Estelle screamed as she leapt forwards with a lunging stab that should have pierced Adrianne's head with ease. But the inquisitor rolled to the side and dragged her leg out as she did. Estelle was tripped by the move, and Adrianne stood up with a spin and, flinging the daggers she had summoned during the roll. "You're going to destroy yourself!" Estelle screamed again, louder this time.

Estelle, being partially in Adrianne's mind at this point, could see this attack coming, and the daggers were easy for her to deflect as she rolled up and flourished her halberd. Adrianne was leaping back in as this happened, and six more dagger were flung, landing all around Estelle.

However, the daggers did not miss. They reached their intended locations with no delay. The chains they held behind them were right, and they occupied six points around Estelle. Adrianne leapt in the air, summoning daggers on the opposite end of each chain. She then threw these daggers, causing the chains to be pulled tight around Estelle, as the daggers in the air went in circular paths. "I don't care!" Adrianne shouted, "Just stop getting in my way!"

Adrianne then kicked downwards, driving herself down with her magic. She would have slammed the heel of her boot right into Estelle's head were it not for the second mental lance fired by the inquisitor.

Adrianne lost all her momentum as she lost consciousness for a brief second I her fall. She was powerful, but Estelle was hitting her weaknesses. Telepaths could do two things when attacking another magical girl. They could launch direct attacks targeting the mind, and using magic to directly hit the brain and the mind to disrupt the girl's actions.

Or she could break down the girl's defenses, read her mind, and discover how to induce negative emotions inside her mind. Estelle choose the latter method, and her initial penetration confirmed her suspicion that Adrianne was worried the most about Erwine. It was easy to hit a girl with her worst nightmares, shoving them right in front of her face, making her experience a massive amount of grief. For multiple seconds, the worst case scenario was real for Adrianne.

This would result in a small to massive amount of trauma, all based on how far the images and signals could reach. Estelle could see that she needed to hit Adrianne with these signals right now, so she did not try to get any deeper into the girl's mind, striking as things were. This meant that while Adrianne was hit hard, she was not hit hard enough to cause any serious damage.

And that was what happened to Adrianne, as some of the worst scenarios she could imagine played out in her head for a brief few seconds. She instead fell down right next to Estelle, but was conscious the next second as Estelle stood over, holding her halberd down at her rival inquisitor.

"Don't do this…" Estelle begged. She was at the limits of her patience. "Just stop this, we can work together. I'm merely trying to warn you."

Adrianne looked up at Estelle, adjusting to lie on her back as the two made eye contact. "That was low," Adrianne said, hatred in her voice. It was not simple annoyance or anger, either. It was raw hatred. "Is it not clear that you shouldn't mess with Erwine?" she growled. Adrianne was shaking now, trying to contain the surging anger she felt for the girl now.

Things were different now. Before…she'd just been distracting Estelle, all part of the plan. Now…Estelle had just strayed into an area that was sacred to Adrianne. Estelle was going to pay.

Estelle shrugged, "Desperate times call for-"

"Shut up!" Adrianne said, kicking upwards. She knocked the halberd upwards, and darted up from where she lay. Her hand slammed into Estelle's stomach, driving a trio of daggers into and out the back of the girl's body. She took Estelle all the way down to the ground, even driving the weapons through the metal of the roof.

Blood spurted out, and Estelle gasped as Adrianne stared down at her. "That was not desperate. I will never directly hurt Erwine. No matter how much we disagree, no matter how much she hates me, I will _never _hurt her like that, and you know that full well!"

Estelle's eyes widened suddenly. Adrianne frowned, before Estelle slid the haft of her halberd under Adrianne's body. Using the leverage she had, Estelle flipped the halberd straight up and down, moving Adrianne off of her. The daggers were still mostly in Estelle, but they were easy to remove as Estelle leapt up and backed away.

She glared at Adrianne, her eyes harsh as they looked at the girl. Adrianne was ready for the battle to continue, "Clever girl…" Estelle muttered just loud enough for Adrianne to hear.

Adrianne smiled, "So you've heard?" she asked, then tilted her head to the side, "Or have you figured it out yourself?" she shook her head then, "No, not smart enough for that." A cunning grin came across her face as she turned around once again, ignoring the anger that was rising on Estelle's face as she walked away.

"Laelia has just killed Celestine, and just got done torturing Sechylia!" Estelle shouted, "Would you like to explain that?!"

Adrianne shrugged, turning around as she did so. Six daggers flew out towards Estelle as the inquisitor turned, dragging their chains behind them. "I guess I wouldn't," Adrianne admitted, in a shameful voice. "I have better things to do, like distracting you from doing anything to assist,"

The daggers flew out towards Estelle, who leapt back, deflecting them as they converged on. "You've made a huge mistake!" Estelle shouted, "You have crossed a line that should not have been crossed at all! I have never done anything like that to you!"

"You just tried to say it yourself, desperate times call for desperate measures," Adrianne explained, "I'm too close to Ishna to lose her now!"

"I am fairly certain that you are about to walk into a trap!" Estelle shouted, as Adrianne walked even closer to her. "The trap of someone who's more powerful than you are, easily more powerful!"

"I already know how powerful Ishna is!" Adrianne replied, "Determination means something as well, you know. Besides, you're only trying to slow me down!"

"How many times have I said something like that to hurt you?!" Estelle demanded, saying, "I only want to help you!" Her tone was of somebody who was in pain.

"And I can't believe that anymore!" Adrianne shouted, tears glistening in her eyes, "You say that I can't do this and that, they're all too dangerous for me! You don't want to protect me from my own anger, you want to win this for yourself, and finally get me locked up!"

Estelle tried to open her mouth, but Adrianne silenced her. She shouted, "I don't even know how I trusted you in the first place so long ago!" She gritted her teeth, shaking her head as barely restrained herself from continuing to fight right there. "You betrayed me back then! Ever since then, you've just told me off, telling me that I'm a maniac who believes in lies!"

Tears poured down her cheeks as she screamed, "I saw Ishna kill them in front of me! She _knew _I was there watching! Those screams that I heard couldn't have been a damned illusion!"

"By the Goddess, I'm not denying that people died!" Estelle shouted, "But I'm saying that as things are, your 'determination' is going to get yourself killed!"

"So what?!" her daggers fell to the ground, "Erwine can finish job if she must! I believe in her! I made her specifically for this task!"

Estelle shook her head, "You can't win this, not alone. Please, listen to me, Adrianne."

"I am done with your lies!" the girl in red declared, "No matter what you say, I will go ahead and win this! I don't care if I have to kill you!" Tears came out of her eyes as she thought to herself, daggers appearing in her hands as she leapt forwards again.

_Nadine, everybody…I promise, I won't ever forget you. Maybe I'll even see you all soon._

* * *

Laelia stared at Sechylia, the girl still laying crippled on the floor. "So what are you going to do?" she asked the girl, who lay in a pool of her own blood, the expansion of which was only now stopping as the wounds in the girl's knees healed from the wounds dealt to them.

Sechylia shrugged. "You said you wanted to fight me," said Laelia as she chuckled, realizing her menacing aura had been unneeded. "But you can't really move, so what are you going to do?"

Laelia extender her arm towards Sechylia. All it would take was a single pull of the trigger, and the girl's body would be dead, and Laelia could just break out and be on her way.

That was when Sechylia smiled, "I never said that directly," she said, "And I know I can't win." Her hand stretched up, a shotgun formed in her hand, being the kind of weapon she was able to summon. Then she aimed down at Laelia as the sound of shifting metal echoed through the room, "I only want to stop you,"

A dozen small holes in the wall opened up. Out of them flew small objects, hovering in the air from the power of the small rotors on their frame. Machine guns and small rocket pods were mounted on their fronts. Laelia recognized them as small attack drones, most likely controlled by Sechylia.

The girl smiled as the drones attacked, their guns firing. The crack of lasbolts filled the room as two dozen weapons fired. But even this fearsome barrage that would have served to cut down a platoon of humans could not touch Laelia. Her shield prevented all of the gunfire.

Sechylia rolled to the side, moving behind one of the couches as Laelia opened fire. She summoned another ten guns around her, and her return fire should have demolished the drones easily, but they were moving too fast and too erratically for her.

Explosions touched off as the rockets were fired en masse. Several of them were flashbangs, not designed to harm her at all. Many others were smoke rounds. When the barrage ended, Laelia had no idea where the drones were. But she had the feeling that the drones knew where she was.

She focused her vision, looking around the area. She noticed several faint beams of light as she moved her vision into the area usually invisible to humans. The sign of tracking lasers that recorded and transmitted every bit of her motion to Sechylia. Laelia noticed the ground was rigged with sensors as well, and a few monitors were embedded in the ceiling and floor. The smoke could not penetrate her shield. So they had a perfect view of where she was.

Laelia set to work destroying all that, but she was still taking fire, and she knew that Sechylia had to have gotten off a message. Someone had to be on the way back right now. She had to get out soon. Laelia started to wildly spray the room with gunfire, as she summoned an extra dozen guns. She knew that Sechylia would be on the floor, so she only aimed her shots at the upper areas of the room.

She shut her eyes, crossed her arms, and circled the two dozen machine guns around herself, firing as fast as they could. Several times, Laelia heard the sound of a drone being hit and it falling to the ground. The smoke slowly cleared, and when it did, only a single drone barely remained aloft.

The walls of the room were pitted with hundreds and hundreds of craters, and the ceiling was just as damaged. The shutters that had been dropped in front of Laelia had suffered much damage as well. She dropped her shield, only to extend with massive speed and focus behind her. The wall screeched as it buckled.

The two dozen guns then cut open a hole large enough for a human. Laelia was still watching the room, her arms crossed, as the guns dissipated. Her shield was back to fully protecting her now, but she knew that she needed to conserve magic. She had not brought any cubes, and she had already used a great deal of magic.

She knew that Sechylia was just lying behind a couch. Laelia started to walk towards the couch, confident in the abilities of her shield. Sechylia was not there. She was nowhere in the room. Laelia spun around, looking back towards the shutters. They had not moved, but Sechylia was gone. Laelia looked all around the ceiling, not knowing where the girl was.

Then Laelia saw it, a section of the wall. This section had fewer craters than the rest of the wall. The section was right next to the couch Sechylia had first rolled behind. Laelia brought her guns up as the hidden compartment in the wall popped open.

There was the loud bark of a shotgun blast as Sechylia fired her weapon, a much larger and enhanced version of her normal summon, into Laelia's face. The shield burst with a loud pop, but Laelia retaliated. Her bullets tore Sechylia's arms and legs off, before Laelia stepped forwards and kicked the girl back into the compartment.

She shook her head, "Close but no cigar," Laelia said, before dissipating her shield and weapons, and walking back towards the stairs. That was when her hand brushed the shutters as she stepped through. With a loud bang and a flash of sparks, she was flung back as a massive electrical charge passed through her body, killing her in an instant.

Her soul gem survived, and she would barely have enough magic to heal, and Sechylia had no way to capitalize on this success. Except for the grin that spread across her face.

* * *

Erwine really had no idea what the layout of an upper area of a hive city looked like, nor how she would get around. In fact, she truly knew absolutely nothing about the whole place, no matter what planet she was on.

However, Wei seemed to know more than she did, so she was content following the older girl around the place. They now walked down the sidewalk of a street that wound its way through the upper hive, talking over the din of the cars that drove by and the ships that filled the air.

Other people were around them, but magical girls were a known sight in the Imperium. Every single human they encountered made sure to give the two plenty of room. Erwine found it strange, but she knew the reason why.

It had been only five minutes since they left the restaurant, and the two had been mostly silent. Erwine was thinking that Wei would speak first, but the girl seemed afraid to speak. "Why are you afraid?" Erwine asked, her voice showing her concern.

"Of what?" Wei asked, clearly attempting to put off answering the question for as long as possible.

"Of talking to me?" Erwine asked, "You're the older girl here,"

"I am," Wei agreed, then explained, slowly, "I am…afraid, because frankly, I know that I am not much compared to you,"

"Wei," Erwine said, "You know what I told you, you don't want to go through what I went through."

"You said that it was worth it,"

"I know, but that's only because of what I want to do for Adrianne."

"That's the only reason you have?"

"Not entirely," Erwine shook her head, "Adrianne made me into something I find worthwhile. Barley ten days ago…I couldn't make a decision to save my life. Now I am capable of killing people and not breaking down into a mess."

"But were it not for those things, you'd want to take it back."

Erwine nodded at this. "Otherwise I'd want to take all that back. I am saying that if you do not have a strong desire to do something now, then it is best waiting. We still don't know what aftereffects might occur because of what was done," Erwine was sad, sad that she was having to make an older girl feel better. It was not that she felt pity for Wei. In fact, she wished that Wei would understand that what Erwine had been through was not pleasant in the slightest.

Wei shook her head, "Estelle recruited me six months ago, because…because I begged her for it. I…I wanted to be in the Inquisition. I didn't want local patrol, I didn't want the mage knights." That statement surprised Erwine. She didn't think a girl would turn down the mage knights.

"But I'm…not exactly good at this job. I thought it would be different. Local matters bored me…and the mage knights scared me. I couldn't possibly fathom an eternity of war. The Inquisition sounded like the best. I heard the rumors but I did not believe them," Wei was solemn, looking off to the side at the passing vehicles as the two girls followed the street that was just beginning to slope upwards towards a higher level.

"I thought I was going to be something like the Arbites, but a magical girl. The idea of fighting the enemy within…attracted me, somehow. I thought that…that I would be no good on a true battlefield."

Erwine said nothing as Wei continued. She had nothing to say. She knew that the Inquisition was worse than a battlefield. She knew the pain of killing another one of her own kind, whose crimes may or may not have deserved that punishment.

"Estelle took one look at me, and she told me the truth. She said that I would not be able to do much here, but she would take me if I insisted…" Wei's voice died out softly, as Erwine figured out the rest of the story.

"You found out that you can't do much?" she guessed.

Wei smiled at how simple the guess was, but also at how correct it was, "Yes," she confirmed, "There is not much a scared little girl like I can do, in this Inquisition,"

"That is a lie," Erwine said softly, "I was a coward once, but now you say I am more than you are,"

"We all start off cowards," Wei said, "Everyone starts off as a coward, afraid of things that they cannot comprehend, but what is different is that some adapt more quickly than others."

"Why does Estelle not like you?" Erwine asked.

"I'm honestly…just some baggage at this point," Wei confessed, "She's been so completely focused on chasing down Adrianne, that she spends no time actually making sure I am alright, which is supposedly contradictory to what Adrianne die with you, according to Celestine, who heard that from Laelia,"

Erwine was surprised, "What has Estelle told you about Adrianne?"

"She is a heretic, whose actions have only barely been legal for a long time now, and that she must be stopped before some long plan of hers comes to fruition."

"That's a lie as well," Erwine said, looking around the city. She detached her eyes from Wei, and gazed around as the street leveled out once again. People still dodged around her and her companion.

"Is it?" Wei asked.

"It is," Erwine confirmed, "Adrianne is trying to avenge some friends of hers. Her situation…is not good because of some details of that story,"

"Like what?"

"She was rescued by the Eldar, and no one else survived the incident. So it looks like she just appeared on a planet light years away from her previous location, with little knowledge of how she got there. Ii is the perfect set-up for her to be painted as a heretic,"

Wei asked, softly, in a voice that simply questioned, and did not take offence to anything being said, "You blame Estelle for all this?"

"I keep hearing that Estelle wants to help Adrianne, and Adrianne does not seem to deny that whenever I have asked her about it, but I do not know her true motives,"

"Yet you say you know Adrianne's motives?" Wei asked, "What if Estelle is correct?"

"I don't want this argument, not now," Erwine said, shaking her head and looking back at Wei.

"I'm not arguing," Wei said, quick to turn her head away from Erwine, feeling hurt by the annoyed gaze she received.

"You really are scared, aren't you?" Erwine asked, "I had no idea that…that even causing someone to be…" she paused, as she realized that this used to be her. It used to be her before a possibly insane women came in and completely changed her life in less that twenty-four hours.

_Wei's not an exception, _Erwine realized, _she's the rule. This is how you're supposed to bring up a magical girl. Not even the mage knights know about this kind of stuff for months after they contract and begin training. _

"You should not compare yourself to me…" Erwine realized, her voice becoming solemn and distant as she looked down at her feet, tears coming to her eyes. A memory flashed back to her. It had to be from at least a year before. It was Nada, saying goodbye with teary eyes.

The sight was so distant in Erwine's mind, yet in reality, it occurred not long ago. Not long for anyone, even a normal human. Compared to the massive gulf of time that Erwine's mind placed there, barely ten days was nothing.

"I have come so incredibly far in such a short amount of time," Erwine said, finally realizing what was so strange about the city, "I don't even remember what it was like to be a poor little girl in the lower city,"

Wei looked at Erwine. At first, anger flared in the dark-haired girl, as it seemed that Erwine was directing the conversation away from Wei's problems and to her own issues, but then she realized that Erwine was saying all this to help her.

"I may be special," she said, "I may be better than you, in some way I can't figure out. But that betterness, for lack of a better word, has only happened because…of what Adrianne has done to me. I don't blame her, I can't blame her, after what she has gone through, but I also can't deny that her terrible actions have led me to this state."

The two were silent, until Erwine paused suddenly. She turned her head, and stepped over to the edge of the sidewalk, and because of the way the street was designed, she was walking to the edge of the long bridge the street was on. Beneath her was the city.

She looked down, past all the hustle and bustle of the higher parts, trying to catch a glimpse of the lower areas. With all the smog, the darkness from the night, and the height she was at, Erwine was hard-pressed to even figure out if she could see it.

Wei came up beside her. "I can't say I understand. I was a girl on an agri-world, lived out in a rural area. Never really knew what all this was like. I never felt jealous of anyone higher than me, because for me, life on a huge farm was better than anything a city could offer. The PDG picked me up when I contracted, and were ready to assign me to a local patrol group when Estelle happened to stop by."

Wei sighed, "Do you think I should have begged her?"

Erwine shook her head. "No, I don't think I should have accepted Adrianne's request when she gave it. But I did, and you begged Estelle. We trapped ourselves into this life, because of the false view we had of it, perpetuated by those who live it."

"Do you blame the ones who create the public image?" Wei asked.

Erwine shook her head, "No one would join the Inquisition or the Mage Knights if they really knew what it was like, and one cannot force a being powered by their hope to do anything they don't want to do, and then do that thing well."

Wei had no argument with what was said. She was leaning her back against the railing that Erwine looked out over. "Thank you," she said softly, "For making me feel better,"

"…You're welcome," Erwine said, her tears slipping off her cheeks to fall down towards the city below.

"Do you miss home that much?" Wei asked.

"I told my friend that I would be a hero one day," Erwine said softly, "But now, I realize that heroes are not made in the Inquisition,"

"Don't blame yourself, you had no idea," Wei said.

Erwine started to cry a bit harder. "She won't understand, I can't possibly tell her the truth. She may spread it around, if I even get to see her again."

"Do you want to see her again?" Wei asked, turning her head to look at Erwine. Her dark-hair shifting as her eyebrows raised, then fell immediately, as she realized the motion was a bit too interrogative for the current situation.

"Of course I do," Erwine replied, "But…I doubt I ever will see her again,"

"Why?"

"She'll die much sooner than I will," Erwine said, "And with the life of an inquisitor being as busy as it is, how will I ever find my way back in time?"

Wei said nothing. Instead, she moved. She took a step forwards, then a step to the left, turning her whole body that way. A short gust of wind ruffled the clothes and hair of the two. Erwine was surprised when Wei did not leave. Instead, she felt a gloved hand grip tightly on her shoulder.

"Don't feel that way," the dark-haired girl advised, "Such thoughts lead to dark places,"

Erwine smiled a little. It was a humorous smile, devoid of any real happiness. "I've already been to dark places, I seem to be fine."

"And here I am happy as ever," Wei said, "Yet relying on a girl who is five months younger than me, who do you think is the better magical girl?"

The two were silent as they stood there. Erwine figured that they would start to feel uncomfortable at some point, but as it was, she was content.

"What did you wish for?" Erwine asked suddenly, blurting out the words then instantly regretting them as soon as she heard Wei stir from behind her.

"I-I-I don't know what to-"

"Don't answer," Erwine quickly said, "It was…uncalled for…"

Wei nodded, but the words stuck in her head. She kept repeating them over and over as Erwine's eyes became moist once again. Slowly, she opened her mouth. "You want to know?"

Erwine nodded. "I can't tell you," Wei admitted, "That is far too close to my heart, and we shall surely be driven apart soon, due to our allegiances,"

"Do you want to know what I wished for?" Erwine asked.

"No, because I would not be able to return the gesture," Wei said, her voice stern, "Do not speak a word of your wish, for I am unable to speak a word of mine,"

"There is a reason I would be better off in an organization where one girl easily trusts another," Wei said, "I'll say this much," before turning to look at Erwine, "I am, and I do not kid you, a natural spell programmer,"

Erwine's eyes widened. "A natural…" she said, interested. Spell programming, a use for magic that involved the manipulation of magic to create complex networks of actions and reactions that resulted in a single conclusion. It was basically like programming a cogitator, but a thousand times more complex, and on the spot, as opposed to spending hours and hours hunched over a desk.

It was something many, many magical girls did naturally, in a way. Creating several chains of functions in a single command to one's _own _magic was simple. But it was different from true spell programming, which only naturals could do. A natural was born without any other ability, even the ability to create weapons.

They would have to do everything by manipulating basic magic particles. All girls would generally learn some kind of spell-programming as they aged. Not all inquisitors learned it, given how busy they would usually be, but all mage knights would have at least a basic ability by the time they finished training.

Spell programming could be used for a myriad of purposes. Everything from simply creating a barrier to opening a portal through the warp. They could do many things, and even do them well. The issue was that it took a lot of time to create a program, so fighting in fast-moving battles with no support was effectively impossible.

Spell programming was feared by some, given that it was able to open portals to the warp, and was the main thing used by traitors to summon daemons. So programmers were always closely monitored, but opinion had never been entirely against them. The benefits were far too great, and the risks didn't come close to outweighing the good.

Erwine now understood why Estelle had told Wei to stay out of the Inquisition, but she also respected the girl for being able to quench her fears about her own magic.

Erwine nodded, but felt a bit of sadness swell inside her, as if she had felt that Wei would want to say her wish. _I was foolish, _Erwine realized, _I should have stayed quiet. _

The two girls stood in silence for a few minutes more, until both heard what had to be the wail of Arbites craft in the sky. A short glance out across the city showed multiple craft going towards a skyscraper. The one where the girls had been meeting.

At the same time, both girls received messages. From Adrianne to Erwine were sent the words, _Estelle knows, heading to retrieve Laelia, keep Wei distracted. _

From Estelle to Wei were sent the words, _Adrianne has tricked us, heading to assist Celestine and Sechylia, keep Erwine distracted. Capture if possible, do not kill._

Wei knew that she was in the perfect position to do her job. Erwine knew that as well. She figured that Wei had received some kind of message similar to the one she had gotten. Erwine sighed, "Do it already," she ordered, "Whatever it is that Estelle wants with me. You're older than me, and I have no idea how to fight."

"I-I-I can't fight you," Wei said, stepping back from Erwine. Her voice showed her fear, fear that Erwine would be able to fight her.

Erwine turned around as Wei backed up, and smiled. "Don't worry," she said, "I know that I may be more courageous than you, but all I have to do is keep you distracted, so talking to you is perfectly acceptable,"

Wei shook her head, "It is suggested that I capture you, so I guess if you could just come with me quietly, then that would solve all our problems,"

Erwine shrugged, "I'm sorry, but I don't feel like being turned into a bargaining chip for Estelle. I would much rather prefer to stay where I am."

"Then I am going to be breaking my orders," Wei said, but then shook her head, "I suppose we should stay out of this silly fight between the two,"

"We should," Erwine agreed, "There is no reason to mess around fighting each other when there are larger threats in the world,"

Wei gestured for Erwine to follow her, "Come along," she said, "Let's get out of here,"

"Where are going?" Erwine ran for a moment to catch up with Wei as she walked along the sidewalk.

"I was thinking of going back to where we parked out shuttle, and taking off with it," Wei said, "I don't want to be stuck here all night long, and Estelle had us bring two craft just in case we came under attack,"

"Sounds like a plan," Erwine said, "We should hurry."

"We need to return," Wei said, looking back at the building where they'd come from. "Quickly, ideally."

"It'll take only a few minutes by jumping," Wei said. Erwine nodded. They were leaping away a moment later, sailing through the air as they covered dozens of meters at a time.

The two girls leapt from the top of a nearby building to the roof of the one where they had originated from.

Sure enough, the signs of a fight were all over the balcony, but the sounds were elsewhere. Wei led Erwine towards the edge of the roof, and the two dropped off onto one of the landing pads extending from the building. It was about twenty meters below them, but the drop was easily nullified by their magic.

Across from them, all around them, even, a battle was raging between the various girls on both sides. They didn't seem to notice Erwine and Wei's approach till the last moment.

_What are you doing?! _Adrianne screamed at Erwine, watching the girl run to the entrance of the shuttle with Wei.

_Just hold on! I'm trying to solve this! _Erwine sent back, worried by the incredibly angry tone Adrianne had.

Wei hit the switch to open the shuttle, "Autopilot can fly this. We can head them off at the mansion, try to make sure things are peaceful there before they arrive. Let's resolve this before neither of us have a master."

Erwine nodded, getting into the shuttle ahead of Wei, "Let's," she agreed.

Yet as the two girls took off from the landing pad, there was battle occurring on the one right next to it. Rockets detonated all around Adrianne's shuttle, only stopped by well-placed arrows from Airi. Sanae wielded a katana and a wakizashi with great skill, and dueled Ayelen in a magnificent dance as the two leapt back and forth from the two landing pads.

Sanae was able to fend off the flung spears from Ayelen, and was sure to never come into contact with the girl, knowing what her power was. Ayelen knew that her opponent was simply a melee specialist. Specialists, who were better at using their summoned weapons that any other but had no other magic, were usually recruited into the Mage Knights, but were also useful in the Inquisition.

They also had a natural talent for whatever kind of thing they did. This meant that Sanae was a better fighter than Ayelen, and only the latter's magic was keeping Sanae from easily crushing her opponent.

Meanwhile, Airi was preventing Justinia from destroying the shuttle craft. The two were rapidly firing their weapons at the other, not truly attempting to come up with any tricks. They just wanted to distract the other until their leader could arrive.

However, the Arbites were already on their way, so Adrianne and Estelle were doing their best to make it back quickly without leaving an opening to their opponent. They ran across the roof of the building, swinging weapons at each other as they ran side by side.

Leaps and rolls brought them closer while allowing them to continue their attack, so their battle looked more like an elegant ballet rather than a fierce battle. Multiple Arbites craft were already coming over the top of the building, but immediately slowed down as they saw that the fighters were magical girls. They trusted that one side was in the right, and waited for that side to make itself clear, rather than try and get in between two people of mass destruction.

Adrianne flung one final volley at Estelle before twisting and leaping down to her own shuttle. Estelle deflected the daggers as she too fell down to her own craft. The two shared one last glare at each other before they dodged into their respective craft. Airi and Justinia fell back, before Ayelen and Sanae clashed weapons one last time, before the force of the clash pushed them back to their destinations.

The shuttles were activated quickly, and then the voxes of both were quickly turned off, as neither inquisitor wanted to hear the endless stream of messages from various authorities that they would have to answer to at some point.

The two shuttles were away quickly, heading back to the mountains, where Erwine and Wei were already close to reaching the mansion. Had the telepathic messages from the sect council that demanded the matter be peacefully resolved not reached the two inquisitors, then a dogfight would have occurred. Instead, the two shuttles flew calmly beside one another, the occupants of both waiting for the landing to occur, at which point there would be a reckoning of some kind.

* * *

Wei and Erwine did end up making it to the mansion before anyone else, and they left the shuttle quickly and ran for the door to the inside. Wei had the necessary keys, and she opened the door quickly before shutting it all the way.

"Where's Sechylia?" Erwine said quickly, not angrily, but urgently.

"Downstairs, your girl would be there if she has yet to leave!" Wei replied, showing her relative inexperience through her panic and fear.

But she did lead the way as the two ran to find the stairs. Erwine pushed Wei aside and went down first, her sword in her hands as she saw the opening in the shutters that had dropped down to block the stairs.

Erwine looked through the hole, obviously torn by multiple great forces, and saw Laelia lying on the ground dead. Sechylia was clinging to life in the secret compartment in the wall, and Erwine saw her next. Wei pushed past Erwine to get to her companion, while Erwine set to work ensuring Laelia's wellbeing.

Erwine remembered that Celestine was supposed to be present. "Where's Celestine?!" she shouted, realizing that girl might only make things worse.

"She should be upstairs!" Wei called, "That's what Estelle told me when she gave me a bit more of what Sechylia told her,"

Eriwne propped Laelia's back against the shutters, before she turned and ran up the stairs, her feet pounding on the wood as she burst through the door at the top and glancing around wildly for Celestine.

She started to move around the mansion, searching every corner she could, then came into the dining room, and found traces of blood. She followed them to where Celestine's body was. Or where she was. She was struggling to get a gag out of her mouth, as she leaned against a leg of the table, her limbs cut off.

Erwine knelt down and looked at the girl, who had a cloth tied over her eyes, which had not regenerated as of yet. "Hello," Erwine said, reaching out to the girl.

"Erwine?" Celestine asked as the gag was taken from her mouth. Erwine realized that the two had never met before this day, only having heard about the other from other people. So Erwine was surprised that Celestine remembered her voice from the few words that Erwine said earlier.

"Yes," Erwine replied, "Wei and I are here ahead of the others, we'd prefer that this end peacefully, rather than in multiple deaths,"

"A fight broke out?" Celestine asked.

"Yes," Erwine said, as she undid the bandages around Celestine's arms, "It did a lot of damage, so the two are already in trouble from many people and for many reasons. The last thing they need is charges of murder slapped on as well."

Erwine paused for a second, "You aren't going to join in, are you?" she asked.

Celestine shook her eyeless head, "No, Justinia and Sanae are following orders, and they would not kill Airi, Ayelen, or even Adrianne, and the same goes for Airi and Ayelen. It's the leaders we have to worry about. So don't worry about me."

Erwine nodded, before she started to heal Celestine's body a little. She heard noise behind her as Laelia came up from the basement, completely healed. She also heard the noise of Wei carrying Sechylia up the stairs.

Laelia looked down at Celestine, before kneeling and hugging the limbless girl, "Sorry," she said softly.

Celestine knew that she had the right to be very angry in this situation, but she also knew that she would have done the same thing to Laelia if she had been asked. "Don't apologize," she insisted, "I'm no better than you are,"

Laelia chuckled, before Sechylia called out, "They're close, by the way. Both are pushing their ships to the max, but Airi will teleport in first, Erwine, get ready to do something."

Erwine frowned as she looked questioningly at Sechylia, "What do you think I can do to her?"

"I don't know," Sechylia admitted, "That is up to you to figure out. But we all know that you are very close to her. If she is likely to listen to anyone in this room, it will be you,"

"Are you certain?" Erwine asked, a bit worried about doing this.

"Yes," Sechylia said, "What do you have to lose?"

_Only all trust she has in me by getting up and defying her…but I can make it work, _Erwine kept her thoughts to herself, not wanting to express her true feelings to Sechylia, understanding that they would not make the situation any better.

So Erwine nodded, "I'll do my best." She looked at Laelia, "Any ideas?"

Laelia shrugged, "Make her think this is somehow all hurting you on some deep level. She caves in when you do that to her. If you sell it right, then she should calm down easily."

Erwine nodded, but still felt a bit worried, understanding that Adrianne could be just as easily angered more as calmed down at the moment. _I'll have to say something important to her, or do something like that. What am I going to say? _

As if on cue, the latter inquisitor popped into the room, surrounded by Ayelen and Airi. The three brandished their weapons, before they saw the other five girls standing about semi-casually, and lowered them.

Adrianne stormed over to Erwine, "What were you doing?!" she shouted, "You just ran off from the fight to go and-what?!"

Erwine had jumped forwards to embrace Adrianne tightly, wrapping her arms around the inquisitor. Her sword had been dissipated, and now Erwine just buried her head into Adrianne's shoulder. Erwine had been thinking of making up some reason to be sad, then she realized that something about all of this truly angered her.

"Adrianne," she said softly, "Please don't do this. Estelle doesn't want to hurt you, so don't fight her. We're so closer, closer than ever. We have what we needed from her, we can just leave."

Adrianne paused entirely as she heard the emotion in Erwine's voice. It was genuine, not foolish acting. The inquisitor blinked several times, and looked around, as if she had woken from a dream.

She glanced at Wei and Celestine, "Go on," Celestine said, one eye having been healed back by Laelia, "We would prefer that you get out of here rather than start anything with Estelle, or finish anything, rather."

"But I…" Adrianne did not understand, "Why the kindness…?"

Celestine grinned a little, "From what I have heard, all Estelle wants to do is help you, so I'm going to follow her ideals by helping you. Get out of here, I'll deal with Estelle."

However, the sound of a shuttle landing outside distracted the girls from the conversation. Adrianne realized that a bit too much time had been spent by her pausing, and ruminating on what Erwine was doing.

In the space of a single second, her entire demeanor changed. It was sudden, seemingly triggered by Estelle's arrival, but a careful, focused observer would have seen that she was starting to change even before the other inquisitor arrived.

Adrianne shut her eyes, gritted her teeth, and pushed Erwine back. The young girl's eyes opened wide with shock as Airi caught her before she could fall. Ayelen and Laelia ran over, just as shocked. It opened and Estelle stormed in. Adrianne dropped her weapons as she saw her rival enter, but Estelle did not. She pointed her weapon at Adrianne, seemingly ready to spear the girl.

Adrianne shook her head, "Estelle, just let me go, there's no point in fighting me,"

"Yes there is,"

"No there is not, give me one good reason,"

"Tell me where you are going," Estelle demanded, before looking at Sechylia, "Tell me where she is going!" Estelle sounded desperate, like this was a matter of life or death.

Sechylia sent the location to Estelle quickly, but Adrianne shook her head. As Estelle was turning back to look at her, Adrianne's hand knocked the halberd aside, and she kicked Estelle down onto her back. Justinia and Sanae were running into the room, and Justinia took three daggers to the face as she ran, but Sanae rolled to the side as Adrianne gestured for her followers to gather.

Adrianne spun around, flinging daggers that killed Wei, still burdened by Sechylia, and Celestine. Estelle was leaping back up as Laelia brought up her shield, and Airi waited for Adrianne's signal to teleport.

"You don't know what you are doing!" Estelle shouted, "This is a trap! Ever since we entered the sector, the enemy has plotted and anticipated our every move! Whether Ishna is real or not, someone is expecting you to run right in like this!"

Adrianne shook her head, "Stop trying to stop me!" she shouted, "I am far too close to let your stupidity, your blindness, your lack of compassion for another person stop me now!" She nodded to Airi, and the five were gone, back in the craft that Adrianne had set down on a ridge a few kilometers away, as their initial teleportation was guided by an image Laelia sent when asked by Adrianne.

Adrianne was already storming forwards when she appeared, to the cockpit, where she activated the engines and lifted the shuttle off the ground. Erwine hastily followed her inside, when Adrianne pulled her in, sat her down, and shut the door quickly and forcefully.

Erwine felt fear as Adrianne glared at her, sitting down in her own chair and taking the controls of the craft fully as it lifted up. "What are you doing?" Erwine asked, her voice filled with fear.

"I'm finishing this," Adrianne said, "And I'm making sure you don't get in my way,"

Erwine started to shake as Adrianne glared at her, setting the ship on auto-pilot. "You are wavering in your convictions, Erwine," Adrianne almost spat the last word at her, "First you run off with the enemy, and then you run off with he again, only to assist them!"

Erwine opened her mouth to complain, but Adrianne slapped her across the cheeks. "Shut up and listen to me!" she shouted, Erwine froze in shock, but only for a few seconds. Then she shot a glare back at Adrianne. _I'm scared…_Erwine thought, _I don't know what's wrong, but I'm not going to back down now. _

"You don't scare me anymore," Erwine said, trying to stare her down. "I won't back down just because you're angry." The girl's entire body was quaking. Her eyes kept glancing over to the door.

Adrianne stiffened up, glaring back. The two girls stared at each other for a few seconds, before Adrianne started the shuttle. "You wanted me to be strong, you wanted me to be able to think for myself, right?!" Erwine spat.

"I didn't want you to betray me. I didn't want you to choose some foolish friendship over me." Adrianne explained, lifting the craft into the air.

"Is it that pointless to seek companionship?" Erwine asked.

"Your betrayal is what we're discussing." Adrianne said, locking the craft into autopilot. She stood up, grabbing Erwine by the collar. The girl was lifted up, and slammed against the door. Their faces were inches apart. "I created you to be a weapon, nothing more." Adrianne growled, "You don't need friends. You need to follow my orders. Or have you decided to choose others over your wish?"

"A weapon?" Erwine asked. "So…so you don't really care about me?" Adrianne stared at Erwine. She took a long, deep breath.

"No, that's not true. I care about you. I care about your well-being. All those things I did to you were to ensure that you were the best you could possibly be." Adrianne said. "But you don't need anything more than that."

"Do you hate me?" Erwine asked.

"No, why would I?" Adrianne growled, "What are you playing at?"

"Why won't you let me reach out to anyone else?" Erwine asked, "Are you scared I'll run away from you? Do you think I'll betray you?"

"Everyone else in this world has lost their minds!" Adrianne cried. Erwine was shocked to find tears on the girl's face. "They all think I'm crazy. They think Ishna isn't real. They see me as a psychopathic murderer who tortures people for fun!" Adrianne screamed, "Isn't there something wrong with people who think that?!"

Erwine froze. The expression of defiance disappeared from her face. She looked Adrianne in the eyes still, but she wasn't so sure about what was going on. "You mean…they don't believe anything that happened to you?"

Erwine fell to the floor as Adrianne backed away. "Damn it…" The inquisitor swore. _Careless, _she thought, _letting things like that out. _"Don't pay attention to it."

"No, what do you mean, they don't believe you? I know the Eldar thing is suspicious. But…they don't believe the rest?" Erwine asked. "You say they're all insane, too? Wei wasn't crazy." The truth hit Erwine then. _Wei…she's the first person I've ever really talked to, outside of Adrianne's group. By the Goddess, have I been lied to this whole time?_

Adrianne thought for a long few seconds. With that time, Erwine was already opening the door and running out. Adrianne burst through, eyes glaring down the girl as Erwine stood at the opposite end of the rear compartment. Erwine looked around frantically, raising her arms as if to fight. "You're all lying to me, aren't you?!" She cried, "None of this is true?!"

She'd never even met Estelle. She knew not what really went on when they spoke. _Is Adrianne a traitor herself? Has she been lying to me this entire time? _Adrianne looked Erwine in the eyes. "Sit down," She spat.

"No,"

"Sit down," Adrianne ordered again, pointing to the seats. "Or I will make you."

"I don't know what's going on, Adrianne," Erwine said. "Please, just explain things to me, and I'll stop this." Adrianne moved forwards. Laelia sat still, a disappointed look cast at Erwine. Ayelen was paralyzed. Airi was the one who moved.

"Adrianne," She said calmly, standing in the girl's way. "Please. Calm down. Erwine is correct, she just doesn't understand."

"Are you going to the same level they are?" Adrianne asked. She stepped back, almost astonished. "I thought…I thought you were more…" Then the girl was angry. Airi gasped as fingers wrapped about her throat. She was cast aside. "Get out of my way," Adrianne said, Airi bouncing off the wall and onto a seat.

The inquisitor stormed forwards towards Erwine. The little girl backed herself up against the back wall, body quaking. "Are you a traitor?!" Adrianne screamed, inches from her face. "Are you going to side with the rest of this world, who can't comprehend that what I'm doing is correct?!"

Erwine shook her head. "I can't side with anyone until you give me answers." She said. The two stared each other down for what felt like an eternity.

"Ishna Kleimar died a long time ago, before Adrianne was even born. She was a traitor, but she didn't have the power Adrianne describes. Furthermore, there was no trace of what Adrianne described on Khyllis." Airi said from behind Adrianne. The girl was standing. "There is no evidence to indicate that any of Adrianne's story is correct. For all people like Estelle know, Adrianne's every word is a lie."

Adrianne stiffened. She glared behind her. Airi didn't flinch. _Later, _the inquisitor promised her. Then she went back to Erwine. "Airi's right. But I'm not lying. They think I am. They also believe that my methods are excessively harsh."

"They're not normal," Erwine stated, for confirmation. Adrianne nodded. "So you really did do all that just to make me into a weapon?" Another nod.

"There's more," Both girls were about to act, but Airi stopped them. "Erwine, there was someone named Lilith Mariade. A girl who joined Adrianne, just like you did." Adrianne looked more astonished than anything else. "Thanks to what Adrianne did, she died."

There was absolute silence. Adrianne fists were clenched tightly. Right as she looked over her shoulder, she heard Erwine speak.

"And yet you call them insane?" Erwine stopped breathing. She couldn't with Adrianne crushing her throat in, pinning her against the wall. Erwine squirmed, but the grip was too tight.

"You're just like them. Turning against me…" Adrianne had tears in her eyes, "I just want people to listen to me. To understand that all I want is revenge. Revenge against a person who deserves it. They say she doesn't exist."

"It's like going to the most faithful person in the universe and telling them the Goddess isn't real." Adrianne just couldn't understand _why. _"Ishna is real. I've seen her with my own eyes. And people just won't believe me."

She shook her head, releasing Erwine. She was crying now. "I just want to…I just want to get my revenge, and try to put my life back together." She stumbled in the opposite direction, heading back towards the cockpit. "No, I never had a life as a magical girl before Ishna. It was barely a month after I contract. All I knew is that girl robbed me of everyone I loved."

Airi took Adrianne's hand, helping her along. "Erwine, you can stay, or I can kill you." Adrianne said, "I wanted you to be strong. You're not there yet, but you're still so much more than you were a week ago. Look inside yourself, you know I'm not lying to you."

"Just go and die. I can spend my time on somebody else." Adrianne said, heading off towards the cockpit. She and Airi went in, leaving Erwine sitting against the back wall, eyes wide. "What?" Erwine asked, begging for an answer.

Adrianne sat down, Airi standing beside her. "Airi…" the inquisitor whispered, "What do I do? This…I feel like this is going to be something important, but I don't know if I can trust Erwine."

"You can trust her," Airi said, "I promise you."

"How do you know?" Adrianne wondered.

"I don't. But Erwine is dedicated. She's stuck with you this far. I don't think she'll give up now, even though she knows the truth." Airi explained.

Adrianne nodded. "Should I go out there and talk to her?"

The raven-haired girl asked, "Do you want to, will you be able to help her?" The blonde nodded. "Then please do."

Adrianne stood up. She faced Airi, a hand going to the girl's shoulder. She held on tightly. "Why did you oppose me?"

"Because I know you aren't really insane," Airi smiled, "I'd do anything for you."

"Thank you," Adrianne whispered. She pulled the girl up to her, laying her lips over Airi's. The black-haired girl squirmed a little, then relaxed. She was left standing there in near shock, watching Adrianne walk out.

"Erwine," Adrianne said, looking at the girl. She was sitting beside Laelia, who was aloof as usual. The inquisitor had just entered. "I see you've made your choice."

"I don't know what to think anymore…." Erwine admitted. She stood up, turning to face Adrianne entirely. "However…" She took a deep breath. "I believe that Ishna is real."

"Why's that?"

"Somebody has told me that a lot of lives depend on me staying with you. I can only assume that Ishna has something planned."

"'Somebody'?" Adrianne repeated.

"Some girl in my dreams. She bears an inquisitorial seal, and has not lied to me so far." Erwine explained, "I'll tell you more later, but that's all I can recall at the moment.

"A girl…" Adrianne repeated softly. "Well, if she's made you stay so far, then I won't disagree with her. However…do not betray me like that again. Or else there will be consequences."

"I understand," Erwine said.

"Good," Adrianne said.

"And Lilith?" Erwine asked, "About her?"

"You don't need to know anything more than what you already do." Adrianne growled, tightening her fists. "I don't need you deciding that I'm insane."

Erwine nodded. She still felt fear, but she wouldn't run just because of that. She couldn't quite assess what she was feeling, but it wasn't just mistrust, or fear. It was something far worse than any of that. It was a terrible, terrible feeling. Hatred is what stirred in her heart, real hatred for Adrianne.

She remembered the words of that girl, though. "Fine, but don't expect to withhold answers forever, alright?" It was more of a request than a threat. _She could hide anything she wanted from me. _

"Fine," Adrianne walked over, sitting down beside Erwine. "We'll be there in only a few minutes." She laid a hand on Erwine's shoulder. "You won't die, not on my watch. Lilith wasn't as strong as you are."

"Thank you…" Erwine wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not.

* * *

All magical girls are given some sort of ability when they contract. Only melee and ranged specialists receive one, and that ability is the summoning of their weapon. All others will generally receive two. Their weapon, and then something else. However, some girls, those with high natural talent or who are somehow tied into fate, may receive more than just their one special ability.

It is also possible for girls to have latent potential, and receive another ability later in their life. The question then comes down to, can abilities be artificially added to a magical girl? If such a thing was possible, then it would be easy to tailor elite cadres of fights, each with a dozen different powers.

However, it is not easy. There must be some latent potential within the girl, and the ability has to fall on the list of potential candidates for the one they might originally receive. Finding that list out requires a large amount of testing, which takes a long time.

Finally, the magic of the ability must be directly transferred into the receiver's gem. This basically means the giver's gem must be sacrificed in the process. The process could also easily result in a destabilization, creating a twisted fusion of the two girls.

Finally, the one actually inserting the ability has to be incredibly skilled. If the magic energy runs wild, once again, a destabilization of both gems could occur. Overall, the process is far too dangerous to truly consider as a common use.

-Investigation report from the _Grimoire Ingenium _Committee.


	22. Did I Hear You Say That This is Victory?

The proof is conclusive. Ishna Kleimar died years ago. Her death is on record, the Grand Inquisitor herself confirmed the kill. Playing around with Adrianne's fantasies isn't an option. It's been years since the so-called 'Khyllis Incident', and Ishna has done nothing.

Everything Adrianne points to as a sign of her presence is inconclusive. Therefore, I request permission to pursue Adrianne with no mercy. She cannot be allowed to run freely, when most of her story is mere delusions.

-Request from Estelle Adramartis, submitted to MSOC.

* * *

_Adrianne…_the words came quietly from Airi, to the inquisitor who now sat with something like a grin on your face. _You're really not going, right? You're not going to let yourself die? _Airi asked. She spoke telepathically, so as not to bother Erwine or anyone else, but the look on her normally stoic face told Adrianne that she was desperate for an answer.

_I promise you, I won't let myself die. I have reasons to remain. _Adrianne said.

_Only now? _Airi asked. She still sat in the corner. Erwine was pleased, smiling as she sat with her arms and legs crossed, right across from Adrianne. The young girl didn't have Airi in her line of sight. _You had no reason before? _Adrianne's eyes slid over to examine Airi's face.

Airi wasn't angry. The words that she sent to Adrianne weren't sounding like those of a girl who was at all angry. She was just disappointed in herself. _Airi…were it not for you…I wouldn't have made it to this state. I would have ended my life long ago, whether it was intentional or not. _

_Please…you're still important. _

_But I'm only second most important, _Airi replied. Not even five minutes before their destination was reached. _Yet…if I really love you…then I shouldn't mind where I fall in relation to others. _She looked up, eyes meeting Adrianne's. A smile spread across her face.

_Sorry for that Adrianne. _

_There's no need to apologize, _the inquisitor replied, _I've already said, I've neglected you far too much. Again…I wouldn't even have had the chance to make Erwine if it weren't for you. Ultimately, you were the thing that's saved me. _

Airi's eyes flickered a little as she found tears coming to them. Her hand quickly came up and wiped them away. The movement drew Erwine's attention. She looked over, seeing Airi's head immediately turn away. Erwine frowned. Adrianne gave her a reassuring look, and the young girl did nothing more.

_Thank you…Adrianne, thank you so much. _Airi said. _You know…you've done more for me than anyone else has. I…I remember back when I first saw you…you weren't anything more than an emotional, crazed wreck. I take solace in the fact that I could help you achieve something just a bit better than that. _

_Are you happy, Airi, with the way things are? Don't lie to me, just tell me the truth. Has your life been worthwhile so far? _Barely two minutes left. Airi had yet to reply. Adrianne pushed harder. _Airi. Are. You. Happy? _

Airi shook her head. _I'm not even close to an emotion that could be described as happiness. In fact, if we weren't on this mission…I might just be jumping around with joy. Adrianne…this feeling. It's amazing. Just…just don't leave me, alright? _

Adrianne grinned, _I'll never leave you, Airi. Not ever. If anything, we'll leave this world together. I promise you. _

Airi nodded, tears spilling from her eyes for a different reason now. She didn't even have the words to describe her feeling.

The forest of metal trees that was the city of Hadiens was only the canopy layer over a much, much more complex and massive part of the ecosystem. The twisting maze of roads, the clusters of buildings reaching high into the sky, they were just covers over the deeper levels of the city, where the less wealthy and fortunate would live out all their lives.

And being less fortunate than others was of course an incentive for crime to occur. The Arbites was often very busy dealing with the massive number of crime cases in the lower tiers of the city. Smarter criminals could easily mask their activities behind the numerous easily caught fools that frequently pulled off robberies or murders.

Such was the case with this smuggling operation. With someone on the inside, the group was perfectly placed to avoid all suspicion. The shipments were mundane, and were signed off on by an inquisitor with a solid reputation. Therefore, they were not tracked heavily. They were tracked, that was for certain, but none paid attention to them, as there were seemingly bigger fish to fry.

The lower city was the perfect place to hide any sort of crime operation. The Underhive would be even better, which was why Adrianne was thinking of aiming for that area, as opposed to the lower city. The Underhive was surveyed even less, and it would not be hard to move shipments down there if a good system was established for doing so.

Airi was guiding the ship in, and the conversation was being telepathically relayed to her by Adrianne, who was also describing the plan for the operation, "We'll land in the lower city, before quickly making our way down to the Underhive. Chances are that the way down to the true storage location is located in a single place in the lower city. We've identified three landing zones, but having each one go straight down would not work, due to their distance from one another. There has to be a central processing point, where the shipments are sent down for storage and then transfer from down there."

"We move to the point where the smallest number of shipments have come in, and then follow the trail. We get down to the central location, and stop this at the source. Unless Ishna already has everything she needs, this will prevent her from doing what she is planning here. She'll be reeling, then we can move in for the final strike at her."

Adrianne then went silent, only asking, "Any questions?"

There were no questions, and Airi was close to a landing zone in the lower city, so the four girls lapsed into silence as the ship slowly touched down on a landing pad. It was commercial. The doors opened up, and the five girls quickly moved out.

"We are a kilometer from the first location, landing right there would have alerted them. I will use my magic to shield us as we approach, and I'll wait till the last second to activate it. We should be there in about five minutes at a good pace, so let's hurry," Adrianne said, quickly moving towards the exit before simply deciding to jump over the wall.

Her companions followed her, and they were off into the winding streets of the area. It was darker down here, due to the coverage of the upper city, but at least some light got down to the solid floor. The Underhive had almost no illumination that was natural.

Minutes passed, and Erwine could see that they were approaching a large building. It seemed to have an area large enough to land a small craft in behind it, and that was where Adrianne led the five. She had activated her magic three minutes before, knowing that there could be any number of look-outs.

_Look for a sign of how they are moving the gems. If you can find something, tell the rest of us. The streets would be too obvious, so I am thinking an underground tunnel. I'll get us into the building via the back, but once we're in, split up. Remember, we are dealing with traitors here, but only kill if you are certain you will not be seen. _

The five moved around the back of the building, to where there was a space enclosed by a high fence. It was ten feet high, and electrified. There was no way a human could get by it, but it was an easy jump for a magical girl. It was disguised as the hideout of a gang leader, but it was clear that they would not have offworld, or even out of the city, connections.

_Erwine…_Adrianne said, _look, I know this has been hard for you in the past, but don't be afraid to kill. _

_I'm not afraid of that anymore, _Erwine replied, _I understand things now. A lot better than I did before. _The things that Wei said had a definite effect on the girl as she thought back to them. _I am just the exception…I guess I should embrace that. _

Erwine's feet touched down on the hard ground as she cleared the fence. There was a single large door, and a single small door. The two were next to each other. The small door was human sized, while the large door had enough room to possibly move an entire ship into.

Adrianne gestured at the large door, before she and Airi moved out towards it. Laelia and Ayelen moved towards the small door. Erwine was left alone, before she looked up, and saw boarded windows on the second floor of the three story, ten by twenty meter building.

Adrianne and Airi were the only ones still unable to be seen. The other three were visible to all humans. So Erwine jumped into the air, summoning her sword as she did. The boards were actually made of metal, and were arranged neatly, so as to create nice slits which could be looked or maybe even fired out of.

Erwine swung her sword. It silently cut through the metal, not even making a sound, such was the power and speed it had. The sheer magical force that came off of it bent the metal beside the cuts that had been made.

Then Erwine made two more chops, slicing the metal into small pieces which fell to the ground. She was falling by this point, but she kicked off the wall in front of her and gained some height, before reaching out and grabbing onto the edge of the building with her hand.

She could have easily burst in through the boards with one single powerful blow, but that would have made too much noise. Erwine dissipated her sword as she pulled herself inside, glancing around quickly to ensure no one was in the room she went into. It seemed to be a bedroom of sorts, containing multiple bunk beds, showing that the enemy was sleeping in their hideout.

Erwine did not bother to look around, instead moving towards the door. She opened it up and moved out into the hallway beyond. There were footsteps, and a man came up the stairs right in front of her. The stairs were to her right, but he was rounding the corner as she walked out.

Erwine reacted fast, and a quick punch to the throat silenced him. She realized that she had learned to punch the throat when wanting to silence a person from when Adrianne had demanded she torture that girl. Erwine staggered a bit as the man did, clutching for the windpipe that had to have been crushed in by the sheer power behind Erwine's arms. The time spent aboard the _Rosie _training during the voyage to Hadiens had led to everything about her body being significantly enhanced through magic.

The sight before her stunned Erwine for a moment, while the man struggled to reach for his gun even as he suffocated.

Her right hand had struck out instinctively, an act of defense in her mind. Her fist struck him in the center of the chest. Erwine heard a sharp crack as the man fell onto his back. He was clutching for his chest now. Shock was plastered on his face as his eyes shut, and his struggles ceased.

He wasn't breathing anymore. Erwine took a few steps back, appalled that she'd just done that. Yet he had tried to kill her. He was a traitor. She had killed people before. This one was no different from the last.

Erwine heard another person coming up the stairs. It may have been a coincidence, or he may have heard something. Erwine dragged the man's body back into the room she had just left, before she shut the door. Not all the way, as that would have made a sound.

The man cleared the top of the stairs, and Erwine could hear he was coming to the room she was in. She stood in front of the door, and as he pushed it open, she leapt into the air and kicked her leg into his face. There was a crack as the heel of her shoes, the long, high heel, pushed his nose back into his head, knocking him onto his back in the process.

Erwine's foot landed on his face as he went down, and he died before he had any chance to call out. But the impact of his body made a sound, and Erwine heard the door opening at the other end of the hall. She summoned her blade as a woman opened the door. A pistol was in her hand, and her eyes widened as she saw Erwine.

Erwine saw her turn around. She was already moving. Yet she knew that the enemy was before her, and had to be destroyed. She gritted her teeth.

The woman's disheveled hair flew wildly about her head as she spun around and tried to get out of the way, as Erwine's blade flew straight through the air and hit her back. She was sent onto her face, and Erwine was already running quickly forwards.

She took a leap forwards, grabbing onto the hilt of the blade as she jumped into the room. There were two other people in what looked like a large planning room, who were raising their weapons and opening their mouths.

Erwine was moving. She had momentum now. In her mind, the girl was all too aware of the fact that she couldn't stop at this point.

The humans would have killed a human opponent, but against Erwine's speed and power, all they could do was try and scream as a large horizontal swing of the six-foot long blade Erwine wielded cut both of them in half.

Blood spattered all over the room as the two died, but so far no alarm had been raised. Erwine sent her blade away as she finished the swing. She stood there, shaking as she realized that her blade had just effortlessly bisected two human beings.

_Human beings, _she thought to herself. Then Erwine steadied her hands. She was a magical girl. She _knew _that she was doing the right thing. She looked down over her body. Blood covered it. Her hands went to touch it.

Her hand was raised to her face. Erwine's eyes stared into the crimson fluid. She closed her fist, eyes shutting at the same time. She remembered that contract she made. The words she uttered still echoed in her mind. She remembered the promises she made to Erwine.

All of it came back to her in an instant. She turned around, striding out of the room. She was a magical girl. A servant of the Goddess. They were human beings. But they were also traitors. Erwine could do this. She knew that Adrianne was counting on her as well.

From the sound of things, something was going on downstairs. _Erwine, get down here, _Adrianne called, _we've found something good, but our 'friends' don't want us going anywhere. _

As if on cue, the whip crack of lasguns could be heard, leading to Erwine simply leaping over the railing of the hallway and to the bottom of the staircase. She rolled as she hit the ground and found herself in the front entrance to the building, which was barricaded. Two men were glancing back and forth from the doors to the part of the building where the sounds came from.

Erwine had no weapon, but the guards reacted fast, bringing their weapons to bear on her. "Stop!" she shouted, her magic imbued through the words. The men hesitated on the pull of the trigger for a whole second, but that was what cost them. She came up from her roll with both her hands punching out at their arms. She knocked both their aims off with powerful blows, before shifting to the left and punching her right arm into the right man's stomach. Her left arm came up to hit his helmeted head.

She then got behind him as he flinched for a second, taking cover from the wild shots of the other guard as he remembered to pull the trigger. A few of his bolts hit the body of the guard Erwine stood behind, and she twirled around to kick him forwards into the other man. The two fell down together, before Erwine summoned her blade. She pointed the tip downwards, and stabbed it through both men before bringing it with her this time, not caring about blood at this point.

She ran through the hallways, finding only dead bodies when she did find anyone. She found a door that was hanging partially open. She threw it all the way open, and then saw multiple dead guards within the large hangar-like space that had been observed from outside.

There were also the four girls that Erwine had gotten to know very well in recent times. "Out of all the people here," she sighed, "I'm the only one to not raise an alarm? With my giant sword, and abilities not at all suited to stealth action?"

The other girls chuckled at her comment, before Adrianne gestured to a hole in the floor, near the end of the hangar. It was large enough for a something large to be fit into, like a large container, or several of them.

"That's how they do it," Adrianne said, "There may be survivors, or a message, may have gotten off, so let's get moving."

The five girls made their way into the opening, with the shield generator leading the way. "This should be a solid surprise attack," Adrianne said, "As they should know about the chaos of this night. The most they will expect at the moment is the Arbites coming down on them from something I told the authorities."

Erwine chuckled, "Nobody expects Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition, huh?" she said, using the full name for effect.

Adrianne shook her head as she walked behind Laelia through the rather tall tunnel. It was about three meters high, and even had small tracks in the middle of the four meter space, for what must have been a fast transport method for the cube containers.

"No," Adrianne said, "Everybody expects Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition, the difference is how much they prepare for it."

Erwine nodded, "They already know we're coming, but they aren't ready for a direct assault."

"Indeed, you could say that we are possibly violating some laws by simply attacking without any real evidence. With everything else Estelle has on us, the enemy is not at all prepared for a direct assault from us. If this does not go perfectly, then we are most likely…" Adrianne paused for a moment as she truly realized the consequences of the past few days, "In serious trouble,"

She left the issue at that, and no one else said anything more. They started to run down the tunnel, knowing that they had to move fast if they wanted t outpace anyone that might be coming after them, such as Estelle, and decrease the possibility of the enemy knowing of the strike.

Due to the quick deaths of the previous foes encountered, there was a chance that a signal had not gotten off, but there was also a high chance that somebody had survived, hidden in a room that was not entered.

The tunnel was almost entirely dark, only illuminated by a few lights spaced out evenly on the walls. The track for the cart that would carry the smuggled good was the only real feature besides those lights. The corridor was obviously new, as no signs of decay were seen in the areas that could be seen.

It seemed that this tunnel was not intended for large amounts of human use. Rather, it seemed to be more geared towards moving people when it was necessary to escort the cargo, or possibly to move people secretly.

The footsteps of the five girls, now faster than ever, echoed off the tunnel walls as they ran near top speed. Erwine estimated that they had traveled roughly a kilometer at this point. At several points, the tunnel had twisted and turned, sometimes going for only a few meters in a new direction before turning once more.

And right as Erwine estimated the traveled distance, the ground seemed to drop away from them. The tunnel came to a sudden and abrupt end, leading to a hole in the ground. Erwine, as well as the other four, went to the side of the rectangular hole.

It was deep and dark. The bottom could not be seen. Rails on the side of the wall going down, which could be barely seen this close up, showed that an elevator was how one would normally progress from this point. But the elevator was down.

So either the enemy knew the five were coming, or they had simply not sent it back up yet. Adrianne was the first to move. She simply stepped off the edge, falling down into the darkness.

Erwine followed her, force of will driving her when common sense questioned the decision. She really had no way to know where the bottom was, or when it would come. She focused her eyes, trying to see better in the darkness of the tunnel.

The air rushed by her face quickly. It was stale. She did not mind, having tasted air like that for a long time. She fell through the darkness for only a few seconds.

She saw a brief flash as Adrianne hit the ground, and she followed this timing, and slowed herself at the same time. Shortly afterwards, the other three girls touched the ground. Adrianne was already approaching the door out of the small space they were all in.

It was large, being two parts, each part either sliding up or down, depending on if it was the top or the bottom piece. It was of course unable to be opened from this side. Adrianne waved Laelia and Erwine up to her side. She did not need to give them any instructions.

Erwine summoned her blade, and after charging it with magic energy, she struck. The brightly glowing blade tore through the metal in the middle of the door, leaving a centimeter wide rent in the tough substance. Erwine stepped back quickly, dragging her blade with her.

She then pointed the tip right at the door, and after a second of concentration, she lunged forwards. The burst of power she directed forwards, at a small area, tore a larger rent in the middle of the door. Laelia was able to stick her arm in, and start to project her shield. The force of the sudden blast of energy was enough to start buckling the metal, but it did not go unnoticed.

The cracking sound of lasfire came from the other side of the door as Laelia tore a hole, but the bolts bounced off the shield she raised against it. After about twenty seconds, ten of which were filled with the sound of enemy guns, a large enough hole for a girl to slip through was torn.

But more importantly, the enemy had shown their hand. The first cut that Erwine had made had given enough space for Airi to look through, and she knew where to go. Now they all knew where the enemy was, and how many of them there were.

Airi disappeared as Laelia crouched down. The roughly circular hole was about half a meter in diameter. She could make it through easily. So she took a breath, and then leapt up, projecting her shield once again as she did.

Airi was already attacking as Laelia crawled through, conjured her guns, and then opened up her shield to protect the others as they came in. Her machine guns barked as they cut down the enemy on all sides. She glanced to the left, and then opened up her shield a bit more as Erwine saw her moving in that direction. She was the next through the hole, only to find the door opening under her as she came through.

A quick roll prevented any injuries, but she did take the moment to throw an annoyed glare at Laelia, who only shrugged and chuckled a little. The room Erwine saw as she stood up was roughly circular. The diameter of the place was about twenty-five meters.

It seemed like a large storage area, and sure enough, boxes were piled high in many areas. The ceiling was about eight meters off the ground. Around the edge of the room was a raised walkway, which was led up to by ladders, but also stairs in once place.

The lights on the ceiling completely illuminated almost the entire room, leaving no secrets to be hidden. A barricade had been set up around the entrance to the transport tunnel, but it was not clear if it was recent or not. No matter what, the two dozen men who had been behind the sandbags and metal barricades were all dead now.

"Spread out," Adrianne called, as she walked out from behind Erwine, "Find everyone else in the area. Kill them. If they're important, I want them alive. Look for anything that might give us a clue as to what is going on."

They all nodded to their leader, before moving on. Erwine paused for a moment to smile at Adrianne, till the latter girl's face went blank. Blank with fear. "What is it?!" Erwine shouted in fear, realizing that Adrianne was scared by something.

"This place, look around…it's not at all designed for transporting grief cubes out. These boxes are stacked in this room, but this seems to be the only large exit, save for the other transports, but all of them are too small. This is a completely inefficient hub system. Ishna would never design something this…stupidly," Adrianne shook her head as the truth came to her. She looked at Erwine, eyes serious, "This is not a hub for transportation. She's stockpiling these things here, which means…no, she can't possibly intend to…no!"

Adrianne was shouting at the sudden appearance of other people in the room. She had no idea where they might have been, but they were all around now. Some seemed to have just appeared out of thin air. Lasgun fire filled the air as the several dozen new appearances opened up with their rifles.

Adrianne threw Erwine to the ground before she herself rolled to her feet and joined battle with the new enemies. Erwine got up just as quickly, but Adrianne had already killed several of them before she joined the fight.

Erwine's blade as already in her hand, and she looked to the left as Adrianne went right. The inquisitor leapt onto the boxes, turning towards the walkway, meaning to attack the snipers up there.

"No!" Erwine commanded as the guards aimed at her. The force of the command made them hesitate. The tip of Erwine's bladeimpaled the first of the soldiers attacking her. She pushed forwards, tipping her blade up and lancing the tip into the ground. She used this to pull herself up and kick the man to her right. He was knocked back into a box, but not before his gun scored a hit on her arm. It grazed her, but the pain was intense.

Erwine then pulled herself over the blade in the ground, using the motion to yank the sword up and out of both the body it was in as well as the metal floor. She crouched as she hit the ground, and the man who was to her left attempted to trace her, but ended up being dismembered by a pair of quick strikes.

Erwine kept moving around the circle, as the men in front of her by about five meters leapt for cover behind the boxes. They made it before she got to them, but as she rounded the corner they were not there.

Without warning, a blast of gunfire came at her. She had seen the faint glimmer of movement, so she had dashed to the side. _Camo cloaks, _she realized, as she saw the lasfire coming from seemingly nowhere. Her reflexes saved her, but several near misses were suffered. She stepped back in to swing with her sword, and cut the tightly-packed men with a single horizontal slice.

Adrianne was on the walkway now. She was running along the metal quickly, throwing her daggers down into the chaos below as she did. Her targets were the snipers all around the walkway, who were currently targeting her.

But then saw something that scared her. A pair of them were aiming across the room. At Erwine. She had no idea that she was about to be fired at. Her movement was too fast to be killed by a hit to the soul gem, but she would be killed bodily, and the soldiers she was about to engage with would finish her off.

The snipers in particular were lined up with Adrianne as she stopped moving and then turned a little. She threw her knives at the wall, hitting a point exactly in between them and her.

But she was too late. The specific crack of their weapons was heard over everything else, and the world seemed to slow down as the shot went towards Erwine. Adrianne panicked inside, as the world seemed to fall apart. Everything had been going so well, but the ambush had signaled the end, it seemed.

The lasers, despite traveling at the speed of light, were somehow slow to Adrianne as she followed their paths. It was not supposed to happen like this, she thought, as the bright ruby beams sought their target with the precision of shots fired by experienced, battle-hardened soldiers.

_So they have storm troopers on their side? _Adrianne thought, as she realized the equipment and weapons were similar to those men. But that thought was secondary now.

Erwine had only a split second's notice, as Adrianne's telepathy was faster than even light. Yet she could not move in time. All she could do was turn to face her end. Adrianne swore that she saw a look of shock on Erwine's face before she closed her eyes.

Time had stopped moving, however. Adrianne didn't know it. For her, no time passed at all. But for Erwine, her attention suddenly went to the laser beams headed right towards her. The world was tinted a strange greyish hue all of a sudden. And for some reason, those laser beams weren't blasting her head into pieces.

She realized that she could move, and shifted down onto one knee from the unbalanced posture she'd been in before. Erwine looked around, carefully. Someone had to be stopping time like this, and somehow allowing her to move in the stopped time.

Then that person appeared before her. Erwine looked up, her hand going down to her leg, and feeling the ribbon tied around her ankle. Her eyes were focused entirely on the figure that stood before her. The figure whose face could be described by perhaps only one word.

Angelic. That was what Erwine saw. She'd always seen depictions of the Goddess, and those stylized drawings of magical girl. The ones that showed them as beings who were perfect in every visible way.

Erwine saw one of those things. An angel stood before her. Erwine's jaw dropped. She froze. That angelic face. It was the girl in her dream.

The girl in her dream. _What is she doing here? She…she's real? _"You're really there, right?" Erwine asked.

"I am," the girl confirmed. Her beautiful face stared down at Erwine, the rest of her body still obscured by her cloak. She turned her head to the left, sighing as she saw the bright beams streaking towards Erwine's face. "It's a shame. You'll be dying young…"

Erwine's gasped, "Wait…you're not going to help me?"

"Oh…sorry for scaring you." The angel smiled as she looked back at Erwine. "There's no need to worry, my precious little Erwine. I can't let you die. As I've said, you're far too much to me."

"So what will you do?" Erwine asked. Her voice was low, quiet, and ripe with amazement. She couldn't believe that this person was actually here. She'd figured it to be some manifestation of a higher power, such as the Goddess. Or maybe this girl was.

Erwine had heard of the living saints, those magical girls who truly gave their souls to the Goddess in exchange for becoming vessels of Her will. _Is this being one of them? _Erwine wondered. _She's casually stopping time, she can access my dreams…have I been chosen for some higher purpose? _

"I'll help you." The girl promised. "Not directly, for it's not my place to interfere with you, not yet." She stretched her arms out to either side.

All around her, small points of light floated about. Erwine's eyes got wider and wider as she looked on. The way the small orbs glowed…it resembled the way a soul gem glowed. "What are those?" She asked, a sense of fear inside her now.

"Magic," the girl replied, "The magic of girls who went to join the Goddess. Their lives ended, but their magic lives on through me."

Erwine, whispering, asked, "Are…are you a living saint?"

The girl grinned. "Some may call me by that name, yes." Her hand reached out to grasp one of the balls of light. She whispered, "This one will do nicely." It floated into the cusp of her palm, as she slowly shepherded it back to herself.

Her left arm reached out again, and a rapier appeared there. Erwine jumped for a moment, still frozen in shock and awe. The girl guided the ball of light to the hilt of the rapier, and then the thing lit with a bright blue light, the same blue that the orb had emanated.

The girl passed it to her right hand, before looking down at Erwine. "Calm yourself, this shall be violent for a moment. The magic must be placed directly in your soul."

There was a flash as the rapier struck out. The blue light disappeared from the gem, shooting into Erwine's own soul. The young girl convulsed violently, falling over for a moment. "The gift I give you now shall help you for a long time into the future, my precious little peach, use it wisely, though."

Erwine shook on her back, immense pain spreading throughout her entire body. It almost hurt as much as it did when her soul was first ripped from her. Her mouth went wide as the feelings came to a climax. Then the pain was gone.

The world was still the same greyish hue. Time was still stopped. Erwine struggled to find her way to her feet. She looked up at the girl before her, Erwine's mind automatically telling her what she had received.

"Thank you…" Erwine said.

"Do not thank me," the girl replied, "I am merely enacting the will of a far greater power than my own."

"The Goddess Protects…" Erwine whispered, a grin spreading across her face.

"…That She Does," the angel seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then she disappeared. Time started again a second later.

Adrianne, the master of the girl who was about to die, did not want to see the end of the one person in the world who had restored hope to her heart. To Adrianne, she was losing a daughter.

And that was not something she ever wanted to see, especially when she knew that she could have prevented it, had she just tried hard enough. Her knees felt weak, but she steadied them.

Tears came from her eyes as she realized how far she had come, only to lose Erwine now, when that girl was still so young. But at the same time, her eyes show open, and she committed herself to avenging Erwine.

And yet, there seemed to be no need for such vengeance, not at least for Erwine. A brilliant cloud of light circled around where the girl had once been. Such an event was not the result of a soul gem breaking.

Adrianne looked closer, and then remembered Erwine's first warp entry. The way she had suffered, more than anyone else Adrianne had seen, ever. That was a sign of something big. Erwine's natural talent was not high. So Adrianne had not taken the usual symptoms as an irregularity. She had taken it as a sign of a hidden potential.

Such hidden potentials were usually found in girls destined for something truly great in their lives. And in this case, it was as if the hand of fate itself had intervened to ensure that Erwine would survive. For Erwine certainly had to survive.

She was protected by a pair of glowing wings, projected from her back. Wings, a sign of power since even the earliest times of humanity. Her wish had been for power, so she had received two gifts. One was simply hidden, waiting for the moment when it was needed.

Adrianne wondered why it was now, so early, that Erwine's hidden potential had been so dramatically unveiled. It truly made no sense, and spoke of an even greater hand playing a part in her protection, but Adrianne did not question this at the moment.

Instead, she watched as Erwine unfurled her wings, shock on her face. Adrianne cheered internally as she leapt from the walkway, turning towards the snipers who had attempted, and come so very close to succeeding, to kill Erwine. The pull of the chains on her daggers, still in the wall, swung her in towards those men. A kick from her smashed the head of one, and a simple toss of a dagger killed another.

The next minute was a blur for Adrianne as she tore through the enemy. For Erwine, it was breathtaking. The soldiers who would have ensured her death had she been hit were staring at her, momentarily taken back by the beautiful wings. They looked like wings made of moonlight. That was the only comparison Erwine could think of.

They were obviously made of energy, but feathers could be seen, in great detail. Each individual line was traced perfectly, and as Erwine stretched them to their full length, with only a thought, she felt herself lift off the ground a little.

She raised her sword, looking at the soldiers in front of her. Yet, they did not move. Without warning, they dropped to the ground. They were all dead, and a strange look came over Erwine's face as this occurred. Across the entire room, the men all dropped dead. The other magical girls froze as well, wondering what exactly had caused this. Erwine didn't feel different at all.

A staircase led upwards to the walkway, near the back of the room. The doors to the tunnels were positioned around the room in the shape of what a normal pentagon might be, meaning that was there was space for a sloping staircase in the back, opposite the door Erwine and her friends had come in from.

This staircase led to a single door. It also split the walkway in two, meaning that Adrianne could not walk over to that side of the walkway. This door was open.

A figure was walking through it. Before Erwine could see her, the lights all went off. Erwine's night vision kicked in, and she got a better glimpse of her, but the figure was hooded and cloaked. Only Erwine's wings provided any light in the darkness, and she used these to lift herself atop the boxes.

The hooded figure stood at the top of the staircase, directing her gaze over towards Adrianne. "Hello, old friend," the voice was sincere, and kind. It was touching almost, hearing someone speak so kindly to Adrianne. Erwine didn't recognize the voice, despite a bit of initial shock at the girl's appearance. _It's not the one I know, _she decided immediately.

Yet as Erwine glanced at her master, she saw the inquisitor's jaw drop to the floor, as anger started to control her entire face. She took a step forwards, but was stopped by the voice of the new figure, which was icy cold all of a sudden, "We meet again, but unfortunately, you have changed. You were so fun to play with, back in the day, when you would scream and cry at anything."

Adrianne was frozen solid. Airi was down near the bottom of the stairs, having been there when the new girl entered. Laelia and Ayelen were together in the right side of the room, near the upper right entrance door to the tunnels.

The girl's voice was no longer cold when she spoke again. It was soft now, almost sad in a way. "Yet you have still been dancing to the tune of one thing, for so long. But wasn't it a lovely tune?" The question clearly pierced Adrianne to the core, as she was struggling to move, even though her anger had driven her on up until this point.

"You have certainly tricked so many girls into following you along. Such good little dogs you have trained, Adrianne," the name was spoken with an untold amount of kindness and compassion, but somehow managed to chill Erwine. "Save for one," the girl pointed at Erwine, not even bothering to look, simply extending her arm in that girl's direction, "She is alive, truly,"

Adrianne seemed to have a retort on her lips, but she could not deliver it, and instead gasped for air wildly like a fish might when out of water. The girl turned towards Erwine, "I apologize for not introducing myself, I am-" She was cut off suddenly.

A dagger was coming out of her throat now. Then, five more impaled the rest of her head. Adrianne ran quickly, jumping over the gap to land next to the dead body. She stood over the corpse, her eyes flaring with anger, "Selfish bitch," she muttered, "You thought you had won, you thought you could just walk in after thirty years of never seeing you, and paralyze me, paralyze me completely?!"

Adrianne knelt down, as Erwine watched in silence from her position. The inquisitor removed the hood from the girl, and looked into the face of her greatest enemy. Then she started hitting her, again and again with the daggers. Blood flew out, spurting into the air as bones cracked and flesh tore.

Erwine took a running leap, using her newfound wings to aid the jump. Her stomach turned over as she saw what the inquisitor was doing.

Adrianne was crying wildly. She could not control herself, seeing that she had won so easily. It had been effortless in the end, not even requiring the sacrifice of her own life.

The girl's face was too destroyed to be even recognizable to anybody else. Adrianne was moving down to the body, cutting in more and more as her anger took over entirely. Then she finally dropped her weapons, feeling amazing as she was bathed in the blood of the person who had tormented her of so long.

She reached down, finding the soul gem of the girl amidst the carnage. She held the pure blue thing up. "We've won…we've really won, haven't we?" Adrianne asked. Her voice was distant, sounding like it came from far away.

Erwine could only nod silently, not knowing what to say. In the end, she had done little. She had not even done anything major that had truly saved Adrianne and the others. As she thought back, she realized that without her, this conclusion may still have been reached.

Adrianne smiled, her cheeks wet with tears, "This is end…I've-no, _we've _finally done it!" she cried. Happiness spread through her body, the other girls who had brought her to this point standing around her.

Erwine couldn't believe that this was the end. That this simple ending was the closure that they had come to. Yet it was closure. She shut her eyes, thinking, _closure really is…overrated, isn't it? _

And so, Erwine too started to shed a few tears, but for different reasons than Adrianne. Adrianne fell on her side, unable to even hold herself up anymore, such was the strength of her tears of joy. She looked at the dead body, her own body lying down in the ever-expanding pool of blood that came from the girl. Ishna's gem was held close to her body. She knew that it would start to bring her back. That would only give Adrianne a chance for further vengeance.

Erwine knelt down as well, tears still coming from her eyes as Airi, Laelia, and Ayelen all stood around her and Adrianne. The dead body was in the center of them all.

There was an aura of disbelief, as if…as if the journey was not truly over. Erwine felt this, they all did, save Adrianne, for whom the journey had lasted thirty years.

Erwine realized that this feeling…this feeling was a result of the desire for…more. She did not want this all to end so soon. While Adrianne could cry and cry out of happiness, Erwine could only cry because the thing she had been made for was easily done.

She had a future now, she had an opportunity to be a hero now…but this was too soon for her. Erwine leaned back against the railing of the walkway, a hand going to her face to try and stifle her tears.

She realized that the hardest part of a journey was neither the beginning nor the middle, even that part in the middle when all seems lost. It was the end. For that as when one had to accept that they have no more purpose, at least for the moment.

Erwine continued to shed tears, even as Adrianne brought hers under control. She sat back up, looking around. She met the eyes of Airi, of Laelia, and of Ayelen. They were all happy. Airi was crying, for she was happy for her master. Ayelen was pleased as well, as was Laelia. But the same emptiness that Erwine felt as felt heavily by Laelia and Ayelen as well, not as heavily, but the feeling was certainly there.

Erwine had not even come very far to see this end. She wished that it had taken longer…even though that would have brought more grief upon those around her, as well as herself.

Adrianne finally smiled, her tears clearing away, "Finally," she whispered, "It's all over…all over." A fresh wave of tears took her, and she shook her head, attempting to clear her mind of the thoughts which brought them on.

But she could not stop thinking of Nadine, of the other girls she had been with. Even now, at this moment of triumph and clarity for her, she struggled to remember the names of those who had fallen. It was if anger had obscured them, turned them from people with hopes and dreams into simply memories to be avenged.

Even then, they were all lovely people. They had lived wonderful, happy lives in the Inquisition, and Ishna had taken that from all of them. Adrianne could not help but cry more, even as she was happier than she had ever been before.

Then, the sound of the room was shattered. It was previously peaceful. This peace had been brought about due to the steady sound of tears. It had turned from a distinctive sound to a background one for the five girls.

Then a door opened, the same one Ishna had just walked from. Erwine was standing still, in the best position to look. The others reacted as she looked straight forwards.

Erwine looked into the face of a being that could only be described as an angel.

* * *

All magical girls are blessed by the Goddess, which is not denied. However, there are sometimes reports of those who seem to be almost on another level of existence compared to the average girl, exhibiting powers far beyond that of anyone else. These beings are referred to as Living Saints.

Most beatifications take place after the fact, after one has already made miracles occur. However, Living Saints are in the now, beings that are empowered by the spirit of Her Holy Majesty to wreak vengeance upon her foes. It is unknown what the criteria are, for all but the most radical are hesitant to investigate this holy occurrence, not wanting to tread in forbidden ground.

No matter what, these girls are easily more powerful than any other, sometimes exhibiting abilities never before recorded. Once a girl achieves sainthood, she is generally free to do what she wills, to go where she must, to do what must be done.

-_Greater than Angels, _by Inquisitor Marxene Stikorsky.


	23. Facing the Unfortunate Truth

Initiate the operation. Destroy Ishna Kleimar at all costs. No matter what collateral damage occurs, no matter what must be sacrificed. The girl is to be destroyed.

-Order from the Grand Inquisitor, M40.979

* * *

Erwine's eyes went wide as she comprehended that time wasn't stopped. And the girl was actually showing all her body for once. She smiled, happy to see the person who had chosen her for something truly special.

The young girl took a step forwards, as the other girls all turned their heads. Adrianne gasped.

* * *

Time froze again. The living saint sighed. "Well…Erwine, I'm sorry. Things are going to escalate from here…and I need to show myself to the rest of you all." She smiled, "I'm sure you can help explain that my intentions are purely benevolent?"

Erwine nodded excitedly, "Of course I can," She said. Her life had been saved by this girl. She would do anything for her.

The girl looked to the side. Erwine saw tears dripping out of her eyes. "Erwine…I'm so sorry…but I've lied to you."

* * *

Time unfroze. "Ishna!" Adrianne screamed, moving like lightning.

"Hello Adrianne," Ishna Kleimar said, already looking at the inquisitor. She moved a thousand times faster than Adrianne, a faint glow surrounding her body as she did so. Her right leg kicked out into Adrianne's face. The inquisitor was sent back several feet, her chest crumpling inwards as the body on the ground started to break apart.

Ishna's right arm reached up to grab the soul gem that Adrianne had held, which she had let fly as she rushed at Ishna. Securing the gem, she kicked with her right at Airi's head. The girl's head was jerked upwards as she toppled over the railing to the floor below.

Then Ishna planted her right and kicked with her left. Laelia was hit now, flying onto her back. Then her left arm reached out and grabbed Ayelen's throat. She swung the girl against the wall with enough force to bash her head in. Ayelen crumpled down, going to her side.

Adrianne's chest was crushed. She was barely alive. Airi's skull was smashed in. She was dead. Laelia's chest had been entirely destroyed. She was dead. Ayelen's skull had been bashed to pieces. She was dead.

Erwine was the only one untouched by any of Ishna's actions. She was just scared.

Ishna's fist tightened down around the gem. It cracked, the hundreds of pieces dissolving as they flew outwards. It was a fake.

Erwine was frozen in fear. She could have moved if she had the will to do so. Nothing but her own mind stopped her. She backed up against the railing as Ishna looked at her with a mad grin on her face.

"Erwine Braune…" she whispered, before bowing for a moment. "Welcome to the next step of your journey…"

Although Erwine was still utterly frozen with shock, she could still look. And she did get a chance to truly examine Ishna.

She had cold, dark blue eyes, the piercing gaze of which frightened Erwine more than Adrianne ever had. They were not angry, nor truly frightful. It was more the calm behind them. The calmness of a person who knew she had won.

The dark blue eyes were surrounded by a perfectly collected face. The previously boisterous smile of the girl was gone, replaced by a more collected smile, almost incomparable to anything else, such was the nature of it. Were the situation different-no, that's a lie. Ishna's face could only be described as unearthly beautiful, no matter the situation.

And this lovely, angelic, face, was framed by long, dark blue hair. It was not quite black nor violet. It was distinctly blue, but a very deep shade of blue. The top of her hair was perfectly done and combed. Yet reached no further than her neck, as the rest of the hair was curled into two long locks.

The locks, beautiful in their own right, went down to her neck. They were elaborately braided with small black ribbons.

Erwine's gaze then traveled downwards, to the girl's neck. The high collar of her coat could be seen there, as could the top of the small capelet she wore. Both were navy blue in their color. The coat was tight, but not too tight. It featured a series of buttons that held it together, and all were perfectly done. On closer examination, the buttons were revealed to be small gemstones, all of the same black coloration. The sleeves reached down to the wrists, ending right there. Her hands were covered by dark black gloves.

And then over that coat was a capelet. It stretched down to her elbows. The edge was laced with brighter lining, as was the upper edge. The rest of the thing was the same color as the rest of her outfit, but somehow a deeper shade of blue. It managed to be a deeper shade of blue without becoming black. The two sides of the capelet were tied together up the middle of the front side, by white ribbons in the small holes. Half a dozen bows ran up the middle of the front of the article of clothing, only adding to the depth of her costume.

Erwine's gaze came to Ishna's legs as she kept looking down. Her skirt ended perfectly at her knees, and was devoid of any ruffles or bumps. It was the same navy blue as her coat. It looked to be made of a similar material as well.

Her boots were tall, stretching up to just below her knees. Their heels were high, probably about an inch and a half. They were the same dark blue color, and featured medium-length, thin, white ribbons running up the length of them to function as ties. The boots ended perfectly at her knees, right where the skirts ended. The height of the boots, along with the length of the skirt, meant that Ishna's legs were barely visible. Erwine caught a glimpse of them, and noticed that she wore dark blue leggings.

Her attention came back to the girl's face as she chuckled a little. "Observant, aren't you?" Ishna asked. Her voice…her voice was truly the most beautiful part of her. While the rest was simply her own fashion choices, or possibly her wish playing a part in her design, her voice was the only thing that was still somewhat her own natural beauty.

It could surely be modified, but somehow, Erwine knew that this girl spoke in the voice she had possessed since she had contracted, if not before. The tone she took on was not intimidating, nor angry. It was not frightful, nor intended to scare Erwine.

It was…kind…caring. It was if she was speaking to a crying little girl. A mother speaking to a crying little girl. Somehow, even though the girl had orchestrated events which had caused everything Erwine had experienced in the last few weeks, her voice touched Erwine more than Adrianne's could.

"Who are you really?" Erwine asked, quaking in fear.

Ishna smiled. Adrianne had recovered enough to try to get up. "Erwine, get-!" She sat back down and stopped talking. Ishna hadn't moved. Adrianne was just forced onto her back, with an angle that allowed her to see what was happening.

"My name is Ishna Kleimar," the living saint explained quietly, a hand going to her chest. "And you…Erwine..." She grinned madly, a breath barely escaping her lips, "You are something truly _precious_."

She moved forwards, her hand reaching out. Erwine tried to spread her wings, but she was far too slow. Ishna wrapped her gloved hand around Erwine's throat. It was a gentle kind of grab. It didn't endanger the girl's life, but did lift her up into the air. Erwine found that she couldn't move at all. Her wings were still extended to either side of her.

"You see, Erwine…" Ishna said, her voice getting a bit louder now, "You're the greatest thing I have _ever _created in my life. Perhaps the only thing, you could say." She grinned madly as she stared deep into Erwine's eyes.

Her right hand gripped Erwine's throat. Her left hand reached out to gently stroke Erwine's wings. Her deep blue eyes turned to examine those. Gently, she passed her hand up and down over the immaculately created feathers, smiling as she did so. Meeting Erwine's eyes once again, she whispered. "Erwine…these are beautiful…I didn't ever think they'd turn out so beautiful."

Her left hand reached upwards, to softly run her fingers over Erwine's cheek. "So beautiful…even your defiance." Erwine was trying to resist the telekinetic field around her that stopped her from moving. Yet she could not. "You're perhaps…perhaps the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life…" Ishna's jaw slowly dropped open.

"I'd seen you in your dreams…but…in the flesh it's just so much better, isn't it?" Ishna asked. Erwine felt tears bubbling up out of her eyes as she struggled to comprehend what was happening.

"I'm so happy that you could finally come to fruition, that the seeds I planted thirty years ago would find a true home…" Ishna smiled. Erwine froze, stopping her struggle. Adrianne stopped as well.

_If that's true…then…she's played me since the very beginning! _Adrianne screamed.

"I made you!" Ishna shouted for all to hear, "Erwine Braune! I made you, you beautiful little girl! And I'm so happy that I made the right choices!" She cackled as her hand started to run down Erwine's body, tracing around all the bumps and curves with but one finger. Erwine shuddered, her muscles able to move to that extent. She looked down, watching Ishna's finger get lower and lower on her body.

"What are you?" Erwine asked.

Ishna looked up at Erwine as the finger rested on the girl's waistline. "I thought I already told you. You said it yourself? Aren't I a saint to you?" She giggled.

"Ah, ma belle peche," Ishna whispered, her voice calm and soothing, the finger stopping right before it went to a place that Erwine begged it wouldn't. "I shan't defile you in this manner, it's not my job to do _that,_" She giggled again, a bit louder this time. She licked her lips provocatively as she held her gaze on Erwine's eyes, "Though I feel you would enjoy it more than you think…"

"So Erwine…" Ishna said, lowering the girl done to the point where her feet touched the ground. She stepped forwards, Ishna's face only inches from Erwine's. Her soft, slow breathes washed over Erwine's face, revealing a captivating scent.

"Did you see this coming?" She asked, "Anything like this at all?" Erwine didn't reply. Words did not exist to describe the feelings that ran through her body at the moment. Yet whatever they were, they froze her there.

Ishna frowned. Erwine tensed, as if she thought Ishan would hit her. "No…" Ishna shook her head at this. Her right hand let go of Erwine's throat, brushing away the tears from Erwine's eyes. "I'd never hurt you…" Ishna looked honestly hurt. "Never ever will I dare to make you feel pain…" Deep down inside, Erwine could feel that the truth was what was being spoken.

The smile came back to her face. She waved her free right hand around, gesturing to the rest of the room, to Erwine's friends and comrades, "Did you see this coming?" she asked, and before Erwine could not reply, she leaned in a little. Her voice dropped to a low whisper, "Do say something this time, it's a bit awkward talking to one's self." Her whisper was in a tone that shook Erwine to the core. Not because it was frightful. It aroused a feeling in Erwine…that disturbed her, in more ways than one

"Yes…" Erwine let the words slip from her lips, wondering why she did not prevent herself from speaking. Yet speak she did, and a nod was performed by her head as well.

"Did you really?" Ishna asked, her eyebrows raising a little, "All of this?"

Erwine shook her head. Ishna looked over her shoulder. Adrianne was conscious, and had been listening, but she knew that she was in no shape to fight. She was still trapped, not able to talk, only able to listen and watch.

"Listening?" Ishna asked with a sick smile, before she asked Erwine, without turning around, "But you knew something?"

"I suspected that moving so soon after everything that had happened was not a good idea, and…and when we first entered I got a feeling that something was wrong…," Erwine realized that Adrianne may not like the words she was saying, but she felt compelled to speak to Ishna.

Ishna smiled, "Go on, no need to be afraid with me," she said. Once again, her voice was like that of a mother. She whispered once more, "Why did you not voice those concerns?"

Erwine froze, unable to reply. She did not want to speak, knowing that it would only give Ishna a way to turn her against Adrianne. Then Ishna leaned forwards. Her breath, warm, blew against her ear as she exhaled softly. It was not an intentional blow, rather a simple exhaling of the average breath. Erwine shivered as it tickled her.

Ishna's mouth was incredibly close to Erwine's ear now. Barely millimeters away. Inaudible to those further away than even a third of a meter, she whispered softly, "Say it,"

A new set of shivers passed through Erwine's body as the girl leaned close to her ear, her breath tickling her as she breathed normally, in and out. Erwine blurted out, "She would not have listened!" Erwine felt tears pour down from her face.

"Ohhhhh…" Ishna said, looking back at Adrianne, "Have anything to add?" she wondered.

Adrianne merely glared at Ishna, the girl's telekinesis still holding her mouth shut.

Ishna shook her head, "In the end, Adrianne did make a good inquisitor, free of anger and brashness. But that could not save…no, I'm sorry, she'll live today…but…it won't save her in the end," Ishna nodded, agreeing with her words as if she was the only one to be contradicting them.

Her hand went to Erwine's wings again, still there. Erwine found that she couldn't pull them back in, no matter how hard she tried.

Continuing to stroke Erwine's feathers, the girl leaned in close. Her breath tickled the wings, leading Erwine to use all of her willpower to stop herself from shaking. Ishna's grip had relaxed, but Erwine did not doubt that it would tighten again if she shook.

Ishna leaned in closer and closer, till her mouth was only a millimeter from the surface. "Such beautiful wings…" she whispered, "I'm so happy that this all worked out, just so I could gaze upon these…these truly beautiful things,"

Then it stopped. Ishna's hand grabbed onto her throat again. Ishna's eyes stared deep into Erwine's. Then her head moved forwards. Erwine froze up as Ishna's lips pressed against hers. "So beautiful…" Ishna whispered as she broke the short yet meaningful contact. "That was your first…" Ishna giggled. Then Erwine was lifted up. "I'm sorry, ma belle peche, but things have to continue now." She lifted her over the railings, and dropped her.

Erwine didn't have control over her body, and expected to slam hard into the ground. Then she stopped a centimeter above, Ishna gently floating the girl down. Erwine looked upwards as Ishna moved.

Ishna stood silently for a minute, not even looking down at Erwine. She stared out across the room, her gaze focusing on a single point in the opposite wall. It held no significance.

Like clockwork, her right foot slid across the ground, opening her stance, and turning her to face Adrianne. She still looked straight ahead. Adrianne looked into her eyes, but her gaze was not met.

"Adrianne…" Ishna whispered, "You've come so…far,"

There was a faint noise from below. It came from below the walkway. Ishna stepped back and to the left. She tilted her head, looking downwards. Her eyes saw Laelia stirring on the ground below.

A chuckle escaped her lips. She did not smile. The look she had was more of an expectant one. No, a bored look was on her face. It was as if she knew that Laelia was going to try and get up and this time.

She reached with her right hand into her left sleeve. She removed from it a long slender blade. She flicked it downwards without a second thought. She stepped back to her original position as the blade thudded into Laelia's body. Adrianne was scared now, listening for the sound of a cracking gem.

"Fear not," Ishna said softly, "It's not her time to go yet,"

Adrianne's face curled in rage. She was able to speak once more. She knew that she had been able to use telepathy, but was hesitant to try it with someone as clever as Ishna. "What do you mean?" she choked out, her anger obvious.

"I mean that she will play a role in the time to come, however insignificant that role may be," Ishna explained, speaking slowly and carefully, as if Adrianne was a child.

"Although…your role…is actually rather significant, Adrianne," Ishna said, shrugging a little, "You still have a part to play. I know you'll play it." She took a few steps forwards, bending at her waist to stare right down into Adrianne's face. "You'll dance to my tune as usual. Just like you did for thirty years."

"What do you want with Erwine?" Adrianne spat.

"That's a good question…" Ishna remarked.

"Unfortunately, the answer isn't going to be coming for a long time. It doesn't matter. You will suffer the fate you have been waiting for soon, Adrianne, I promise you that. But do make sure that Erwine doesn't get hurt?" She requested.

"What do you mean?!" Adrianne choked out once more, close to being able to move once again.

"I mean that I am almost ready to begin," Ishna said, turning around, "It will only be a bit longer now."

"We've found this place," Adrianne pointed out, "Others will come, Estelle could be on her way right now,"

"Oh, she _will_ come, as will a whole force of investigators, who will comb this place from top to bottom. And yet, they will find nothing. Nothing that will really help you," Ishna explained, once again speaking slow, "And besides, you will be in so much trouble that you will not be able to follow me for some time,"

Adrianne was going to say more. She was cut off. "You think they'll believe your words? _Your _words?" Ishna laughed, the way one would at a genuinely funny joke. "Even _I _wouldn't believe the words of someone so far gone."

"I'm not insane. You're real, Ishna. _You're _the insane one." Adrianne spat.

Ishna gave a few claps, "Astute observation." Then she smirked, "Oh really, you're not insane? Then why has it taken you so long to find me?" She asked. Adrianne thought for a few moments, then gasped.

"I'm not the one who drives away everyone not as fanatical as herself. I'm not the one torturing people. I'm not the one who stole four people's lives, using them up for your own sake, because you're too wrapped up in your fanaticism to accept help from those less brutal than you." Ishna said. She shook her head. "You're the insane one. That is the way you have been for a long time now."

The girl turned around. She took a few steps forwards, till she reached the top of the stairs. Ayelen was about to move and attack, having waited for her chance. Ishna, with her foot raised as she was walking, struck downwards, hitting the girl on her head. Part of her voice sounded sad. She started walking down the stairs. "That pretty little version of the world that catered to your sanity is all crashing down now. I wish you luck in navigating reality, for your usefulness has ended."

She then looked back over her shoulder, "I'd suggest you get out of the system within three days," she said, "I loathe to think of what is going to happen after this, as it shan't be pleasant for ma peche." Adrianne started to move, crawling along the ground as fast as she could. She got to the top of the stairs as Ishna reached the bottom.

Erwine could move again. She was standing up. Laelia and Ayelen had both healed. They were getting up. Airi just wasn't where she was previously. Ishna chuckled as she rounded the corner, looking at the empty spot on the floor. "All the effort you're about to put forth…" Ishna said quietly, "So pointless…"

There were multiple flashes all around Ishna. Airi had the ability to teleport her arrows, changing their directions in an instant. She was elsewhere, but her arrows were now all around Ishna. The glowing projectiles shot towards the solitary girl as streaks of light.

More and more flashed in the time it took for the first volley to reach Ishna. They kept going, more and more. Over a hundred cut through the space where Ishna had been.

Because she wasn't there anymore. The girl was standing to the side, sighing. Despite the fact that the arrows had flown at her from less than a foot away, it was trivial for her to stop time. "Nice try…" Ishna muttered. She leapt into the air, spinning around to kick out.

Airi teleported into that spot. Ishna had moved before Airi had even made her appearance. Erwine was looking up. She saw this. Adrianne saw it. Laelia and Ayelen saw it. That could only mean that Ishna was also a diviner.

_She can stop time…see the future…and she has the souls of other magical girls…who is this girl? _Erwine wondered, horrified as Airi was sent flying back. She teleported again, to the other side of Ishna. Her arm drew back on her bow, firing a single shot. The single arrow split into a dozen, before they all flashed and moved into position all around Ishna.

The projectiles shot in, before Ishna merely laughed. She crossed the distance between them instantaneously. Airi was sent flying backwards. Her back cracked against the railing before she plummeted to the floor, landing on her back. She was stunned momentarily as Ishna dropped down next to her.

"Airi Koizumi, would you like to tell Adrianne the truth?" Ishna asked, the weapon raised.

Somehow, she knew what Ishna meant. Adrianne looked her in the eyes, desperate to know. "Adrianne…" Airi's voice was faint, "I always loved you. But…but please…don't hurt anyone else. You never should have." With that, the girl lay back, and accepted her death.

"And Lilith…" Ishna shook her head. Adrianne shouted out, but was powerless to do anything more. "Oh Lilith, how sad her death was. A shame it had to end that way." She looked at Adrianne, "Perhaps if you hadn't been so hard on her, perhaps if you had eased up like you did with Erwine, she could have lived."

Erwine was confused. "That's right, Adrianne's going easy on you, compared to the way she treated Lilith. There's a reason that girl died only weeks after contracting." Ishna shrugged.

Airi coughed up blood as Ishna looked at Adrianne. "You see?!" Ishna shouted, "Do you see the futility of your actions?!" She threw her head back, cackling.

She let her eyes drift around to every girl in the room. "Magical girls are cursed to fight forever! To die in the name of the being you so _rightfully _call the Goddess! Have none of you considered the alternatives?! Of living freely! Of truly becoming _your _own master?!"

Ishna's head leaned down a she giggled to herself, her face twisted in a sick grin. She looked around, her arms stretched out. "All we can do is run away from despair, drawn like moths to the flame that is hope, only to find that when we achieve that ultimate hope that we so desperately desire, we can only slide downwards from there, until we find that ultimate despair that waits at the bottom of the slippery slope!"

Ishna smiled fully. She looked Erwine in the eyes. "Do you know what happens next, Erwine Braune, my greatest creation?"

"You die…?" Erwine said softly.

"Incorrect!" Ishna screamed. "Now witness the same fate suffered by Lilith Mariade!"

From there, the sound of metal on metal was heard. A long blade was pulled from a scabbard at Ishna's right side, something that Erwine hadn't noticed before. It was a rapier. The same pitch black rapier that Ishna had previously stabbed into Erwine. Yet as Ishna flourished it, a black wave swept over it,

The magical girl spun about to look down at Airi as the weapon changed. It adapted a new shape. The blade was now a long and slender needle of pure silver. The hilt was of the same color. And in between, there was an orb of absolutely-pitch black. Silver lined the orb. Erwine compared the coloration to that of a grief cube.

Airi had tears in her eyes. She had failed to do anything against Ishna. Airi Koizumi had spent almost her entire life trying to make Adrianne happy. And as she looked up at the weapon Ishna brandished, she realized that her life was over.

"Goodbye," Airi's voice barley made it to their eyes.

The blade was raised high into the air by Ishna's left hand, the blade pointed downwards, before it was thrust down at Airi's chest. Right at her soul gem. Airi screamed as the blade came down at her. She saw what it was.

There was a sharp crack. Ishna frowned, looking all around the room with confusion on her face. She let go of the rapier, as it twisted and turned, shrinking down towards Airi's form the gem it had been stabbed into.

Ishna looked over her shoulder, her face looking as if she was asking a simple question. "Did I break something?" Ishna asked in the most innocent voice a fourteen-year old body could muster. It was perfect innocence. It was not even feigned innocence. Erwine could feel that it was truly there. That Ishna somehow put away all other thoughts to be purely innocent for a second.

Then, a sharp scream pierced the silence of the room. It was a scream filled with pain. Erwine came into sight of Airi to see the girl's soul gem expanding as the last of the rapier stuffed itself inside.

The blackness of her gem was even deeper, and it was clearly filled with grief. The gem warped and twisted, as shock and pain came on Airi's face. She screamed, and the pain she felt somehow emanated out to the other people in the room.

Erwine could move again. She struggled to stand up. Over Airi's cries, Erwine could hear Adrianne screaming out in rage and pain. Erwine didn't understand. Erwine's body was filled with more pain than ever before, save for the time she had her soul ripped out and placed in a gem.

Airi's body lifted off the ground, her back arching as her gem warped and expanded. Her legs and arms trailed out behind her. Her soul gem lifted above her chest, becoming larger and larger, and glowing brighter and brighter.

The glow was impossible. It was somehow glowing darkness. Darkness was being emanated from the gem, as Airi's scream cut deep into Erwine's mind.

Erwine fell to her knees from the incredible pain she felt. Adrianne's screaming could be heard vaguely over Airi's but the latter was more prevalent. Erwine clutched at her ears, seeking release from the torment.

Her face was twisted in agony, but she kept her eyes fixed on Airi's form. The entire world was warping. Strange images came in front of Erwine's face, and the darkness was overwhelming.

Then, the soul gem turned into a larger version of the rapier that had been stabbed into Airi. That pitch black orb just floated there.

Airi's body floated there as the object formed, her face twisted in terror and pain. Then, a wave of force blasted out from the spiked object. It knocked Erwine onto her back, and whipped up a fierce hurricane in the room. The boxes were scattered everywhere, but they ceased to matter as Erwine found herself entering a different realm as the wind picked her up.

Reflexes caused her wings to project, and she stabilized herself in the air as she found herself in a domed room. In the middle was a massive egg. The walls and floor were made of what looked like large sticks.

And the entire world now looked like the crayon drawing of a young child. The entire room, the egg, the walls, they all looked like they were drawn by the simplistic hand of a child.

It was like Erwine was in a picture. It was impossible. Real things could not look like that. It had to be some kind of projected image, but Erwine knew it was not. Impossible things were happening, things that seemed to go beyond normal magic.

Erwine dropped to the ground, seeing that Adrianne, Laelia, and Ayelen were all nearby, laying on the ground, slowly rising. Erwine heard a loud noise. It was the sound of something cracking. She looked at the egg.

_Something _was breaking the shell. It looked like a massive bird, the beak of which was becoming visible as it pecked away at its casing. Erwine saw that this beak too, was drawn in the style of a crayon drawing.

She fell to the ground, not understanding what was going on. To her, she was looking at something she had never seen before. Airi had become something. Her soul gem had lifted up and changed into…into this.

It was impossible.

Erwine got the same feeling she had when she had seen wraiths in the past. She had never seen them up close, of course, but she remembered seeing the taint of their miasma when walking in the city before, especially just this past night when she was with Wei.

The taint was similar, but a thousand times stronger. It was like…like this being was a wraith but not. A wraith made of a magical girl's soul. A being that grew from a magical girl's soul.

Erwine's eyes widened as she realized what had just happened. She fell on her back, hearing the sound of pecking but not wanting to try and respond. She could not even fathom the reality of the situation. It was impossible, everything that was happening to her right now.

Tears fell from her eyes, down her cheeks, as she heard the tortured screams of a person that could only be Adrianne. Her eyes stared up at the ceiling, as she lay on her back. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Adrianne leaping off towards the egg, and the creature which was starting to emerge from the shell.

Ayelen and Laelia hesitated for a moment, before they too joined their master in fighting what was once their friend. Erwine heard the sounds of struggle. The sound of Laelia's guns. The shouting of Adrianne.

Erwine could not imagine what she of all people was feeling because of all of this. Then, the girl heard a noise to her left. Someone was standing there. Erwine's eyes moved to look up into the face of Ishna.

The girl was watching the ongoing battle, her eyes expressing boredom. Then, they seemed to lighten when she looked down at Erwine. She smiled, "Unsure of what all this is?" she asked, hands clasped behind her back as she bent down towards Erwine.

"This…is a witch," Ishna said, "It's what we magical girls become when our soul gems are filled entirely with grief,"

Erwine had figured something along those lines to be the truth of the matter. She started to cry harder, wondering what her end would be like. Ishna knelt down beside her, her right hand slipping under Erwine's head. Softly, gently, she lifted the girl into a sitting position.

The bird had broken out of the egg. It was no normal bird. It was nothing more than a hollow skeleton of such a creature. It sent mighty guests of wind at its opponents, and struck at them with its beak and wings. Erwine wished she had the strength to help.

"Don't worry," Ishna said, "I can tell you're scared, scared if this will happen to you…I wish I could say for certain that it won't." Her right arm wrapped around Erwine's chest as she moved behind the girl. Her head came forwards to sit next to Erwine's, while her left arm wrapped Erwine around the stomach.

Erwine did not have the will to move, too horrified by the sight she was seeing. Adrianne and the others would win. That was clear from the start. But it would not be an easy victory.

"You see, Erwine," Ishna began, before pausing, "You're important to me. Something that I hold dear. From the very start, all of this was just to make you a reality." she leaned in close to whisper the last word, her mouth once again very close to Erwine's ear.

"So you've been playing us all along?" Erwine asked, suddenly summoning the will to talk, to actually challenge Ishna.

"I was worried about you, Erwine, because you may have changed Adrianne's mind about certain things. Had you spoken up on the way here, then you may have changed Adrianne's mind, and Airi would not have grown up," Ishna explained, but as a new wave of despair passed over Erwine, Ishna said more, "Fear not, for I do not blame you. I did need this to occur. _You_ need this to occur, Erwine."

"I don't want your forgiveness," Erwine said, waiting for the right moment to strike out at the villain who held her close now.

"Yet I was never giving it, for you have done nothing wrong," Ishna said, "So far, the plan has been played out perfectly. Adrianne won't be pleased after this, and I apologize in advance for what she shall inflict upon you."

Erwine looked away, trying to move her ear away from Ishna's mouth. "Erwine…" she said, her voice trailing off, "You are destined for great things…truly great things."

Ishna moved her mouth close to the girl's ear. Softly, she pressed her lips against it, before she backed away as Erwine struggled against her now-tight grip with her arms. "Stay safe, Erwine, I need you," Ishna whispered, before she let go of the girl.

She stood up quickly, as Erwine scrambled to her feet. She watched Ishna back away slowly but calmly. She soon reached the edge of the large room. "Goodbye," she said with a smile, before she turned around and walked right through the wall of the space.

Erwine tried to stop thinking about Ishna, and turned around to look back at the witch that was now close to being defeated. This brought fresh tears to Erwine's eyes, and although she had reached her arm out, and was ready to summon her blade, she found that she could not do so.

Even Ayelen and Laelia had backed away. Only Adrianne was fighting now. The bird swooped in towards her, its long sharp beak aiming for her body. Adrianne ran a short distance before sliding under the body of the creature and flipping around onto her stomach as it passed over her.

She grabbed one of the bones of the creature's torso, and used this to pull herself onto the back of the skeletal avian. Ethereal feathers formed around its wings, and they shot themselves at Adrianne, traveling faster than the eye could see. Yet the inquisitor dodged all but one, which she sliced in half with a single slice of her blade.

Six daggers were tossed into two different rib bones of the bird, one bone on each side. The chains anchored Adrianne to the bird, but instead of trying to control it, she leapt off with the chains at the same length they were when they were first thrown.

The chains pulled tight, and the daggers stayed put. The bird's bones groaned as the whole creature was pulled upwards and then flipped over entirely. But it was revealed that the witch, Erwine realized she had to start calling it that, did this intentionally.

More ethereal feathers, seemingly made of strangely glowing darkness, appeared around the wings, and they shot down, ends sharpened into long blade. They all converged on Adrianne.

The inquisitor reversed her movement, retracting her chains. She could not pull the witch any faster, so she pulled herself upwards. The feathers missed their mark, just grazing by her as she accelerated upwards.

She let go of them and spun in the air, straightening herself. The bird was still falling down, and she shot right in between two of the rib bones of the creature, before she spun once more. All around her, she summoned daggers, and the spin released a storm of blades upon the witch.

They all aimed for the head of the creature, and there was the sound of cracking bone as the blade impacted. The lifeless head cracked from the strain. But Adrianne had attached chains to some of the blades, and pulled herself downwards with them. Her heeled boot hit the head, and the force of the flying kick shattered the skull fully.

Adrianne passed through the flying remains of the piece of bone, and she spun around in the air, now looking up at the bird and falling with her back to the ground. Six daggers hit the same rib bones that had been hit before, and Adrianne pulled herself inwards towards the bird before kicking off the still upside-down body and passing over it. This flipped the witch right side up, but it and Adrianne were both close to the ground.

Adrianne was pulling on the chains as hard as she could, dragging the witch down behind her. Another volley of feathers, massive this time, shot out at her. But Adrianne had already hit the ground with her feet. The witch was only seconds behind her, so the inquisitor jumped up and used the taught nature of the chains to slam the bird into the ground even harder, throwing herself back in the process.

The headless body cracked as it hit the floor of its own lair, and Adrianne flipped in the air to execute a graceful, smooth landing.

Erwine was still standing at this point, and was moving closer and closer towards the witch. Step by step, she came closer to the combat. Ayelen and Laelia came back towards her, and stood by her, steadying her and ensuring that she was alright.

Erwine nodded at their questions, more focused on Adrianne's wellbeing than anything else at the moment. The inquisitor was unmoving, and it looked as if she had won, before the witch's body got back on its feet. The torso was cracked all over, and was even closer to destruction than before, but it was still up.

Adrianne fell to her knees, tired from the battle. Erwine went forwards, summoning her blade into her hands. The girl spread her wings, running towards the witch. _Adrianne…you've suffered just like I have. I don't want to see you hurt anymore. _Erwine didn't even realize that it was her telepathy that communicated those words.

_And I don't want to see you hurting. Let me finish this. _Adrianne begged. She leapt in front of Erwine, holding out an arm. _I can't die, not yet, so don't worry about me. _

_You'll kill yourself. _

_No I won't. I promise. Ishna's not dead yet. I can't die till then. _The inquisitor ran forwards. Erwine dropped to her knees, unable to understand. Adrianne let out a cry, leaping inwards again. Erwine wept, looking through clouded eyes as the battle unfolded.

_Why? _She thought, _why does this all have to happen? _Erwine found herself standing, though she didn't quite know why. She was moving forwards, dragging her sword across the ground. Adrianne was tired. She needed help.

Erwine stopped. She lifted her sword up, brandishing it. "Adrianne…" She whispered, "Please, forgive me." The girl leapt forwards, her wings pushing her out. A scream came from the back of her throat as she struck down.

The witch had been about to hit Adrianne. Erwine's blade struck against the bone, sending cracks through it, and knocking the creature aside. The little girl kept screaming out as she struck again and again. The witch cried out, as Erwine went inwards, releasing the sorrow within her.

The world was just a blur. Her sword was a flash. The witch some amorphous shape. Erwine just attacked, hoping that all the feelings in her would just go away. Then she was pulled back. _No further, _Adrianne said, _I won't let you die. _Erwine felt herself hit the ground, as Adrianne closed in.

"A bird," Erwine somehow heard Adrianne whisper. Her vision came into focus as the inquisitor caught the witch with her chains. A single long dagger was in Adrianne's right. "That's what she is." Adrianne leapt forwards. "A bird who never had a home of her own."

Adrianne struck down, her blade flashing as the witch was ripped apart. "I'm sorry Airi, for taking your life away." Adrianne hit the ground, and fell to her knees.

The inquisitor looked as though she was broken. As though the entire world had been turned upside down. Erwine saw something familiar in that expression. _It's the same one I had. _The girl thought.

Erwine felt herself slipping away, losing consciousness quickly. Her head spun, her heart itself felt heavy. She grabbed the gem from her head, watching it darken faster and faster. Erwine's eyes closed, and she was gone.

Ayelen and Laelia gasped with fright. "What's she doing?!" Erwine cried.

"She's going to kill herself and Airi," Laelia said, explaining quickly, "She'll use the rest of the power in her soul gem to destroy the witch in one shot, but she wants to go with Airi,"

This both enraged and devastated Erwine. She instantly reduced herself to a level of one that was useless, knowing that Adrianne would just leave this world and everything in it behind because one person was going to as well. But she was also angry because of this.

Erwine _needed _Adrianne. She wasn't going to let her go now. She was never going to let Adrianne go. The little girl that was Erwine Braune still relied on that inquisitor to do everything. And she wasn't going to let that inquisitor die. Even if it would have been better for Adrianne.

Ayelen and Laelia tried to hold Erwine back, but she pushed them aside with a new surge of strength. She knew that she hated Ishna more than anyone else in her life, but for some reason, the words the girl had said had given her strength.

Ishna's words, telling her to stay safe, had an effect on her. Erwine knew that she mattered now. And though there was a part of her that told herself to not trust a heretic, she knew that she could trust Ishna. She had predicted everything, so Erwine could not doubt her when she said that Erwine was destined to do great things.

Erwine ran as fast as she could as Adrianne's gem glowed its brightest. Then, a hundred daggers came from all directions around the slowly-advancing witch and impaled its body. It was unable to move as the daggers restrained it with chains tied to seemingly nothing.

Meanwhile, Adrianne's gem morphed into a single ornate dagger, with the gem embedded in the hilt. It glowed brightly as Adrianne rushed forwards, making one leap to finish off the witch. Erwine had spread her wings, and leapt as well.

Her sword appearing as she flew forwards, Erwine's foot came in to knock Adrianne off of her feet. She swept Adrianne's left foot with her right, and then knocked her head back with her right hand. The inquisitor fell to the ground, sorrow and despair on her face as she did. But upon seeing Erwine rushing past her, she brightened a little.

Both of Erwine's hands came to grasp her bladeas she came in front of the bird. She was just above the ground, and she spun in air, dragging the tip of her sword along the ground as she swung it upwards into the witch. She did a full spin as the blade knocked the witch upwards from the force of the blow.

The witch balanced unsteadily on its legs as the torso was knocked upwards, but Erwine was not finished. The upwards hit had brought her upwards, and she continued to push herself up as she steadied herself. Then, she flapped her wings once and pushed herself downwards, swinging the greatsword over her head.

The blade smashed into the top of the witch's spine, cracking it. Cracks spread through the bone as Erwine stabilized herself around the middle of the witch's upright form. She backed up a little as the witch stumbled from the previous blow, before she shot inwards, swinging horizontally. She added a spin into her movements, so her blade struck multiple times.

Three times was the witch struck in the middle of the spine before it split in two. Erwine added extra force to the third, so the two pieces were knocked up and down. She shot upwards, dragging the greatsword behind herself before swinging upwards to hit the upper torso.

The force of her wings and magic brought her through the tough bone of the torso, and it was rent in two by the force of the cut. As Erwine finished the attack, she was at the top of the lair. She looked down to see the lower half of the body flailing on the ground.

Erwine raised her blade above her head, and without even losing much momentum from the previous motion, she shot back downwards. She turned into a bright comet as she smashed down into the lower part of the witch, destroying it in a single grand blow.

Bones scattered everywhere, falling a short distance as they were scattered by the destroyed lower half, or falling from high as the upper body fell. Erwine stood in the middle of the rain of bone fragments, breathing heavily and crying at the same time.

A hand was on her shoulder. Adrianne held her shoulder softly. Then Erwine collapsed. She fell to her knees, her weaponfalling to the floor in front of her. She was trying to catch her breath, but could not.

Adrianne felt her breath escape her mouth as she stepped forwards. "By the Goddess…that's what this thing is…a bird. Airi was just a bird, nesting in another's home as she had no place of her own." Adrianne gritted her teeth. She rushed forwards, running towards the bones of the creature. Even as the world around them changed and the wards of the witch broke down, Adrianne fell to her knees in front of the remains, tears pouring down her cheeks.

Her screams filled the room, the sound of them slicing into Erwine's heart as she realized that Adrianne had truly lost her mind. There was only despair in the sounds that came from the inquisitor now. Laelia and Ayelen were rushing in to stop Adrianne, hoping to prevent her from killing herself.

Erwine tried to keep her eyes focused on the scene before her, but as the battle began, she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. She let the darkness take her, knowing that she would not die, but not wanting to be burdened by reality any longer.

As she slipped away, Erwine wondered if there was anything but despair in this world she found herself in.

* * *

The witch is the final form of the magical girl. When a soul gem fully darkens, it breaks and forms a grief seed. This process cannot be stopped after the pint known as the event horizon. Once reached, the girl will still be alive, but will continue it spiral downwards until reaching witchhood.

Witches are amalgamations of all of a girl's emotions. The witch itself shall represent a dominant theme or idea in the girl's life, usually the despair that led her to fall to become a witch. Once recovered, a grief seed can be used, but ultimately must be disposed of.

Grief seeds can be destroyed like a soul gem. Rarely are they given to the Incubators, as most desire to release their fellow magical girl in their own way, despite the fact that such energy should be put towards helping Her Holy Majesty.

-Primer on the Secrets of Soul Gems, circa M35.


	24. It All Comes Crashing Down

**A quick note to those following this, I was just putting up the revised version of the story, and took down eveyrthing after this one to make it easier to redo. I'm sure a dozen messages about a new chapter just got sent out, so start back at the beginning, because all previous chapters are new as well. **

* * *

The Inquisition should not be governed by a strict set of rules. To do so would undermine the foundations of the organization. If its members are to be held back by a strict code of laws, then why form it. Instead, it should be policed by layer of layer of personnel who assess the decisions made by their peers, and determine if they are correct or not.

Therefore, they should be no predetermined laws that are absolutely set in stone. Perhaps a set of rules to form the general structure, but after that, it must be up to the girls themselves to police their own organization. Laws will only result in puritans enforcing them too hard, and contrarians breaking them just to be contrarian.

-Said by Her Ladyship Kazumi to her Ladyship Tomoe, circa M31.

* * *

"Wake up!" the strangely familiar voice shouted.

"Erwine! Wake up!" they repeated again. Not they. She. It was definitely a female. Erwine's eyes flickered a little. She caught vague glimpses of the world around herself.

"She's waking," the same voice said, but not in Erwine's direction, "Hold on."

Erwine's eyes slowly came open. She felt something hard behind herself, something that she was leaning back against. Erwine could tell she was seated on the floor of some place.

Her vision clearing of the cloudiness that usually accompanies waking, Erwine saw two girls in front of her. Laelia and Ayelen. Laelia was just turning her head back towards Erwine, while Ayelen knelt beside her, looking with concern at the young girl.

"Erwine?" Ayelen asked, seeing the girl's eyes open, "You're alright…" she assured her. Yet Ayelen's quiet voice sounded hollow. It was devoid of all the usual brightness and positivity that Ayelen usually had. The girl's eyes were downcast, and her face was overshadowed by a sort of dark aura that Erwine couldn't help but notice.

Laelia was trying to put on a brighter face as she looked back at Erwine, trying to keep steady and look at least optimistic. Yet she couldn't. Not when the sight that was just across from them was a real sight.

Adrianne's back was to the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest. She was a sobbing wreck. Her arms held her legs tightly as she wept loudly, her cries spreading across the entirety of the huge space. Estelle knelt beside her, desperately trying to distract her.

Justinia leaned against the wall to the side of her inquisitor. Her face betrayed not a single emotion. It looked like she didn't care about what was happening. A small girl sat down beside her. She leaned against the wall, looking down.

Airi and Wei awkwardly stood in the space between Erwine and Adrianne. Airi just had a solemn look of fear. Wei had overt terror on her face. Her eyes darted back and forth as she struggled to piece together what had occurred.

Celestine stood a few steps behind Laelia, her arms crossed. Her eyes were shut, her face stained by a few tears. She seemed more concerned for Laelia's state of mind than anything else.

And only a few feet behind Celestine was Airi's body. It lay there, face still twisted in an expression of horror. Not a drop of blood on it. Just the lack of a soul gem.

Erwine looked around, the events of the past coming back to her. Everything that had happened hit her like sledgehammer. She jolted, eyes going wide. Erwine looked at Adrianne, wondering if that girl was still alive. Her eyes locked on, her mind blocking out what Laelia and Ayelen had to say to her.

"Adrianne's fine," Laelia said slowly, "She's not dead. She's not going to die." Her hand was on Erwine's shoulder. The little girl was shaking, her eyes wide as she started to cry.

"What did…what's going on?" she asked, barely able to finish a sentence. Erwine looked around the rest of the room. There were other magical girls, ones she didn't recognize, moving about. Presumably the local defense force.

"Airi…she's gone…" Laelia explained. Her hand tightened as she tried to get the girl to stand. "Come on, we need to get out of here. Others can handle things from now on."

Erwine shook her head, "No…no, everything's wrong!" She leapt upwards, running a few feet to where Adrianne sat. She collapsed to her knees in front of the older girl, looking at her.

"Adrianne? Adrianne?" she asked, reaching out. Airi was dead. Airi had turned into a witch. Witches were something Erwine didn't comprehend. Ishna had ruined everything in just a few minutes.

Erwine didn't know what was real and what was a lie anymore. Adrianne didn't move, even as Erwine put a hand on her shoulder. "Adrianne please…" she said.

Adrianne's eyes were widened in shock. She didn't stare at anything in particular. She just kept her eyes fixated downwards, at her legs. The inquisitor still wept. Estelle was no paragon of calm or focus either, however.

She desperately spoke to the girl. "Adrianne. It's going to be alright, we can solve this!" she cried, even as Erwine was there. She saw the girl, before pushing her back. Furious eyes stabbed into Erwine's eyes. "Don't touch her!" Estelle snapped.

Adrianne lashed out, her hand knocking Estelle back a foot. Suddenly her face was twisted in rage. "Don't you dare harm Erwine!" Adrianne screamed. She leapt to her feet, her face twisted in a mess of emotions that ranged from rage all the way over to despair.

Her eyes of fury locked with Estelle's as the girl stood up. "Adrianne…" Estelle muttered, desperate, "Please, I only want to help you."

"And Erwine…Erwine is…_mine._" Adrianne assured her. There was a strange hint in that tone. Erwine heard it, even through all else that she was experiencing. It made Erwine's skin tingle, the way Adrianne said it. There was a tone there that had no place.

Erwine slowly stood up, "Adrianne…" She muttered softly, looking up into the inquisitor's eyes. Adrianne looked back at her.

Adrianne looked terrible. Erwine thought that she had seen Adrianne at her lowest, but she clearly knew nothing. _This is…what's wrong with her. _

Adrianne's face was stained with moisture, even a few hints of blood from the wounds Ishna gave her. Her hat had long since fallen off her head, and her tangled hair had come undone. "Ishna is still out there…" she said, struggling to calm herself down, "I have to stop her."

Estelle took a single step towards the person whom she seemed to hold dearly. "Get away from me!" Adrianne screamed, spinning about to face her. "You have done nothing for me! Airi is dead! You couldn't put aside your idiotic need to 'save me'!"

"I tried warning you!" Estelle replied, her voice not as loud as Adrianne's, but still raised. "You didn't listen to me! You refused to! You tried to kill me!" Estelle was crying, "That's what I've been doing all along! For twenty-eight years of my life! I have done nothing but try to help you! And you haven't listened for twenty-two of those years!"

Adrianne shook her head, "If you really cared about me, then you wouldn't have tried to disprove my beliefs, you wouldn't have doubted me, you wouldn't have searched tirelessly for evidence against me." Her voice was calm, but her tone was anything but.

Her words were nothing but venom now as she advanced on Estelle. "If you _really _cared for me, then you would have believed me when I willingly told the story for the first time."

Estelle was shut up by that. "A part of me wants you dead," Adrianne said, "A very large part of me. But Airi is dead, and you just happen to be the person who didn't kill her."

"So get away from me. Leave this planet, leave this sector. Do something useful with your time, rather than try to save somebody who can't be saved." Adrianne demanded. She turned away. Her eyes fell on Erwine. "Come on-"

"No." Estelle said. Adrianne looked around, aware that there were many other magical girls in the room. "I'm not letting you do this," Estelle said. "I'm not letting you destroy yourself like this."

Adrianne leapt at Estelle, right as a girl behind her held her arms out. Said girl looked a bit reluctant, perhaps a bit scared at what was going on. Yet strings, like those on an instrument, leapt up to encircle Adrianne's arms and legs, holding her back. "Damn you!" she screamed at Estelle, "You're no better than Ishna!"

"Forcefully restrain her." Estelle ordered, "As an inquisitor, I do not push any charges against her." She narrowed her eyes, "Adrianne, this is for your own good."

"What are you talking about?!" Adrianne screamed, "Supposedly everything you've done is 'for me'!"

Estelle leapt forwards. She grabbed Adrianne's gem. It was almost entirely black. "Do you see this?!" Estelle shouted, "You are going to die if you continue now!"

"I don't care!"

"You'd turn into a witch?! You would die?" Estelle said. She stared deep into Adrianne's eyes. Her mind burrowed into Adrianne's. Estelle recoiled as she realized something. "You really would…wouldn't you?"

Erwine could only watch in horror. Laelia yanked her back as the other girls came in to yank Adrianne away and fully restrain her. Adrianne's shouts and screams could be heard over the rest of the commotion even as she was dragged down.

"It'll be alright, she just needs to calm down." Laelia assured her. Erwine glanced over her shoulder at the girl. Yet Laelia's face was shaken, even as Celestine stood by her side. Ayelen was to the other side of Erwine, just as frightened, actually more.

Erwine had stopped crying. She didn't know what she should be feeling anymore.

The large wooden chair sat behind an ornate desk of the same material. The teenaged body that sat in that chair, behind that desk, was almost comically small compared to the size of the furniture. Her arms crossed, a disapproving stare was cast out at the other people in the room.

Well, only some of the people in the room. Those standing behind her were her subordinates, and were avoiding the harsh gaze. Those in front of her were receiving plenty of negative attention. Estelle was seated. Laelia was beside her, representing Adrianne.

Justinia and Celestine stood behind the two of them. Estelle knew the name of the girl who viewed the two of them in such a scornful manner. It was Juno Eskel, Lord Inquisitor in charge of the Hadiens Sect. A girl with a rather colorful history, Estelle didn't try to think about that part as she looked at her.

"So…" Juno sighed, "We find ourselves here, after two days of a seemingly endless string of incidents involving you," She nodded at Estelle, "And your master," She nodded at Laelia.

"The end result is that Airi Koizumi, who by all accounts was a very good girl, is dead as a result of turning." Juno sucked in a deep breath. She looked at Laelia, "You were there, what happened?"

"I am unsure. I was out for much of the time. All I can say is that Airi was forcibly turned. Ishna used some sort of rapier."

"I know…" Juno said. She shook her head. "Perhaps I should have been more wary…"

"What do you mean?" Estelle quickly asked.

"Ishna has been around for a while. Ishna Kleimar turned a long time ago, faking her death in the process, which gives the generally accepted report. She was supposed to have been successfully assassinated shortly afterwards, so we didn't change anything, as there was no way she could have survived what was done to her." Juno explained. She sighed, "Don't worry. I don't intend to accuse Adrianne of misconduct, or handling this particular investigation and operation incorrectly."

"Ishna is not someone who can be stopped through simple methods. She could have walked in there with a full Deathwatch squad, and she would have been ripped apart the same." Juno said. "All we can do is figure out what she's planning, and try to mitigate the damage."

She looked at Laelia, "Do you have any idea of that?"

Laelia once again shook her head. "I believe only Erwine and Adrianne were actually conscious to hear most of what was said. But neither are in the state to give anything reliable at the moment."

"I understand that," Juno said. She focused her eyes on Estelle. "Your relationship with Adrianne, care to elaborate on it?"

"We…we were close friends once…it's all in the records if you have to look. I'd prefer to say no more at the moment." Estelle shook her head, tears in her eyes. She tried to shoulder through the pain, but Juno held up a hand.

"Don't," she said, "There's no point in trying if it's only going to hurt you. I don't need to know that now. Right now, we're confining Adrianne to a room for the night, will she be a threat in any way?"

"There's a chance…" Estelle nodded, "But she…she seems to hold Erwine in high regard. If Erwine can recover, perhaps she can talk with Adrianne, get her calmed down."

Juno nodded. "If I may add," Justinia spoke from behind Estelle. She seemed to have no reaction to the situation. Even though Juno was entirely personally disconnected from it, the lord inquisitor still clearly felt sorrow over the turning of another magical girl.

Justinia didn't seem to care. "Adrianne seemed rather possessive of Erwine, did Ishna do something to trigger such a reaction, or was she always like that?"

Laelia nodded. "From what I could see, she treated Erwine very specially. Like Erwine meant something very important to her. I didn't hear much, but that's the impression I got."

"Now that doesn't make any sense…" Estelle shook her head, "What would a heretic want with Erwine?"

"It's not clear," Juno said, "It only matters if it factors into Ishna's current plot. Try to get Erwine or Adrianne calmed down, and in a good enough mood to talk about what's happened. It doesn't need to be immediately, but it needs to be as fast as is possible."

"In the meantime, we'll start scouring the planet for Ishna. All travel out of the system will be locked down, our patrol ships will police any possible escape routes, and I'm sending confirmation of her presence up to MSOC. This is a matter which will almost certainly concern the higher-ups."

"Ishna's that powerful?" Estelle asked.

Juno nodded, "Yes, she most certainly is."

"Erwine might be able to talk," Laelia said, after a short silence, "But I don't…I do not believe that I should be speaking to a girl suffering from such trauma." All but Estelle gave her a strange look. That inquisitor seemed to know the reason why.

"I'll try my best," Juno said, "I've seen enough girls like this…" she stood, "If worst comes to worst, then we can look forcibly into her mind, but I'd prefer to avoid that."

She lay on her side, tears in her eyes. Curled up, Erwine's body sunk into the softness of the fine mattress. The sheets were beneath her. Her eyes empty, Erwine didn't focus on anything in particular. Her gem was on the stand beside the bed, placed within a small box of gems.

The scared little girl had no idea how long she had been laying there. Just that it had been a long time. She didn't hear any noise outside of the room, and hadn't had any telepathic contact with anybody. Erwine had tried reaching out to Adrianne, but that had been met with no success whatsoever.

In fact, that girl had quite violently lashed out at Erwine. But Erwine had taken it, understanding that Adrianne…Adrianne had to be just angry, right? Erwine couldn't imagine Adrianne actually being angry at her. So she merely curled up tighter, convincing herself that Adrianne was just a bit angry at the moment.

_Not at me, at Ishna. _Erwine thought. _That's right, I bet. She…she can't hate me. _Erwine took a deep breath, struggling to sort everything out. _What…what's even happening anymore? _

_Ishna…she said that I'm so important to her. She said that she made me. She was the girl in my dreams. But what does she want with me? Why do I matter so much? I'm…I'm nothing special, right?_

And as Erwine looked over herself now, she knew that was correct. She wasn't anything special at all. She was nothing more than a coward. _Well, I suppose Adrianne made me into a tool…but Ishna says she did. _Erwine clenched her eyes shut, hoping to will herself to sleep.

She truly didn't want to experience this whirlwind of pain any longer. Her soul gem wasn't going to break anytime soon. Yet that didn't stop Erwine from being terrified. For she now knew that whenever a soul gem became filled with grief…something else came out.

Something that could only be described as a daemon. A daemon, a creature of an entirely different dimension. Something that threatened humanity every single day.

_And we…we turn into those things when we die…_Erwine realized. Her eyes found their way to the box in which her soul gem now sat. _Ending things now…that would make more sense would it not? _

Yet Erwine knew she had not the courage to do such a thing. _Yes…it's far more likely that I'll turn into one of those things…_

She lay there for some more time, feeling her mind slip further and further into despair. Then the door slipped open, just a little. Erwine paid attention to it, wondering if it would be someone she cared about.

Given that it was a girl she'd seen once before, Erwine didn't think she was going to care at all. She didn't even know the name of the blonde-haired girl in the long brown coat who walked over in front of the bed.

The girl, who had a mature air about her, got down on one knee right in front of Erwine. She reached out with a bare hand, but Erwine yanked her own hands away. "Sorry…" the girl whispered, "I'm Juno, you're Erwine, right?"

Erwine nodded slightly. Juno had a gentle grin on her face. "Well, I only want to help you, alright. I know we've never really met each other before, but I hope I can calm any major fears you have about all of this."

"Am I going to turn into a witch?!" Erwine burst out.

Juno hesitated. Yet it didn't resemble the hesitation of somebody who didn't have an answer. It was more for effect, or at least that was what Erwine thought.

"Perhaps…" Juno said solemnly. "If there's no one around to stop you, or if it's forced. But I doubt either thing would happen to you, not with someone like Adrianne around. She clearly cares for you."

"You think so?" Erwine asked.

"Do you have a reason to say otherwise?" Juno asked.

"She…she seems angry at me right now. Like…I did something wrong."

"Do you have any idea why?" Juno wondered, "Something that happened recently?"

"Ishna…that girl…" Erwine's body shivered at the thought of her. "She said I was important to her…she said that…" Erwine choked up, her vision clouding up once again. "That she made me…like all Adrianne has done as just been part of Ishna's plan."

"Then Adrianne's probably angry at the fact that you are important to someone she hates. I doubt she'll really stay angry at you." Juno smiled softly. "Is there anything else you can remember about what Ishna said?"

Erwine could, she most certainly could. But even the thought of saying anymore sent into another wave of tears. Juno grabbed onto her hands, holding tight. "Don't worry, Erwine. You're going to be alright, as is Adrianne. We'll catch Ishna, I promise."

"Do you really?" Erwine replied, shuddering. Her fingers squeezed down as tight as possible. "Do you really think so?"

"Definitely," Juno said with a nod. "We can. I've lived a hundred and twenty-seven years in this world, I figure I can do something."

Erwine was heartened by Juno's confidence and warmth, a hopeful grin spreading across her face. "Can…can I go see Adrianne?" Erwine asked, "I really want to talk to her."

Juno nodded, "I think so. She should be alright now. Is there any chance she could lash out at you?"

Erwine shook her head, "I don't think Adrianne would want to hurt me." She shuddered again. She looked into Juno's eyes. "Please…I need to see her. She…she needs me just as much as I need her."

Juno frowned. "Would you like to explain what exactly ties you two together?"

"Adrianne has been in pain for a long time. And I…I'm the only thing that makes her happy now that Airi's gone." Erwine said, "She hurt me a lot, but it made me a better person…so…I have to help her."

"She hurt you?" Juno asked.

"But it was for the better!" Erwine insisted, "She merely wanted to get revenge, because of the things Ishna did to her!"

Juno shut her eyes. "Alright…" She had heard of things like this before. The whole idea that breaking someone and rebuilding them was better than actually helping them as they were. _Erwine cares a lot, so I'll refrain from mentioning the inevitable investigation into Adrianne's morals. _

"Are you sure seeing Adrianne in the state she is right now is the best idea?" Juno asked.

"I have to," Erwine insisted, her face stained heavily. "I…I don't know what's going on, but if there's anybody I can trust…it would be Adrianne."

Taking a deep breath. Juno agreed. "Then I'll take you to her."

The lord inquisitor helped Erwine up, still holding her by one hand as she went to the door. Erwine was amazed that a being who was over a hundred years older than she was had taken the time to assure she was alright.

Juno led Erwine down the hall, past the concerned gaze of Estelle, and before a door. The door was just like the one to the room Erwine had been in. "Here we are," Juno said. She looked to the girls standing watch. One a clairvoyant, the other a telepath, making sure Adrianne wasn't doing anything she might end up regretting.

"Give them some time alone," Juno instructed as the door was opened, "There's no need to worry."

Erwine took a deep breath, hearing Adrianne lightly sobbing on the other side. Yet she knew that they both needed this.

And so she entered the room with a level of confidence which she found pleasing.

* * *

Ayelen leaned back against the chest of the girl who was so far managing to hold herself together far better than Ayelen herself. Laelia lay her back against the pillows of the bed, Ayelen sitting in her lap, curled up in Laelia's arms.

Laelia did her best to keep even the faintest smile on her face, not wanting to show anything but hope to Ayelen at the moment. Her hand gently stroked through Ayelen's hair, softly running down her long braids.

Celestine stood beside the bed, looking away from Laelia. Her face was twisted in annoyance. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, Celestine," Laelia said, "You can go now."

"Eager to have me gone, I see," Celestine said, approaching the door.

"It's not that…" Laelia said, "I just need some time alone." Laelia had a very good reason as to why this time along was so desperately needed. Yet she wasn't going to let Celestine hear of it.

"With Ayelen?" Celestine asked.

"Please…" Laelia said. Her tone was an obviously serious one, she could only hope that Celestine would understand that she was truly that serious.

The violet-haired girl gave a look at Ayelen. "Fine…" she muttered. The girl stormed out the door, acting as if Laelia had done far worse than tell her to leave.

With the slamming sound of the door still echoing around the room, Laelia sighed as she lay her other hand on Ayelen's head. "It won't be long now…" Laelia said, choking up a bit. "So…be ready." She warned.

Ayelen only curled up tighter. "I want this to stop…" Ayelen said.

"I've already proposed a solution." Laelia said flatly, "You refused it. There's nothing wrong with that, but the only alternative is to keep dealing with this." Her voice was neutral. She had suffered enough that night. She didn't want this conversation, not now.

Not with Estelle here.

"I'm sorry Laelia…it's just…I want to know what happened to me." Ayelen said. "I want to know…exactly how. I mean…things shouldn't be like this. Trauma doesn't make someone murderous, not like what happens with me."

"I know…" Laelia said, "But…sometimes just really bad things happen." She betrayed no emotions, trying to wall them all away.

For she knew that if something got out, then Ayelen would recognize it as guilt.

Ayelen looked up, backing off of Laelia a bit. "Please…" she said, "You have to know. You don't have to give specifics…but please tell me!"

Laelia moved before Ayelen really realized what was going on. Both of her hands were still right there by the girl's face. So they just moved downwards, wrapping around her neck. Laelia twisted as hard as she could, moving her torso along with her arms. There was a sharp crack. Ayelen's eyes widened before her breathing ceased.

She writhed around, her bones a bit too strengthened for just that to end her. Laelia's fingers went right behind Ayelen's ears. Pressing down softly, the blood vessels were squeezed, and the blood flow to the brain was cut. She was unconscious in a few seconds, and then dead in a few more.

Laelia lifted the girl up, draping her across her arms, before approaching the door. _If I can just find Estelle, _she thought. She knew she'd have to be clandestine about this, but also doubted that anyone would be watching. The girl missed the fact that someone else was probing at her mind.

Her hand went to the knob. She turned it and pulled, opening it just a little. But before she could look out, it was pushed all the way open. Estelle stood there, anger in her eyes. She shoved Laelia backwards before shutting the door.

"So…" Estelle said, sighing, "You took care of it?"

"She's getting too inquisitive," Laelia said quickly, "You need to redo the seal."

"I refuse," Estelle stated sternly, her arms crossed. Her look conveyed nothing more than disappointment.

"That's all you came in here to say?!" Laelia cried.

"More or less," Estelle confirmed, then added, "I never said this was the final solution. It was merely giving you time to confront your own mistakes."

She narrowed her eyes as she glared at Laelia. "Clearly, you haven't learned anything at all."

"Estelle…" Laelia quickly said, uncomfortable as she tried to think of a response that would work, "Please, I need more time!"

"You've had four years!" Estelle shouted, "You're a magical girl. You're better than this. You were unable to actually accept that perhaps you had done something wrong!"

"Lies!" Laelia shouted back, face twisted in desperation, "I only wanted Ayelen to be happy! I don't want to burden her with the truth!"

"Do you think a being can exist happily in a state like Ayelen does?!" Estelle replied, awed by the fact that Laelia was even suggesting such a thing. "Like she has? Where she can't remember what made her like this, where she can only rely on you?!"

Estelle's eyes widened. Her expression turned to one of disgust. "Don't you tell me…" she said, voice suddenly hushed, "Don't you tell me that you took advantage of her in some sick way…"

"I would do no such thing!" Laelia shouted. Estelle slid forwards, her arm swinging out. She knocked Ayelen's body from Laelia's arms, sending it flying back towards the bed. It knocked against the wall, coming to a stop on the disturbed sheets.

Laelia winced as she faltered backwards, Estelle telepathically overpowering her with her rage. Estelle's hand gripped around Laelia's chin, lifting the paralyzed girl's head up. "I held back from saying anything to anyone else for so long! I knew about what you did to that girl! I have every second of it still recorded in my mind!" She took a deep breath, "I could ruin you. I could ruin Adrianne."

Her fingers loosened. "I could have done it ever since you asked me." Estelle took a step back, eyes going to the body lying on the bed. She broke her control over Laelia, not willing to hold on much longer with Estelle's attitude the way it was.

Estelle shook her head. "I never did it because I knew that Adrianne needed everyone who could really trust her. I didn't want to rip anything else away from her, not after I'd already messed up so bad." She looked back at Laelia, now broken out fully in tears. Disappointment showed on the inquisitor's face.

"I'm now thinking that I should have just done it a long time ago…" A wave of change passed over her face, the expression growing darker and more sinister. "But Adrianne is all mine now. I have her, and she won't be getting away from me ever again."

"Therefore, Laelia Aemilina, you are useless. As soon as Ishna is done with, I shall tell them everything, of course leaving out the parts that involved Adrianne. In fact, I'll make sure that's what you _and _Laelia's memories show, because I can't have Adrianne get in trouble for this." Estelle explained. Her mind reached out once again.

Laelia reacted. Her arm raised up as she panicked, gun flashing into existence. Estelle's face twisted in surprise at the girl's resistance, raising her arms instinctively. There was a sharp bark and the room was lit for a split second by a few bright flashes.

A long bloody trail was traced upwards from Estelle's chest, blood and guts spilling out till her neck was reached, where the bullets had punched all the way through. The body, missing half its head, toppled back onto the floor with an audible thump.

Laelia stood shivering with the gun still in her hands. She tossed it to the side, dissipating into blue light as it went. She sucked in a deep breath, looking at the body before her. Sliding forwards, Laelia knelt down, looking at the mess the corpse had made.

It wouldn't be easy to clean out. Laelia thought of a way to try and cover this up. _All I have to is…well…no, or I could…_She shook her head, panicking. _There isn't any way to prevent Estelle from revealing the truth. The only thing I can do now is…_Laelia reached out for her soul gem. She ripped it from the girl's costume.

She looked back at Ayelen. _I can't get Ayelen the help she needs if Estelle's gone, though. And I'd be easily locked up for murdering her. _Laelia gritted her teeth, looking wildly all around.

"Laelia?" the question floated across the room, slicing like a fine blade through the thick wall of silence. Ayelen sat up on the bed, shaking as she stared at the other girl. "Why...what's going on?"

"Nothing's wrong," Laelia replied, "Nothing at all…" She insisted. Her voice cracked slightly, driving her into an unnaturally high tone. Ayelen shivered as she stared at the girl, who wore a thin grin on her face.

"Please, Laelia…why did you do that to me?" Ayelen asked. She paused. Her jaw slowly unhinged, "You…you don't want me to know what really happened, do you?"

Laelia didn't reply. She turned away, staring down towards Estelle's body. "You're hiding the truth from me! Aren't you?!" Ayelen shouted. She felt a new wave of shivers pass through her body, "What…what did you do to make me like this?!"

Laelia stood up. Her hair, disheveled by the recent mess, obscured her eyes a little as she half-looked at Ayelen, and half-looked down. She shrugged, palms facing upwards as her arms bent at the elbows. A maniacal grin on her face, Laelia said quietly, "Just remember for yourself, there's no point hiding it on my own at this point."

Ayelen pushed herself backwards on the bed, retreating from the maniacal look Laelia had on her face. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean that it was all my fault," Laelia said, "You put the pieces together yourself." She had tears rolling down her cheeks, dripping off her face and down to the floor. "I'm basically the one who did all this to you, Ayelen."

Laelia shut her eyes, wiping the tears away with a sleeve, but she couldn't stop weeping. "All I can do is beg for you forgiveness…and make sure that you'll always be happy."

"You see Ayelen," she continued, "I made my wish with a smile on my face." The little girl on the bed kept shaking, pushing herself up against the wall a Laelia spoke. "Unlike so many of us, I bore no regrets when making my wish, I didn't look back once. I wanted to escape from the hand that fate had dealt me, and contracting was the way out. The enemy, be it Chaos or otherwise, had made me suffer for so long. I was excited to be a weapon in this war."

Laelia tried to smile, but her lips stopped curving up, and she fell back down into a frown. "And for so long, I kept smiling."

"Yet…what Adrianne did…" Laelia looked to the side, "That wasn't fighting. That wasn't a righteous battle against an evil foe. She tortured people to death as I watched, helpless to stop her. Then she said that it was all for a good purpose."

Laelia gritted her teeth, "Even then…I could only smile. Especially when I learned the truth about witches, and I realized that fate was out there, I realized that I could only keep smiling." She choked up with tears momentarily, "Because I made my wish with a smile on my face."

She looked back to meet Ayelen's eyes. "So when I stopped smiling, and I started to feel sadness, I knew that I would fall."

"And that's all I want you to do, Ayelen," Laelia explained, "I just want you to smile. I want you to be happy. And that's what I tried to do."

A hand went to her face. Ayelen felt a long shiver pass through her body as her eyes widened. There was a strange feeling in the back of her head, a buzzing sound. It was accompanied by a wave of pain that washed over Ayelen.

Trying to wipe away the tears, Laelia could only cry harder. "It feels like it was so long ago, but it was only four years since then." She yanked her hand away forcefully. Ayelen watched a few drops of salty moisture fly out from the hand, staining the sheets on the bed.

"Since I hurt you," Laelia said, "Trying to make you smile. With the twisted way I thought, I thought that I could make everything better."

She shook her head, "But I couldn't. I really had no idea, because I didn't know how to cry, I only knew how to smile. So if somebody wasn't smiling, what was I to do?"

"I'm sorry, Ayelen. When it was over, you weren't smiling. I'd only hurt you more. So I tried to make you smile again. Estelle did me a favor, because she wanted Adrianne to be happy." Laelia once again tried to put on a smile, but she couldn't.

Ayelen was starting to recall it all, the pain growing more and more intense. "Your memories were all locked away, deep in the recesses of your mind. I convinced you that you blocked out what Adrianne had done to you, but it was really all my fault."

"Yet memories can never be destroyed. They're search an annoying thing, aren't they?" Laelia asked, "You never really want to know the truth when you find a hole in them, but we can't help but search for it, can we?"

Ayelen was sitting in shock now, a flood rushing out from her mind as she started to understand the truth behind what she heard. "Ayelen, your memories kept trying to come back. But first and foremost amongst those memories was your hatred for me, the one who had laid this curse upon you in the first place."

Laelia faltered, her leg almost falling out beneath her. Recovering her balance, she continued her speech. "For the first two years, maybe two and a half, you were fine. You were bright, happy, beautiful. Then after that…your memories kept trying to find their way back from wherever Estelle locked them."

"It was only once a month, then once every two weeks, then once a week, and now once every three days," Laelia explained, "The started to break, and all you could think of was your hatred, anger, and fear towards me."

"It's so hard to smile these days," Laelia said, "Ever since I did that to you. Ever since I realized that there was nothing I could do in the end. I haven't smiled for so long, just because I haven't found a reason to smile."

Tears dropped down to the floor below as Laelia looked down, unable to meet Ayelen's eyes. "I can't prevent it from happening now. No matter how many times I kill you, I can't ask anyone else to seal your mind off again."

"The truth is out," Laelia shivered, "All I can do is pray that you'll find a reason to smile, Ayelen, because that's all I've ever wanted you to do."

"No matter what it takes, I'll make sure that you smile." Laelia declared. "Ayelen, your smile is beautiful. It makes me feel like I've done something with the life I've lived so far."

"And so…" Laelia said, her voice growing stern. She tightened her fists, and gritted her teeth. Tears still rolled down her cheeks as she resolutely stared at Ayelen. "And so, I will do everything I can to protect that smile of yours."

"No matter what I must do, I'll make sure you that are smiling, and that you'll always be smiling." Laelia promised, "Until the very end of your life and mine, I'll protect that smile."

"Because that smile gives me a reason to live!"

* * *

With the gates, the gates that had protected memories of things that would prevent her from smiling, torn down, Ayelen's mind was in chaos as the sensations poured to the front of her consciousness. Things that she suddenly didn't want to remember were being remembered, and vividly.

She sat in the corner of the craft, recognizing the shapes of Laelia and Adrianne elsewhere in the compartment. Her knees were pulled up to her head. Her face was frozen in an expression of shock.

"This is a problem that has to be fixed…" Adrianne sighed, "I might as well just send her off…but she'll tell, and I can't have someone besides Estelle breathing down my neck. Then again, I'm in no mood to actually deal with her." The inquisitor turned her gaze away from the little girl, and aimed it at the one across from her.

Laelia's back was straight, her eyes sending occasional glances at Ayelen. There was pity in her eyes. "I can do something for her," She promised, a thin smile on her face. "I'll convince her that you're just doing the right thing."

"Make it quick. I don't care what has to be done, just keep her alive, and in a state where she can be of some use." Adrianne said.

Laelia smiled. It was a thin one, but she was smiling. She looked at Ayelen's face, making sure that the girl's half-open eyes saw her smile.

The blankets covered Ayelen as she lay on her side, head pressed against the pillow. Her tears had long since dried up, but that didn't mean she'd gotten over what she had seen. The message was clear to her. She hadn't reacted in exactly the way Adrianne wanted, so she was nothing more than worthless to her.

Ayelen shuddered, her muscles tightening up as she stared out at nothing in particular. She just wished that she could take it all back. Take everything she had done in the past month back. Yet she knew in her heart that there was no chance of that.

None at all. She made a mistake, perhaps first by joining with Adrianne, but maybe the real mistake was her contract. _Maybe that's it…maybe I never should have become a magical girl. _

_I'm useless…_she thought. The door cracked open. Ayelen flinched, yanking the covers all the way over her head. She just wanted to hide from the rest of the world. "Ayelen…?" the calm and pleasant tone that floated to Ayelen's ears made her body tingle a little.

"Ayelen, I've got something for you to eat, if you're hungry. You've been in ear for the past seven hours, so I figure you should eat something." From the sound of the girl's footsteps, she approached the bedside.

A clacking sound echoed as something was put down on the stand by the bed. A hand fell onto Ayelen's shoulder. "Hey, come on," Laelia insisted, "You need to eat something. Can you at least show me your soul gem?"

Ayelen curled herself up tighter. Laelia sighed. Ayelen yelped as the blanket was ripped away from her, the sheets tossed to the other end of the bed. The blonde-haired girl grinned as she knelt down beside the bed. Then her mouth curved downwards as she noticed the state of the light green gem the girl before her had gripped in her hand.

Which is to say that it wasn't very light green anymore. It was colored a dark black, slipping towards the point where it would become entirely black. Laelia reacted quickly. She grabbed Ayelen's wrist, twisting it around and forcing the fingers to loosen up.

The gem fell towards the floor. Laelia swiped it up quickly, yanking a box of grief cubes from her pocket. She'd suspected she'd find something like this, so it was only preparation. "Sorry for being so forceful," Laelia said, as she placed the box on the stand, beside the plate of food. "But you can never let your gem become fully darkened. That was too close for comfort."

"Will I die?" Ayelen asked.

Laelia paused for a moment. She saw the meek girl's expression. "Yes…" she said, lying so as to preserve Ayelen from that very fate that Laelia avoided speaking of.

"Then just let me…" Ayelen insisted, "I don't want to live anymore…"

"Why not?" Laelia asked. She knelt down once again. Ayelen shivered now that she was uncovered, but she didn't seem to actually care.

"Adrianne hates me, I'm useless to her." Ayelen whispered, "Why should I even exist?"

Laelia shook her head, "You're useful, Ayelen. You were just scared by what you saw. But honestly, I think you can just smile through anything. That's what I try to do, things aren't so bad after a while."

"That girl had a family. She had a home, parents who loved her. And Adrianne murdered her in the middle of the night!" Ayelen screamed, "She may not have been entirely guilty, either!"

Laelia's expression darkened. "That girl was a traitor." Then it brightened once again. Yet the words she spoke sharply contrasted that brightness she proudly wore. "She got what she deserved for such a crime, and nothing more."

"You're the same as Adrianne!" Ayelen shouted, "None of you actually care about me!"

"I do care," Laelia insisted, smiling brightly, "I care about you. But there's no reason to whine and complain at this point. There's no turning back. All you can do is brighten up. Magical girls are supposed to be the embodiments of hope, remember?"

"Do embodiments of hope murder people in cold blood?!" Ayelen screamed, sitting up suddenly, fresh tears on her face, "If so, then I'd rather die!"

"Never say that!" Laelia slapped the girl across the face. Ayelen was knocked onto her back, eyes going wide. Not even Adrianne had struck her. "Death is never the option. When a magical girl's soul gem breaks, it's absolutely the end for her. There's no way to come back after that."

"So until that happens," Laelia said, "Never give up."

"But if everyone hates me, then what choice do I have?" Ayelen asked.

"As I said. Smile," Laelia ordered, "Just be happy. Accept that you're serving the Goddess in the best way you can. Just be helping Adrianne tonight, you have done more than billions and billions of humans will ever do in their individual lifetimes."

Ayelen shook her head. "I can't, not like this." She still cried, even as Laelia looked at her with scorn. "How can you be happy? You're just denying the truth, I say. The truth that you're…you're no better than those traitors."

"What?" Laelia asked.

"Huh?" Ayelen was confused.

"No, repeat that," Laelia said, "What you said before, about me. Repeat it."

Ayelen shuddered, but was in no place to deny the girl she considered a murderer. "You're no better than them…" she muttered.

"How can you say that?!" Laelia screamed, "The entire reason I made my wish was so that I could destroy those traitors. And it doesn't…" she faltered for a moment, "It doesn't matter how! It doesn't matter what their sob story is! What matters is that they are terrible things that must be exterminated!"

"I didn't make my wish to do these kinds of things…" Ayelen said, covering her face with her hands. "I made my wish to be a good person, and serve the Goddess in good ways-"

"You are." Laelia said harshly. "You are serving her in a good way. Why can't you smile? You're a better person than so many people, because you were able to make a contract. So just smile at that, at least!"

"I can't…" Ayelen shook her head, "I don't want to smile. I just want to go home…"

"You can't anymore." Laelia growled, "So find a way to find happiness here." She turned around, marching away as she walked to the door. "Don't die while I'm gone."

Even as she stared at the wreck of a girl before her, Laelia remembered very well the things she had done. Such things were never sealed away into the depths of her mind, to be forgotten about so that she could look at the world with a smile on her face.

No, she remembered all that transpired in that seemingly endless spiral.

She would stomp her way through the halls of the ship, understanding that her anger had been uncalled for. Her breaths were slow, deliberate. She leaned back against the wall, wishing that the interior of the ship was quieter. The ambient sounds still echoed through the halls that were mostly empty of anyone else.

At least she was avoided by anyone who did pass through, the humans having learned to avoid anguished little girls. _I got angry, it's fine. I can handle this. I'm happy, there's no need to feel bad. _She forced herself to grin, _I made the right choice, I contracted for a good reason. _

_I'm still smiling, _she assured herself. _And that's all that matters right now. It's all that will ever matter. _The sound of someone quite deliberately walking towards her caused the girl to glance to the side. She wasn't in a major access corridor, so there were plenty of ways to turn back and avoid her.

Besides, the sound of the footsteps revealed that whoever it was wasn't wearing the kind of footwear one should actually be wearing on a starship. A girl in black approached Laelia, a stern gaze piercing Laelia's composure.

"How is she?" Airi asked.

"Not well…" Laelia said, doing her best to continue keeping her happy demeanor. "I…" she trailed off.

"What did you do to her?" Airi growled.

"I got angry. She…she called me a murderer, called us all murderers. Said that there's no point in being happy." Laelia said.

"What did she really say?" Airi asked, "Laelia, I know you're emotional, but there's no reason to act like that because of those things."

"She said that I was lying to myself…" Laelia whispered. She felt tears at the edge of her vision. "That I shouldn't really be smiling."

"Calm yourself down, then fix her," Airi ordered.

"You don't care about her?" Laelia asked. "I know that Adrianne has her mind on other things, but don't you really care about her well-being?"

"If it affects Adrianne, then I certainly care," Airi nodded, "Adrianne wants her in a usable condition. So please make her that way."

"Don't you really care?!" Laelia shouted, "Adrianne…she's suffered enough, I can understand her problems! But you…you have no right to be acting like this!"

"Laelia, I'm merely doing what Adrianne wants of me. My goal in life is to make her happy. It's all I can do." Airi spun on her heel, quickly striding away. She was certainly retreating from a situation she didn't want to be in.

Laelia watched her go. She was almost motivated to shout something after her, but merely stood there in disbelief. "What is all of this…?" Laelia wondered. "I don't want to be this…this kind of person…"

* * *

"Ayelen please…" Laelia moaned. The girl was getting tired of trying to get the little girl out of her shell. Ayelen had walled herself off very hard, and was barely responding to anything Laelia did.

She ate, she let her soul gem be healed, but she didn't do much more than that. And it had been a week since the original incident. Laelia knew that it wouldn't be long before Adrianne would get angry.

"What's really wrong?" Laelia asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, while Ayelen was curled up within the sheets. The young girl refused to even show her face. "What are you scared of?"

"All of you…" Ayelen replied. She did sometimes give answers like that, but she would never say anything more.

"But why?" Laelia asked, "I've done my best to take care of you-"

"Because Adrianne wants to use me more…you said so yourself…" Ayelen replied meekly, cutting off Laelia. "You don't really care."

"I do care," Laelia said, "I only want to see you smile. I think it'd be beautiful if you could do that."

"Smiling…well, if you can just keep a positive attitude about things, I think it's a lot easier to cope with the world. It's really about how you react to hard situations."

"You're lying to yourself…" Ayelen said softly, "You just pretend to smile…"

Ayelen had said that many times. It was starting to really get on Laelia's nerves. After her initial outburst, she had restrained herself on further occasions. Yet it was becoming more and more difficult.

She tightened up her hands. "Give me some time," She said, "I need to think. I'll be back soon." She stood, walking for the door.

"You know I'm telling the truth…" Ayelen said. "You know that you're not really happy." Laelia froze, the desire to go and beat the life out of the thing beneath that bundle of sheets increasing by the second.

"I am happy," Laelia insisted, "I believe that is the truth, and nothing else."

She threw the door open, and stormed out.

* * *

It was a few days later when Ayelen curled up even tighter as she heard the shouts of the two girls in her room. "It has been a week and a half since then, and you've made no progress!" Adrianne screamed, "I thought that you were halfway competent!"

"She doesn't want to be happy," Laelia said, "We can't pressure her into this. You can't isolate yourself from her. She wants to hear something from you."

"I don't care." Adrianne said, "I just want this girl dealt with, so at the very least I won't face conviction for messing her up like this."

"I don't think I can do that on my own," Laelia said quickly, desperate, "I'm not the right person for this. I keep getting angry at her-"

"Shut up!" Adrianne said, "You have two options. Either you tell me right now that you will fix her, or you get rid of her."

"Get rid of her?!" Laelia shouted, "You don't mean-"

"Are you stupid?" Adrianne interrupted, "I mean destroy her entirely. 'Unfortunately, Ayelen Nita suffered from an unfortunate death in battle.' We can cover it up easily enough, even from Bolton. But I won't be held responsible for pulling the trigger on her. Make the choice, and make it now."

Ayelen tensed up. She prepared to move, then wondered if trying to resist her death was even worth it. "I-I'll fix her…" Laelia said quietly, her voice shaky.

"Good. Now get it done, and if it's not done within the next few days, then you're going to wish that you had just murdered her." Adrianne stormed out, the sound of the door slamming shut sending shivers down Ayelen's spine.

Ayelen cried out as the blankets were torn away from her. She looked up into the hateful eyes of a furious Laelia. "You see!" she cried, "This is what happens when you don't smile!" She reached down, grabbing Ayelen by the collar. "When you can't smile, you can't be happy!"

Lifting the girl up, Laelia cried as she tried to put on a smile. "You don't get it, do you?! I care about you, more than so many other things! I don't want to see you like this! I'm sorry I was angry at you…but you won't just smile…"

"Why should I?" Ayelen choked out through the tight grip.

"At the very least, do it because you're asked to! Do it so I don't have to kill you!" Laelia screamed. She drove the girl down onto the bed forcefully. Pressing her down, Laelia stared deep into her eyes. "Do it so we can all be happy!"

"But you're not happy!" Ayelen screamed, "You're just a fake!"

"Shut up!" The cry was dragged out as Laelia picked the girl up again and threw her across the room. Impacting against the wall, Ayelen winced in pain as Laelia leapt towards her. Before Ayelen could even fall to the ground, Laelia was pinning her against the wall.

Holding her there with her left hand, Laelia struck again and again with the opposite. The harsh blows bloodied Ayelen's face, and the little girl cried out as bones started to crack. Eventually Laelia restrained herself, letting Ayelen fall down. "I hate you…" Laelia said, "Because you think that you're so special. You think that you're better, because you have things like morals."

Laelia giggled. "They don't matter here. Our goal is to protect the Imperium, which we shall do in any way necessary. And no matter what, it's going to be correct. That's right, we're always…correct."

"There's no need to question anything, because it's all for a good cause in the end." Laelia explained. She fell down to her knees, shaking. Her attempt at a smile merely made her seem psychotic.

"Just keep on smiling…" Laelia said, as Ayelen looked on in absolute horror.

* * *

It was dark out. The footsteps were quiet, though, so they didn't make much impact on the beautifully delicate silence that was the night. They were the only sound besides breathing made by the stoic girl.

The girl who wasn't normally very stoic now definitely had that demeanor about her. A body was carried in her arms. Long brown braids draped across the extended arms of the blonde-girl, the carrier's arms being lost within the many frills of the dress-wearing body they supported.

Laelia had a neutral expression on her face as her feet stepped over the green grass. She approached a small craft that had landed on the ridge that was desolate of any other activity. Perhaps not even two days had passed since the incident which brought Laelia here. She only counted herself lucky that Estelle was finally catching up to Adrianne.

Standing outside that craft was only one girl. She stepped forwards with scorn on her face as Laelia approached. "You weren't lying…" Celestine assessed immediately.

Laelia nodded. "I don't have much time."

A short telepathic message brought Estelle from the craft. Laelia turned to her, holding up Ayelen's body. She was currently unconscious. Estelle frowned, then approached.

She laid her hands on the body, diving into Ayelen's mind. Over the next minute, her face slowly morphed from one of disapproval into one of shock, perhaps even hatred.

"You know what I could do with this information?" she asked.

"I am well aware," Laelia confirmed.

"This could get both you and Adrianne in trouble…but I'll keep quiet. Adrianne needs you and Ayelen."

"Why do you say such things, yet still pursue her?" Laelia asked.

"I have my reasons." Estelle said. She took the body. "It'll take some time, this better not be a set-up for a trap." She walked back inside the shuttle.

Laelia remained outside with Celestine. The blonde girl stared off into the distance, while her violet companion looked with concern at her. "Laelia…" she whispered, "What happened? You're…you're not yourself."

"I got angry and went too far. Adrianne was acting as she usually does." Laelia replied. "You know…the usual."

"You're so different…" Celestine said, "Don't tell me you're acting like this all the time now."

"What's the point in smiling anymore?" Laelia asked, "I was just lying to myself. The entire time, I kept telling myself that I had wished for something worthwhile. That I had made the right choice." She shook her head. "Now I'm not so sure of anything anymore."

Celestine moved in close. She wrapped her arms around Laelia. "I'm here for you if you want to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Laelia said. "I've just seen the truth, after what Ayelen said to me. But of course, I had to hurt her in the process."

"Don't talk like that. You're a good person." Celestine assured her, holding her close. "You're not a bad girl."

"Don't say things like that," Laelia said. "Not when you know they're not true."

"Laelia…I don't like seeing you like this…you should be happier."

"I know, we should all be happier. But with the way the universe is, that's not always a possibility, is it?"

"The seal will eventually break. By that point, you will need to be ready to confront her. Preferably, you'll do it before it deteriorates. Catastrophic results will occur, I'm sure." Estelle explained as she handed the unconscious girl back to Laelia.

"Thank you for this." Laelia said.

"I don't want your thanks," the inquisitor replied harshly, "Not after this. Now get out of my sight, and never mention this again."

Laelia nodded. She turned around, and strode away, disappearing into the night.

Celestine almost reached out to her, wanting to comfort her. Yet she knew that there was nothing she could do.

"Goodbye…" she whispered, knowing that it wasn't this Laelia she wished farewell to, but the Laelia that she once knew.

* * *

The sound of someone getting to their feet distracted the two girls from their trip down their own lanes of memory. Estelle glared at Laelia, then gave a softer look to Ayelen. "I'm sorry I did that to you, I considered it a wise choice back then. My judge of Laelia's character was clearly incorrect."

She looked back at Laelia. "This isn't my problem to solve, and neither of you are under my jurisdiction. I expect to revoke Adrianne's status soon anyways, so you two really are on your own."

Estelle turned and exited the room in silence.

A sad look on her face, Laelia gazed back at Ayelen. "So?" She asked, "You've remembered it all?"

* * *

Erwine looked back behind her, seeing the smiling face of Juno. Her hand steady, Erwine pushed the door shut, quickly turning the lock. She really did want some privacy, and hoped that they really wouldn't be observed by anyone.

She turned to face the bed, shutting her eyes and taking a long breath before opening them again. As the recycled air escaped her lungs, she let her eyelids go back up, and looked upon something that horrified her. A sight that could horrify_ only _her, for only she knew that Adrianne wasn't one to cry at everything.

The inquisitor, a woman who had awed Erwine from the moment they met, was nothing more than a sobbing wreck that lay on the bed. The younger girl was almost inclined to leap forwards right there and embrace her. _But Airi…she just watched Airi…_Erwine couldn't even think of the fate that girl had suffered.

She could only pretend that her words could really do something to Adrianne's mental state. For Erwine knew that unless Adrianne got better, then she…she would experience that same fate that Airi had. _That Lilith had, _Erwine reminded herself. She tried to push the thought of that girl who she didn't even know away, but the idea that Adrianne killed her wouldn't leave.

"Adrianne…" Erwine said softly. The girl that didn't look much older than her reacted. Adrianne was curled up on the bed, head buried in her arms as she wept. A cold look in her eyes chilled Erwine to the core.

Erwine took a step back unconsciously, despite realizing the connotations such body language had. She stared back at Adrianne, looking around carefully, trying to find something to distract herself.

"Scared of me…?" Adrianne asked. She spread herself out, lying on her back. Her head rolled to the side, making sure that her eyes were still aimed towards Erwine, who felt a shiver pass through her body.

In one hand, Adrianne gripped a black sphere. Erwine could only know it as a grief seed. Her eyes lingered on it. "This is what's left of her, you know." Adrianne said. "Airi…this is all I was left with. This was all I could have." Adrianne's free hand went to her face, merely lying there rather than doing anything more. "This is the only piece of her that I get."

"I could destroy this, release her…" Adrianne muttered. She slid her legs off of the bed, standing up shakily. "But then what would I do without Airi?" she looked up at Erwine.

"What about Lilith's?" Erwine asked, "Do you have hers?"

The inquisitor shook her head. "No…" She choked up, "I didn't care about her. She was nothing more than an experiment to me."

"An experiment?" Erwine asked, stepping away. She suddenly wanted to run. To tell Juno to lock Adrianne up. "Lilith was just an experiment."

"A step in the process of creating you," Adrianne said, "But I didn't even create you, did I? It was all Ishna…" The girl sobbed, slowly sitting up. "With that in mind, I've only hurt people in my life. Ishna…she was right, I'm the psychopath, aren't I?"

Erwine felt herself nodding. "You are…" She whispered. Adrianne didn't seem surprised. She didn't seem angry. Her hands came up to her face, as she cried into them. "Adrianne," Erwine reached out for the girl. "Adrianne," She said more sternly, trying to get her attention. "I'm here for you, I can help you, if you need me."

"Help me?" The inquisitor scoffed at the idea. "You think you can do that?" Adrianne looked at her. "You were just a pawn of Ishna the entire time." Adrianne's expression returned to the same look she had before. That look of confusion. _The look I had when she first revealed her true self. _Erwine thought.

_When Adrianne showed me who she really was, I didn't think I could be any more afraid or confused. Adrianne's realized who she really is. _Erwine stepped forwards, shaking with every movement she made, but she still moved forwards.

She spoke softly, her words definitely having an effect. "Adrianne, you're not that bad of a person."

"Don't lie to me!" Adrianne cried. She shot up from the bed, grabbing Erwine. "Don't lie to me like Airi did for so many years! Don't try to convince me that I'm not like this!" Adrianne froze, realizing that truth. "Airi…she lied to me for so long!"

Adrianne backed away, almost falling over. Her eyes were wide. Her body was shaking. "This world…I'm the one making it worse, aren't I?"

Erwine couldn't deny that. "Answer me!" Adrianne begged, falling down to her knees.

"You are," Erwine whispered, barely audible. "You're the monster everyone thinks you are. You…you really are."

The inquisitor let out a scream. She stood up, pushing Erwine against the wall. "Please, Erwine, take away this pain. I don't udnerstnad what I'm feeling right now." Adrianne really didn't. Twenty, perhaps even thirty, years of guilt had all come crashing in at once.

Adrianne had woken up. She had seen the world for what it really was. The dream had ended. "Please, take it away," Adrianne begged.

"I can't. I don't think I can." Erwine found Adrianne slamming her against the wall, banging her head against the hard metal.

"You said you could help me!" The girl cried, sobbing uncontrollably. "Were you lying? Were you lying just like Airi said she could help? Just like Estelle said she could? Why does this world hate me so much?" Adrianne suddenly froze, saying softly, "How did I fail so badly."

She looked Erwine in the eyes. Erwine looked back. Both of them were shaking. Inches from each other. Erwine expected many things. What happened was not one of them. Adrianne's face came in, and she pressed her lips against Erwine, her hands moving all over the little girl's body.

Erwine resisted. Adrianne grabbed her, turning her around and throwing her onto the bed, following quickly. "I just want it to stop hurting…" Adrianne whispered, repeating it a few more times as she pushed Erwine down on the bed, pinning her beneath her superior weight and strength.

The silver-haired girl knew that she should have resisted. But something stopped her. _Adrianne…she's just like I was. I can't run away now. I can't get her in trouble. She's just confused, and scared. _Erwine horrified herself by thinking like that, but she didn't know what to think anymore.

In a way, she just wanted to escape from the pain as well. Erwine stared into Adrianne's eyes as it all happened, as things that she never imagined were done to her, as she felt sensations that she didn't know existed. She stared into those eyes.

And she saw that Adrianne, down at her very core, was just a little girl like Erwine was. Just a scared little gi.

Far away from that room, a young girl stood on a busy, crowded street. All around her, humans pushed by each other. It was down in one of the lower levels of the hive structure, just enough so that the taller towers above could be seen.

Ishna stood in the middle of the crowd, still. The humans moved around her, none even brushing her. It was as if she wasn't even there. It was as if the space there was occupied by something else.

She held a pair of ornate binoculars, staring up at the window to the room. She knew exactly which room Erwine and Adrianne were in. Even as she watched, she could see the act the latter was committing begin.

She took a deep breath, sighing. Eventually, she shut her eyes, casting the binoculars away. They flew a couple feet, then disappeared into a cloud of dust. No one noticed. Truthfully, everyone on that street danced to her will.

Looking down and to the side, as if she was ashamed, Ishna softly whispered. "I'm sorry you have to go through that, Erwine. If there was another way…I would gladly take it." Her gloved hand brushed away the tears that dripped from her eyes.

"One day you'll understand." She whispered. Then Ishna sharply and smoothly turned around, walking in the opposite direction. All around, people started falling to the ground, the life drained from their bodies.

"Stay safe," She called back, not looking over her shoulder, "I need you even more than that fool of an inquisitor does."

* * *

The biggest area where something ought to be enforced is the psychological and mental health of the girls. It's difficult to qualify, but there needs to be some kind of way to punish girls for damaging another in such a way. This kind of scarring can lead to long-term issues, things that won't just go away quickly.

Agreed, there should be some charge for psychological damaging, or something of the sort. The definite threat being there would be enough to deter some girls, and it would make it easy to come down on those who use others like toys. Let's write it in.

-Conversation between Her Ladyship Tomoe and Her Ladyship Kazumi, circa M31


	25. Like a Phoenix Rising

Lock down the planet, lock down the entire system. No one gets in or out. Get a message out to the rest of the sect, send word up to MSOC. Tell them that Ishna Kleimar is alive. Actually, send word of that to Terra, straight away. Forget all other communications, this is vital.

Start scanning the city, find any enemy magical girls out there. Find out where all those seeds and cubes went. At this point, we need to be start believing Adrianne. I don't want to waste any time, she could strike any minute. Hurry, this world depends on us moving fast.

-Orders issued by Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel.

* * *

She wasn't the kind to slowly wake up. For the sunlight to stimulate her eyes, eventually make her open them, then realize that she was no longer dreaming. Really, she'd always woken up quickly. She'd had to get used to it. Rushing to school early in the morning meant that no time could be lost.

And even now, so far from that school she used to rush to everyday, Erwine woke with a start. Her body flinched for a second as her eyes shot open, a quick exhaling of breath making the slightest sound. There was a strange smell about the room, about herself, that was perhaps the first thing that hit her.

It wasn't that it was necessarily foul, but it was just different. Next came the sights. Erwine faced a wall. She was awfully close to it, but the bed was pushed up right against it, so there wasn't a chance of her falling off. Her eyes traced over the smooth walls, the light shining in from the window behind.

Erwine's arms were splayed out near her head, but were still close to her. Her left one slowly moved, as she lay on her right. It slid down, ever so slowly, tracing down her body. She felt bits of moisture on herself, like sweat. Then a feeling of wrongness came over her. It was the only way to really describe it.

Defilement. That was what it was. Erwine shuddered as it fully hit her, the stench, the feeling, the sight, where and how she lay. It all made sense now.

"Oh…" she whispered, the realization hitting her. The word was uttered with an almost- casual tone, like it was the sort of realization one might have every day. Perhaps the sort said when one remembered where they left that book they were reading, or perhaps the answer to the problem on that test.

Yet the tone Erwine spoke with didn't match what immediately followed her speaking. Her teeth clattered together as she shivered, remembering the events that had come before. Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes, her body freezing up as all the memories came back to her, striking like a bullet.

Then she was aware that the person who had done this to her. The person who had defiled her in this way…they were still there. Not a they. It was a she. Erwine knew the person very well. The little girl could remember fearing the possibility of rape back on her home world, but doubted that fate would choose her.

And even then, it wouldn't be anyone she really knew. It wouldn't hurt too badly. She knew of people who had it happen to them, and it was just a fact of the relatively uncontrollable society of the lower hives. Yet this wasn't just some random person who had done this to her. It was someone who she had loved. Someone who she treated like someone who had always been there for her.

Erwine felt the tears slip down her cheeks. She breathed in stuttering bouts, before her teeth chattered again as she took air back in. Desperately, Erwine wished that this was all just a bad dream she was experiencing. That somehow this was just an image put in her head, and that she'd wake soon.

Yet it was so incredibly obvious that this was no dream. It was far too vivid for Erwine to lie to herself any longer. She wanted to keep lying to herself, but the little girl did understand that such foolishness would get her nowhere.

She had to accept the reality. Yet the more she accepted the truth, the more she wanted to despise the person only a couple feet away from her. Her face stained, her whimpers breaking the silence of the room, Erwine looked behind herself.

Adrianne sat up straight. Her hands covered her face. There was another sound in the room, something Erwine hadn't noticed before. It came from the other girl. She was naked too, her hair down. Erwine had never seen Adrianne with her hair down before. The girl even slept with it tied normally.

Erwine had never even thought of wondering why someone would do something like that. Yet the thought only stayed for a brief second, as her head fell back down to face forwards. Adrianne didn't seem to notice that Erwine was awake.

She wept softly, and Erwine couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of sympathy. Here sat two magical girls. They had both made contracts with the Goddess. They had both wished for something, something which they thought would make their lives better.

Both had entered into the Inquisition. Both had bonded with their masters. Both had suffered at the hands of the same individual. So Erwine couldn't help but sympathize with Adrianne.

Her fists clenched as Erwine washed that sympathy away. It wasn't an unconscious action, and that was what scared her the most. She crushed it under all else she felt, reminding herself that Adrianne had done so much to her before.

She didn't let her anger control her, she controlled it herself. Erwine had felt what it was like to be controlled by rage before. This wasn't that sensation. It wasn't that sensation at all. It was something so much more beautiful than mere mindless anger.

It was cold, calculated hatred. Hatred. Erwine had begun to understand the true nature of that word more and more over the past couple weeks. It was like a sick kind of love, something that bound you to whatever you hated, just like love bound you to whatever you loved.

And Erwine understood that completely now. She sympathized with the inquisitor. She didn't want to hate her. But what else could she possibly do after what had just happened to her?

Erwine didn't know how else to express her pain. The chattering of her teeth stopped, and her breathing stabilized. Tears still came from her eyes, but the orbs themselves took on a new look. It was an appearance more befitting that of a cold-hearted veteran, rather than a little girl.

"I'm so sorry…" Adrianne said quietly, finally realizing that Erwine was awake.

"You've apologized too much for the word to even mean anything anymore…" Erwine shot back with venom in her voice, "I hate you…"

"I know…" Adrianne replied, taking a deep breath. "Erwine…I know what I did to you was wrong. I know I hurt you. I…I don't want to lose you."

"Too bad…" the little girl replied, her harsh tone slicing into Adrianne's fragile mind, "We're done. The two of us. Whatever bond we had is gone now."

"I can understand that…" Adrianne remarked.

"No you can't." Erwine stated back. The two didn't look at each other. They stared in opposite directions.

"Both of us suffered thanks to Ishna-"

"This has nothing to do with Ishna!" Erwine shouted, sitting up. She didn't turn around, but her anger still wounded Adrianne. "She didn't make you do what you did last night! She didn't make you do anything! She hurt you, she killed those you loved! But never did she…" Erwine's eyes opened wide.

Her mouth froze, struggling to make the words come out. She choked for air. Not because she couldn't find it. It was because her memory found an image from that previous night. Sensations accompanied it, reminding Erwine of what she should have listened to.

"It's not my job to do _that_," the words echoed back through Erwine's mind as she shook her head, refusing to believe the possibility of this. _Ishna…Ishna couldn't have seen this coming…_Erwine thought. _No…that's impossible. _

She shivered, "It doesn't matter," she said, crying harder and harder, "What you think, or what you do. It doesn't matter at all. Not anymore. I hate you. There's nothing that can take the pain, the humiliation, all of that away."

"Then why didn't you call for help!" Adrianne shot back.

"Because I care about you." The girl replied. "I really do. And even now, I'm regretting caring about you. I thought that things would be better…you would be better. But what you did." She exhaled, steadying her body as she did so.

She spun around in an instant. Adrianne tried to react. Even as the inquisitor stood and turned around, Erwine's fingers tightened around her throat. She rushed forwards with the inquisitor, bashing her back into the wall. She held her there with both hands, eyes filled with fury as she stared her down.

"All along!" Erwine screamed, "You've used me as nothing more than a tool! From the moment we met, from the moment the Incubator even told you of my existence, I was just something to be manipulated! Something to be used on your sick quest for revenge!" Erwine wept as she smashed Adrianne backwards into the wall, again and again.

"You apologize again. And again. And again. And again!" She punctuated every pause with a slam. "You ruined my life! You ruined Laelia's life! You ruined Ayelen's life! You ruined Airi's life! You killed Lilith! Wherever you go, you destroy all that comes across your path! I want you to die, but I can't kill you!" Erwine screamed. Every sentence occurred in the time Adrianne's battered body was lifted from the wall and slammed back into it.

Her grip tightened up. Erwine looked down. Her tears fell down to the floor below. Her teeth chattered as her breath came in spurts. Her whimpers of pain and sadness were the prime source of sound. "Because…no matter how much I hate you, we're too much alike. We're too much alike to be enemies, not after what's happened to the both of us. The difference is that…is that you always saw Ishna as the villain."

"While I…I so foolishly believed that your intentions were good-hearted." Erwine gritted her teeth as she stared back up at Adrianne. "I was so naïve back then. It was just two weeks ago, wasn't it? I'm still just a little girl, aren't I? But I can see it now. I can see that your intentions are anything but good."

"You're the villain of this story that I've found myself thrust into…" Erwine said, "All along, I should have known…" She felt her heart filling with despair, her tears becoming entirely uncontrollable.

"I just want to go home…" Erwine whispered. "I just want to go see Nada again. I want to return to that life of everything being the same, of just being the tiniest cog in this machine, just to get away from this."

"But I can't now, can I?" the girl asked, knowing that she wouldn't get an answer "I can't be anything like that ever again. I can never live a peaceful life. I'm doomed to spend the rest of my time fighting this battle…all because I believed that I could make a difference."

Blood coated the wall, but Adrianne still barely breathed. Erwine pulled her away, stepping back. She looked Adrianne in the eyes. Her hands crushed down, Adrianne's breathing ceasing as flesh tore and twisted. Erwine forced herself forwards with all her might, bashing the inquisitor against the wall once again. She screamed, letting out all her rage as she did so. Her hands found new vantage points as the throat was crushed in, and she kept going.

The scream continued. She kept going, bashing the bloody body into the hard surface. Bones snapped, veins burst. The air was filled with the stench of blood and guts. Erwine only saw a bloody mess through her tears. Above all this, Erwine screamed.

She kept screaming until she finally let go, backing away. She almost slipped on the red fluid that covered the floor. The wall was covered in red. Bits of white were scattered throughout the ever widening pool of vital fluid.

Erwine stared with wide eyes at the mess. Her stomach turned. Suddenly, she felt like vomiting. She doubled over, clutching at her stomach, but she hadn't eaten for a long time. Barely anything came out. Her hand came to her head as she shakily straightened herself, starting to hyperventilate as panic spread through her body.

She shut her eyes. Her entire face was stained with either blood or tears. The more she tried to wipe either off, the more ingrained they became. "I'll find my own way." Erwine said defiantly, trying to believe those words, her eyes coming open.

With fear rising in her heart, Erwine looked wildly around the room. On a stand beside the bed were the soul gems of both Adrianne and Erwine. They sat beside each other amidst grief cubes, almost ready to hatch into new wraiths. Erwine didn't mind those. To the side of the box was Airi.

Erwine considered all that she knew. Like blackness flooding the land as the sun set, despair flooded through her heart as her hope faded. "Ishna…" she whispered, as she realized who the only person who had ever cared for her was.

Erwine stared at the black seed for a moment. Her fingers clasped her gem. With a bright silver flash, she was back in her costume. Her body was clean of blood. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her body. Yet her confusion was too much. _What did I just do? What's going on? Who am I? Who is Adrianne? _

Then she recognized that someone was calling in. _Adrianne? Erwine? _Laelia asked. _Are you alright? _

Erwine walked slowly for the door, approaching the exit with dread in her heart. She knew the scene that she left behind her. Shuddering, Erwine's hand rested on the knob. _When I open this door, I have to run. I can't stay here. I can't. _Erwine didn't know why.

She opened the door, immediately moving. She brushed past both girls outside, running down the hall. Laelia and Estelle watched her go, a milliseconds before the stench hit their noses.

* * *

Her hands rubbed her eyes, a long sigh escaping her lips as she rolled over, her tiredness threatening to drag her back to sleep. "A few more minutes…." She muttered, before she immediately noticed the things that were wrong.

First of all, she was actually fully clothed. Ayelen paused, rolling onto her back. Her hand reached up, finding her tails still braided. Frowning, she sat up, seeing the neatness of the bed.

Her legs were swung off the side. She winced, a few images from the night before coming back to her. "Airi…" she muttered, remembering the girl's fate.

She looked to the side, seeing a folded paper on a stand beside the bed. Ayelen reached out for the paper. Carefully, she unfolded it. The girl was startled again as she saw the text on the page. "By the Goddess…" she whispered, a shiver running through her body.

A more complete recollection now jutted into her mind. Ayelen looked down, eyes not even reading the text before her. She just stared down, trying to comprehend what had been done.

"Laelia…that's right." Ayelen looked around the room, finding not a single trace of the girl. She looked back to the page, gasping again as she found the girl's handwriting there.

Taking a deep breath, Ayelen committed to reading the thing.

_To Ayelen Nita, _

_ I am completely understanding of the fact that what I have done is unforgivable, and I do not expect you to consider, even momentarily, forgiving me. If you eventually do, I would prefer that it be your choice and your choice alone. I merely write this letter to explain myself, for I feel that you deserve that more than pitiful requests for absolution. _

_I of course already told you of my mental state when the incident with you occurred. I wished to see myself as a hero, because I knew that I had to keep seeing myself in that way. I had contracted as a hero. Therefore, dying as a hero was not possible. The only way I could let myself go was if I stopped believing in what I had wished for. The more and more I was with Adrianne, the more and more I started to think otherwise. _

_And so, through some twisted belief of mine, I thought that forcing my beliefs, my wants, and my wishes upon other people would somehow bring me happiness. I thought that if I made you smile, made you a hero, then I too could see myself as a hero. _

_Everything I've done since that day, for you, has been in an attempt to make you as happy as possible. And while it worked for so long, the larger the lie, the bigger the impact when it falls apart. Yet, I am not ashamed to say that I do not regret anything I did. For I did it out of a belief that I still hold to this day. _

_I wish you happiness in whatever you choose to do after this point as well. But know that in the end, your life is your own. Do what you choose to do, and take pride in that. _

_I will continue seeking to try and make you happy, even though I know you shall reject me from this point forwards. _

_I wish you find a way to smile again. _

_I'm sorry. _

A sharp sound tore through the room as the paper was torn up. Piece by piece, the carefully crafted message was ripped into even smaller bits, before Ayelen stood up angrily, the white flecks scattering through the air. The little bits descended slowly downwards, twisting and turning as they made their way to the floor.

Ayelen looked at them, rage building in her heart. She turned for the door, marching fiercely towards it. Gripping round the handle, she threw it open. She knew not what she would do or where she would go, but she was determined to do something.

The hallway outside was filled with the sounds of footsteps, a conversation carrying out over that sound. "-the infirmary at the moment. Estelle's there as well. We're to meet with Laelia and Erwine in the hangar, till Estelle and Juno sort things out. Then we try and solve this massive disaster."

The voice was Celestine's, and she stood at the head of a group moving through the hall, in the direction of Ayelen. Her eyes caught those of the younger girl, right as she was speaking, "Somebody go and see if Ayelen is-ah, there she is now."

Ayelen flinched at the words. "It's fine," Celestine said, putting her hands up. Following her were Justinia, Sanae, Wei, and Sechylia. The latter girl had her hands over her ears, her breathing slow. It was clear she didn't enjoy this.

"You're to come with us for the moment." Celestine then frowned. "You seem as if something is wrong, is there?"

Ayelen merely gritted her teeth, and shook her head. Celestine's eyes widened for a moment, then she said nothing more. She strode past, Ayelen falling in with the group. The young girl stood near the rear, occasionally glancing up at those around her.

One such glance resulted in her catching the eyes of Sanae. From the look of things, the girl had been glancing around as well. Two cold gazes met each other for a brief second, before they broke away.

Ayelen was silent for the rest of the short journey.

* * *

Erwine's feet quickly carried her down the corridor. The hard clacks of her feet echoed through the tight hallways as Erwine rounded a corner, breathing hard as she tried to think of some way to get out. She didn't have the slightest clue as to the layout of the building, and she understood that she could be stopped by anyone there.

She gritted her teeth, steadying her mind and body as she remembered her purpose. Erwine Braune didn't understand where she was anymore, nor how she fit into the world. But she was going to find her own purpose. _I'll find what I really am. I won't give up. I won't run away anymore. _

Tears still dripping from the corners of her eyes every now and then, she brushed aside those she found in the halls, the telepathic message not having been spread to everyone yet.

An empty corridor confronted her as she rushed forwards, hearing the shouts of Laelia and Estelle behind her. Then a body was in front of her. Erwine barely had time to slow down, her wings allowing her to do so.

Juno was there. Concern was on her face. It was as though she knew what had happened. But Erwine didn't know that. She stepped back, turning around, hoping to run. The girl spread her wings behind herself, hoping to push Juno away.

But a hand grasped her shoulder, yanking her back. "Erwine!" Juno shouted, "You're not in trouble!" Erwine pulled away, but the lord inquisitor merely teleported in front of her, grabbing Erwine forcefully by the throat.

A shrill cry rose from Erwine's throat, eyes focusing on the arm that grabbed her. Her mind flashed back to Adrianne. Suddenly, the entire situation came crashing down atop Erwine. She stumbled back, eyes filling up with tears. Juno reached out towards her, stepping in.

_I have to be strong! _Erwine told herself. "No!" she cried, backing away still. "I won't rely on anyone anymore! I can't trust anyone!"

The girl she faced frowned. _Estelle! _Juno screamed, knowing the girl was caring for Adrianne at the moment. _Get into Erwine's mind, find out what happened! _

Erwine's eyes went wide as she felt something clawing at her mind. The girl clutched at her head, whimpering as her mental defenses were torn apart, and her secrets and mind laid bare for Estelle to see.

_Stop it, stop it, stop it, _she repeated, the experience feeling like a mental version of what had happened the night before. She was too filled with a whirlwind of emotions to do anything else.

When it was done, Juno took a step back in shock as the information was relayed to her. "By the Goddess…" _Where is she now? _Juno asked.

_I took the gem to the infirmary, but it looks like we'll restrain her at this point…_Estelle said. She couldn't believe that what she had read from Erwine was the truth. She didn't want to accept it.

Juno looked into Erwine's eyes, the girl having slumped to the ground. "You're going to hurt her now, right?" Erwine asked.

"She'll lose her status at least," Juno confirmed, "More importantly, why do you care?"

Erwine shivered a little, arms wrapping around her own body. "I…I don't know…" Erwine shook her head, "I want to hate her, but she's just like I was, just like I am now."

"What do you mean?" Juno demanded.

"She's just a little girl who's realized the world isn't what she thought it is," Erwine muttered. She looked into Juno's eyes, "I don't know what's going on, neither does Adriann."

The older girl's face darkened. She took a deep breath, Laelia coming bolting around the corner. She slowed, looking at Juno, then to Erwine. Back and forth, her eyes went, before finally settling on the one in charge.

"Ma'am…" Laelia said, unnecessarily using a more respectful tone. "Erwine…she's been through a lot, but Adrianne was always there. Perhaps things can be made right after we all just-"

"No." Juno cut in. "I don't care what happened. Adrianne just raped a girl thirty years her minor. She's done too much at this point to be excused of anything. Under my authority, she is to be stripped of her status, and placed on trial to stand accountable for her actions."

Laelia grit her teeth. "I won't-"

"Won't what?" Juno said, stepping forwards aggressively, "Allow this? Fine, call MSOC, they've been advising me to do this for a long time now. Going further up won't help you either." Laelia paused, then opened her mouth. "Think. Before you speak," the lord inquisitor advised.

"Adrianne is as Erwine says. She is going through a lot-"

"Did she rape you?" Juno asked, taking another stpe forwards. The girl in blue stood were she was.

"Please don't do anything to Adrianne," Erwine ebgged, "She needs help. She doesn't need to be hurt anymore, right now."

"How can you say that?" Juno asked, turning around.

"I know what she's feeling inside, except that it must be worse." Erwine whispered, "She doesn't deserve what you're going to do to her."

_Get out of my sight. _Juno ordered to Laelia, _get to the hangar, meet with Estelle's girls. Now. _The girl did as she was told, striding off. The lord inquisitor knelt down in front of Erwine. "What do you want, right now?" she asked.

Erwine took a few seconds to calm herself. She spoke. "I want to find Ishna. I have to. She started all of this." _It's Adrianne. Adrianne is the one. _Erwine told herself, but at the same time, she couldn't help but sympathize. _Ishna has been there for me since before Adrianne, she has to be able to know something about me. _

"I'll take you to the hangar," Juno promised, offering a hand to Erwine. "Come on, stand up. Let's go." The girl took her hand, and got to her feet. In a flash, they were there.

* * *

"-letting her go back out there!" the cry echoed through the relatively contained space. It was the first thing Adrianne heard as she woke with a start. Hands were on her chest, pushing her back down.

"Yet it is a necessity…" the monotone voice said. "Ah, she wakes now. Let us seek her input."

"She doesn't know what's good for her!" Estelle cried. Adrianne's vision stabilized. She'd died before. It got exponentially easier coming back each time.

"That's not a question you are qualified to answer," Juno pointed out, "Now calm down, and wait till she can say something. I agree with you, but not for the same reason."

A healer had her hands on Adrianne, holding her down as the inquisitor recovered her senses. After only a couple seconds, Juno waved her hand. "You can go," the lord inquisitor ordered.

Then she looked down at Adrianne. The inquisitor, the former one at least, had her hands restrained to the sides of the bed. The reinforced adamantium cuffs were the special kind used to restrain magical girls. They would break after some effort, but they would do something for some time.

"I don't think we've properly met, Adrianne," Juno said, an air of disgust infused into her every word, "I'm Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel. I'm also the woman who has, not officially but for all intents and purpose, stripped you of your status as an inquisitor, and found you guilty of the rape and psychological damaging of a new girl."

Adrianne couldn't meet her gaze, looking to the side. "I know what I did…" she muttered.

"Yet you did it anyways-"

"Shut up!" Estelle shot at the superior, "She doesn't need this. Do you know how close she is to turning?!" A wild gesture at the girl's gem, currently still in recovery, did cause Juno to understand that.

Juno nodded. She also understood the need to keep cool. A hand coming up to cover her face, she took a deep breath. Then her cold stare went to the thing at the foot of the bed. "I cannot allow this girl to go out there. She is not in the proper mental condition."

"Adrianne Azure does not need to survive the following experience in order for Ishna Kleimar to be eliminated." The Incubator explained, its eyes staring right into Adrianne's. "She merely needs to engage and destroy the traitor."

Adrianne looked back. "You mean…I'm going to die soon?"

"We cannot see the future, we do not know that. It is a high possibility, but given the irregular behavior of Ishna Kleimar up to this point, we doubt that she shall inflict such a fate directly. In fact, all five of the theoretically most probable outcomes of the following incident are unlikely to occur based on Ishna Kleimar's past behavior." The vessel of the Goddess's will kept its emotionless tone as it continued.

"Then what do you think will occur?"

"We have no idea." The Incubator replied. "For once, our logic is unable to predict the outcome of this scenario in any reasonable manner. Even the Orks, a most foreign species, still act in a way according to a general 'common sense' of sorts amongst their species. By analyzing that, it is possible to logically find the outcomes of their actions. But Ishna Kleimar is a different case. She seems to act upon no set moral code, nor any laws laid down by any entity of Chaos. Her presence within the karmic cycles of this universe is infinitely vast, approaching that of the Goddess at an alarming rate, but the future possibilities of her existence seem entirely random."

"You never speak this much on an issue…" Juno pointed out, "Never. What's so special about this time? Why do you say all this?"

"We of course receive all our power from the Goddess Herself. Due to the incredible importance of the existence known as Ishna Kleimar, the Goddess has devoted much of her available power to solving this problem. Usually, she must handle the operations of millions of Incubators all across the galaxy. But now, she focuses her power here."

"We are afraid that we must be going soon," the Incubator then said, "For her power wears thin. Understand that it is imperative that Adrianne Azure engages Ishna Kleimar. If there is anything we have discovered through our analysis, it is that she and Ishna's fates are irrevocably woven together. She will find her way there one way or another."

The creature hopped down from the bed, running off before it disappeared into a shadow. Juno looked at Adrianne. "I will break out of these cuffs eventually…" the flat determination of Adrianne told Juno all she needed to know. "And I will find Ishna. She's won't be leaving the system for three days, according to what she said last night. That is three days we have to find and destroy her."

Juno frowned. Estelle glared at the lord inquisitor. "I don't care about what the Incubators say. I'm not letting Adrianne go out there. She will die."

"So you're stupid obsession is more important than the fate of the Imperium?" Juno asked. The question was serious, and it was clear it sliced right to Estelle's heart.

"It's more than that…" Estelle muttered, "More than just an obsession!"

"It is though," Adrianne said, "You've chased me down for twenty years, insisting that you can make me better. No matter what you feel for me-"

"Don't act like you don't return my feelings," Estelle said, "It's all too clear that Erwine hasn't taken my place."

"Your place where?" Adrianne demanded, yet from the wild and frightened look on her face, it was clear she knew exactly where that place was.

Estelle didn't reply, knowing she had already won. Adrianne slunk back down, a new look coming over her face. "Adrianne…" Estelle said, seeing that the girl's initial rush of emotions at waking up into a rather hectic situation had died down. "I care about you, you know that better than anybody. And right now, I don't want to see you die."

"Do you want to die?" Estelle asked.

"I don't know…" Adrianne said, the sound so quiet that she almost mouthed the words. "Not now, at least. Ishna's still alive, once she's gone, then I can decide."

Estelle stepped in close, leaning over the girl. She put her arms around her, pulling her in tight. "I'll never leave you alone." Estelle promised, "Not again, not after all that happened. I'll be here for you." Her hand reached up to slowly stroke Adrianne's hair.

"Do you want to go find Ishna?" Estelle asked.

"Yes…" it was only the slightest breath that betrayed the sound.

"Then we can put this thing with Erwine aside, and we can find Ishna. You'll get your revenge, Adrianne, I promise. I'll be there with you…" Estelle spoke quietly, softly.

Juno said nothing.

"Alright…" Adrianne whispered, tears coming from her eyes.

"Then we should be on our way." Estelle said. She stood all the way up, and reached her hand out. "She won't hurt anyone, I'll make sure of that."

"What do you mean?" Juno asked.

"Want a deal of sorts?" Estelle wondered, "Dealing with Adrianne will be a tough case. She's mentally scared, but she's also done a lot. I'll take her, and the whole matter can be swept under the rug, in exchange for you not having to handle the strain of sorting her case out."

"You're asking for a lot, I can handle things like this…" Juno said, "I know that what you really want is for Adrianne to get off freely." The lord inquisitor narrowed her eyes, "I won't let her."

Estelle's eyebrows furrowed at her. "Just give me the key. She knows Ishna better than anyone else in the entire universe. She's the best chance we've got at finding the girl before she does something more."

The key placed in her hand, Estelle undid the restraints. Adrianne was helped up from the bed, shakily getting onto her feet. She was in her normal uniform, her hair still down. She slid her soul gem on, slowly and hesitantly.

Her posture was different as she stood beside Estelle. It was no longer the assertive, cool, commanding nature of the Adrianne before.

Now, she looked rather meek. As Juno looked at her, she thought she could even think of the girl's new appearance as a cute, childish one. "Come on…" Juno said, "I'll give you the details in the hangar." She stepped around the bed, standing beside the two, before they appeared in that hangar.

* * *

The space was small, housing only a few craft, all atmospheric ones. Erwine paced back and forth, her arms crossed. The cold face of the girl betrayed only hatred, perhaps a small bit of annoyance at the delays.

Back and forth, the impacts of her heels against the metal ringing out with every step, she walked. Her breathing was slow, and her eyes shut most of the time. Occasionally, her hand would go up to wipe the moisture off her cheeks, but the appearance of the tears never ceased.

She stopped in her tracks, spinning smoothly on her heel to face the door as she saw it open. Erwine's entire body tensed up in the second before everyone who entered was visible. It was as if a great weight was lifted from her back when she realized that Adrianne was not among those who entered.

Celestine paused a couple steps from the entrance, scanning the room. A gasp escaped her lips as she ran for Laelia, leaning against the wall in the corner. Justinia had Sechylia in her arms, and slowly slid down the wall to lean back against it as she cradled the smaller girl.

Sanae stood beside her. Wei looked in shock at Erwine, while Ayelen made it a mission to get as far from Laelia as possible.

A single glance was sent back at Laelia as Ayelen strode away, leading to Laelia looking aside, even as Celestine collided into her. Her outstretched arms wrapped around Laelia, pushing her back against the wall.

Muttering softly, the violet-haired girl guessed, "It came out, didn't it?"

Laelia didn't reply. She felt tears come to her eyes again, refusing to meet Celestine's eyes. "Stop it…" She begged.

"I'm not letting you have your stupid drama." Celestine stated, "I'm not going to let you hate yourself. I know that you saw that as the right thing to do, so why do you act like this?"

"What other choice do I have?" Laelia asked, "I ruined years of a girl's life. I stole them from her, and I can't give them back."

Celestine embrace her tighter. "I gave you up four years ago. I thought that I should let you do that. I shouldn't have let you walk away like that, back on that night." The images of the changed Laelia walking away flashed through Celestine's mind.

"You don't deserve this…" Celestine said, "You're the best among all of them."

"Few people deserve what they get." Laelia said.

"Just shut up…" Celestine said, pushing the girl's head down into her shoulder.

Laelia wasn't sure why she didn't resist. Whether it was because she accepted it, or she didn't have the will, she was unsure as to the answer.

Wei took a step towards Erwine, reaching out with a hand. "I'm not the same person you spoke to last night…" Erwine said immediately.

"Why not?" Wei asked.

"I think…" The girl started meekly, shivering, "I think the person you talked to wasn't the real me. I don't know who it was, but it wasn't the person I really am." Erwine said.

"What do you mean?" Wei asked.

Erwine's hand leapt to her face as her head tilted down. From the way her body shook, she was trying to hide tears. Then she shrugged. Hand still covering her face, Wei could see the girl's mouth open up under the cover of her hand.

Teeth chattering for a second, Erwine said as she attempted to grin. "I don't actually know. That's what I'm trying to find out." She tore her hand away, forcing herself to look at Wei. "From the moment I contracted, I realized that I really didn't understand anything. And I still don't."

Wei took a step back, mouth agape. Her mouth opened, but she found no answer. Then she closed it, nodding. "I don't understand." She was forced to say.

"Don't worry," Erwine said, brushing away the tears in her eyes. She tried to grin, tried to show some hope. "I don't ask for your understanding." She turned away, almost stumbling off.

Wei was left standing there, confusion on her face. "Don't try…" Justinia said from beside her. "You're not going to be able to do anything."

Wei whipped her head round to look down at the girl. "What do you know?"

"Trust me," Justinia insisted, "Erwine Braune's problems aren't going to be solved by somebody coddling her."

"You seem to know more than I do about her." Wei said. "Care to explain?" She demanded, after her initial accusation elicited no reply.

"I don't know more than you do. I know less. I can observe her, however." Justinia explained. She looked away, attention shifted from Wei.

A couple seconds later, several figures would appear in the hangar. Erwine happened to be striding back towards the others when the three appeared. She stopped in her tracks as Adrianne looked around.

Their eyes met for a long second. Erwine clenched her mouth shut, trying to refrain some speaking out right there. From behind her, she vaguely heard the sound of Ayelen coming back as well.

Erwine intensified her glare, wanting Adrianne to know with absolute certainty that she was an object of hatred for Erwine. Adrianne looked away. Estelle yanked Adrianne out of Erwine's glare, stepping in between her and Erwine.

The younger girl shook her head, approaching as the others did so as well. "Listen…" Juno said, "I know that you are all not in the ideal condition at the moment, but it is imperative that Ishna be located."

"All night, we were busy fighting a telepathic battle. Ishna launched multiple simultaneous strikes, challenging everybody we had available. She never broke through, but she prevented our clairvoyants from managing to scan the city properly. Search parties have been combing it for some time now, but hopefully those who know her best will be able to shed more light on her whereabouts and larger plan."

The lord inquisitor looked at Estelle. "Estelle, you are for all intents and purposes in charge of anyone who was previously under Adrianne's command.. I'll take you all right to where my subordinate thinks you'll be of the most use, so if you could all gather round."

Erwine wasn't pleased, but she gathered around with the others. There wasn't even a sound as they all appeared out elsewhere in the city.

There was instantly a sense of repulsion amongst them all as they noticed what some of them were stepping on. "I need to go," Juno quickly said, "Arietta shall explain things." She teleported away right as Erwine looked down.

One of her feet was placed on the back of a dead man. She stepped back quickly in surprise, almost tripping over a corpse behind her. Her stomach turned, and Erwine suppressed the feeling, not wanting to show weakness.

As she looked up, her attention centered on how Adrianne was frozen in fear at what she saw below her. Though Estelle held onto her hand, Adrianne's knees gave way and she fell forwards. Her hair, still untied, came down all around her face as she stared.

The awkward silence was interrupted by another voice. "Greetings," a girl sharply called out. Erwine looked over to see a dark-haired girl with a long black cloak approach them. The cloak wrapped all around her body, leaving only her head uncovered.

"Arietta," she quickly introduced herself, "Second-in-command here." She paused as she looked at Adrianne, whom Estelle was helping up. "Estelle, I presume?"

Estelle looked up from her action, "Yes," she confirmed. Holding on tight to Adrianne's hand, she pulled the girl in close to her.

"Well, Juno tells me you all know of the telepathic action last night." She switched to telepathy from this point on. It was far faster. _This is the only place we've found bodies killed by a magical girl. _

Arietta knelt down._ All of their bodies show no external signs of injury. Not a single mark. A clairvoyant even did a close examination of a single one's insides, and nothing was found in there either. Therefore, they were all killed telepathically. Which is to say that their minds were turned off. _

_I'm a telepath myself, and we know that there are hundreds of people on this street that were killed in this way. Yet all show no sign of being scared. Of course seeing others around you drop dead would cause some reaction, but all fell exactly as they would if they had been normally walking. Therefore, they all died within a second, perhaps two. _

_I assume Ishna does indeed have that kind of power? _Arietta asked, looking for some kind of confirmation. Adrianne nodded. She barely nodded, but she did.

_She does…_the girl confirmed. The conversation was shared between all their minds. Erwine was taken aback by the meekness of Adrianne's tone. It reminded Erwine…of herself.

_However, we cannot fathom the reason behind this action. _Arietta said. She looked at Adrianne, then frowned. _You are said to be the expert on this matter, so if you have any input it is welcomed. _She was certainly skeptical of the girl before her.

Adrianne couldn't blame her for that. She took a few steps forwards. The former inquisitor found her mouth opening, even though she knew it was slow. She knelt down, hand going to the dead body.

"There was no reason for all this death. Ishna did it because she wants us out here in this specific spot." Adrianne said. She didn't sound confident in her answers. Again, Erwine felt like she was watching herself, on that first night, reacting with such horror and shock at the dead. "It also means that she's leaving a trail. This probably indicates she was here last night."

"You assume she's just playing you?" Estelle asked.

Adrianne looked over her shoulder. There was no brightness on her face. "I have no choice but to accept that I've been played." She said. Adrianne stood. Looking around, she continued, "Ishna's always been dragging me on a leash, I just never saw it before she made it so very clear."

"She is incredibly power. She's a diviner, and she seems to have everything planned out. All we can hope to do is level enough power against her to drive her into a corner." Adrianne explained. "Right now, she wants us to follow her trail again."

"There's something around here that means something…" Adrianne said, "I don't know what it could be, but perhaps it has to do with one of the bodies. Or the area itself."

She looked up at Arietta. "What about the grief cubes, where are they now?"

"There were none." Arietta said, "That storage room…well, there was nothing there. The boxes were all empty."

Adrianne froze. "If they were empty…then…we know that this world is the hub site for all of the stolen cubes. So they're still here." She shuddered, trying to think.

"What can she do in three days…?" Adrianne wondered.

"The system is locked down, right?" Estelle asked Arietta.

"It is. No one approaches the planet or leaves it. We've locked down all non-official air travel, but we doubt we can stop her from getting away if she really wants to." Arietta confirmed.

Adrianne's eyes went wide, a look of fear growing on her face. She spun to face Estelle as the realization hit her. Erwine's heart raced for a brief few seconds as she feared the realization Adrianne had come to.

"A grand witch," she said. Right as the words were uttered, there was massive flash behind her. She spun around as the others looked into the sky, a huge black pillar rising from perhaps a mile away.

* * *

The world was painted grey, though. Arietta was frozen. All the others were unmoving. There wasn't a single sound besides Adrianne's heightened breathing. A hand was on her shoulder. Adrianne couldn't move her limbs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone behind her. Ishna Kleimar grinned. Her arms slid around Adrianne's body, right arm hugging in her chest, while the left slipped under her chin.

"I never thought you to be so clever…" Ishna cooed, "But you are a determined one. Interestingly so, after what Erwine did to you."

Adrianne watched as Ishna smirked, the expression enough to get Adrianne to try and move. Yet she was held back. She didn't even feel any kind of telekinetic force holding her down. Ishna had complete control over her mind, and Adrianne's orders to her muscles weren't even making it there.

Ishna's fingers slid onto Adrianne's cheek, her soft gloves cradling the girl's head. "You're a different person, really…" she whispered, "Entirely different from the madwoman who hurt my Erwine."

Adrianne flinched, a whimper coming from the back of her throat. "Ohoho," Ishna giggled, "Scared of me? It's like it's really thirty years ago." The girl stared deep into her eyes, breath tickling Adrianne's skin.

"Oh, so you've changed, realized how insane you are?" Ishna asked. She stood right in front of the girl, waiting for a reply. The smirk on her face did nothing but scare Adrianne.

"I'm…I'm not crazy anymore. I'm going to be a better person," Adrianne had tears in her eyes already. "I will kill you."

"You say that, but do you really believe your own words?" Ishna wondered. She pulled her hands away, leaving only one finger. She drew small circles with the digit, staring at the circle she traced. "Do you really have the courage to even face me anymore?"

"I do." Adrianne promised, "I will." Tears rolled down her cheeks. She knew her words were just that. Mere words.

"Don't lie to yourself." Ishna whispered, "You're still insane. You're just running from the truth."

"I don't know what this world really is," Adrianne admitted, "I don't know what anything is anymore. After what happened, I'm no better than a fresh contractee. But I'm driven. And my determination will kill you."

Ishna paused. She narrowed her eyes, staring all the way into Adrianne's. "You…you really have changed, haven't you?" She was almost surprised. "Adrianne…I really am proud of you. It'll only make it all the more delightful to destroy your existence, piece by piece."

Adrianne spat at her. The globule landed right beneath Ishna's eye. The girl's free hand raised, whisking the moisture away. She continued as if it had never occurred. "Don't you see that I've already begun? I've ripped away that belif of yours. Now you don't know anything." She leaned in close to Adrianne's ear. "And when you find something else to believe in, I'll take that away from you too. I'll take it all away, Adrianne, until only you remain."

"Then you'll have to take yourself away," Adrianne growled, "That's the only way I'll be with nothing."

"Oh, you'd be surprised at what I can do." Ishna chuckled. "But back to the important things, like dear Erwine. I feel bad for her, scarred as she is, but at the same time, closer to you than ever before."

"Don't you dare hurt her." Adrianne growled.

"Feeling guilty?" The girl before her replied, "I wouldn't. After all, you've both been enlightened by this." Ishna shrugged. "But goodbye for now. I wish you luck in your attempts at saving her. They won't work, you only care about her because _you _want to feel better."

Time stopped again for the former inquisitor.

* * *

Erwine's eyes went wide as she saw the grinning face of an angel staring at her. Those same eyes quickly moved around, seeing that time was still stopped. Ishna's hands were holding Erwine's as the girl came close to her.

"Hello, Erwine." Ishna whispered, her voice carrying a myriad of emotions. Her eyes stared deep into Erwine's as the younger girl's eyes narrowed.

The silver-haired girl said nothing as Ishna's face came to only an inch from her own. "I'm sorry about what Adrianne did to you. We can talk more, but this isn't the place I had in mind."

Erwine now looked out over a large portion of the city, and she understood that she was quite high in the air. Ishna stood before her still, but stepped to the side and turned around, her hand still holding Erwine's. The eyes of both girls concentrated on the pitch black eruption that was now miles and miles in the distance, yet still within the confines of the huge city.

"What is that?" Erwine asked. The world was still tinted that off-grey color.

"That's a grand witch being born," Ishna explained, "A witch so strong that it does not require a labyrinth to function. The destruction it shall wreak will be simply beautiful."

Erwine's head turned, eyes staring with fear at Ishna. She found that she wasn't actually being restrained. Ishna wasn't holding her down, nor was she controlling her mind. Yet Erwine did nothing but stand there. Ishna grinned, looking over at the girl who still held her hand.

Eventually, she looked over at Erwine. She stepped back in front of the girl, looking straight into her eyes. "I'm sorry about what Adrianne did to you…I wish it didn't have to happen."

"Then why didn't you stop it?" Erwine asked, confused. "You have all this power," She choked up, her vision clouding, "You could have stopped her!"

"I know that…" the beautiful girl replied, "I know…and I'm sorry that things had to end up like this. If there was another way, I would have taken it, I swear."

"I don't understand!" Erwine cried, "I thought you cared about me, but you…you just want to use me in the end, just like Adrianne!"

Ishna grabbed onto both of Erwine's hands, her palms pressing against Erwine's. "That's not at all true." She refuted, "You're going to be of great use to me, but then again, we're all of great use to somebody at some point in our lives."

"Unlike Adrianne…I don't like seeing you in pain. From the very beginning, if the option was there, I would have guarded you from all the pain that ever came to you."

"Why couldn't you have done so?" Erwine asked. She stood there, not moving, despite the fact that she could have moved. She was too frozen by the shock of all that was happening.

"Nothing I say is going to make sense, Erwine. I already made that clear. Nothing I say will make sense to you for a very long time." Ishna grinned. "All you need to know is that I won't hurt you, I promise. And from here on out, things will be only get better for you."

Erwine shook her head. "You can't care about me…you killed Airi like that. There's…there's no way someone who would do that could be a good person."

"I'm not a good person," Ishna said, "Tens of millions of people are about to die thanks to my efforts." She gestured with her head back towards the pillar reaching into the sky. "I merely care about you, Erwine." She grinned.

"That doesn't make any sense…."

"Few things in this world make sense." Ishna corrected her. She leaned in, kissing the girl on the cheek. "But fear not, I'll be here for you."

Erwine shuddered, as her eyes scanned the world around her. Time was still stopped. She understood that the amount of magic involved in time stopping exponentially increased by the second. Theoretically, even the most powerful magical girls, the ones who were hundreds of years old, should have run out by now.

Yet Ishna looked fine. Erwine's eyes went to the girl's gem, seeing nothing wrong with it. Her eyes widened, even as Ishna kept on grinning. She cocked her head to the side, eyebrows raised expectantly.

"What are you…?" Erwine asked, terrified by what she saw.

"A very rare kind of magical girl…" the angel replied, "Perhaps literally one in a million-no, more like one in a billion. Something around there."

The girl slid around Erwine's body, arms wrapping around Erwine from behind. "I can tell that you won't find any of my kind on your side, if there or ever have been any others."

"So your power comes from the chaos gods?" Erwine guessed.

Ishna sighed, "Well, I'm pretty sure all magic ties back to the warp, but don't go around talking about that, not everyone likes that theory-"

"Just answer my question!" Erwine demanded.

"It doesn't. My magic came from a contract I made long ago." Ishna explained, chuckling as she did so, "Just like yours did, though you didn't make it very long ago, not nearly as long ago as myself!"

The little girl tensed up, "Give me a straight answer!"

"I can do many things. Teleportation, telepathy, shield generation, healing, telekinesis, invisibility, magical programming, time stopping, divination, amongst a myriad of other abilities I've acquired." Her graceful voice brought Erwine into a sort of trance as Ishna continued on.

"The teleportation…Airi did help it along, I'm a lot better at it now than I was before her. That lovely cacophony of screams…" Ishna whispered, "That sublime cry of terror, the look on her face…oh, what must have been coursing through her mind and body in those last moments of her life…" Ishna shuddered, her arms tightening up as she rested her head on Erwine's shoulder. Erwine looked back to see Ishna's mouth spreading out in a grin, "It's a shame that such an experience can only end in death, otherwise I'd want to live it a thousand times for myself."

Erwine's face twisted in shock at this. Ishna merely sighed, as if she lamented the fact she'd never get it for herself, and continued. "…Anyways…" she whispered, "You see Erwine, what I stabbed Airi with would normally be called a grief rapier. A weapon forged around the seed of a witch, turned into a delivery system for the witch itself."

Her hand near Erwine's face reached up, fingers playing with Erwine's loose strands of hair. Ishna's breath gently blew across Erwine's cheek, tingling the skin causing Erwine to periodically shiver.

"Normally, only the greatest soulsmiths in the Eye of Terror are capable of forging such a thing, and that's correct, for I don't just generate grief seeds from nothing. Rather, what I do is create the shape of the weapon, and it plays a similar role. Normally, when such a rapier is stabbed into a soul gem, the girl turns into a monstrous hybrid of a witch and a magical girl, two souls struggling for dominance."

"What I do is drain the magic from the girl entirely. And if there's no magic in a soul gem, then it collapses and turns into a grief seed. That's what I do, Erwine. When I started out, I had no powers whatsoever. I was entirely useless, save for my single ability."

Ishna paused, a different look coming over her face. It was a nostalgic look, as if she remembered fondly those old days, long gone now. "I have killed dozens and dozens of magical girls over the course of my life. The full power of their gems was added to my repertoire of abilities. In a way, I sucked out their soul. But their soul stayed behind, to turn into a witch. I just removed the thing that made that soul so special."

"These days…it's so boring taking things from Airi. The unfortunate tragedy of her death was exciting, but her soul was so boring. Teleportation is trivial for me. I like finding new souls, the more unique ones, and stealing those. I have stolen plenty of those more unique souls over the course of my life, and I'm always looking for more…" Ishna took in a deep breath.

She pushed her head even closer to Erwine's, breathing out slowly over the girl. "And I wish that it was possible for me to take yours, it's a rather interesting ability, plenty of room for development. Yet I can't…" Ishna pressed her lips against Erwine's cheek.

"You just want to become more and more powerful, right?" Erwine wondered, shivering from a mix of awe and fright.

Ishna shook her head. "I am rapidly approaching the point where my magical ability will allow me to shatter the karmic cycles of this universe and ascend beyond them. You've heard of the Infinite Potential Theory, correct?" Erwine frowned, nodding briefly.

"Maybe? Maybe not? It of course states that since magical energy defies all known laws of the universe, save the Law of Equality which balances hope and despair, magical girls are capable of becoming anything they wish to be. Unfortunately, given that the Law of Equality exists, a girl cannot maintain huge levels of power, as they will eventually be balanced out."

"Therefore…the goal of any magical girl who seeks power should be to break through the Law of Equality, to shatter the bounds of this universe and ascend beyond it. Once that is done, no external force is capable of controlling that girl any longer. At that point, her magic potential becomes actually infinite."

"The downside is that no one can break the Law of Equality and maintain their existence. The Goddess did manage to do so, and I wish to discover how she returned to this universe, or perhaps she was a bit like me, a soul-stealer who ascended to a godlike form."

"However…I do not wish to follow in her footsteps if that's the case. This world had too many gods as it is, and as they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I have different goals in mind." Ishna explained.

"That…that magic you have me…" Erwine's eyes widened, revulsion growing inside her, "You gave me the magic of another girl. My wings…they came from another magical girl…didn't they?!"

"They did indeed…" Ishna confirmed, "And they're more beautiful on you than they were on her, I assure you." She acted as if that would calm Erwine.

"Don't worry, she died quickly. I took her soul when she was already close to being gone. Really, I did her a service…" Ishna said. She snapped her fingers. All around the two, a whole arrangement of grief seeds floated now. Erwine didn't understand where they came from.

They rotated around till Ishna reached out with her right and plucked one from the air. She flipped it around in her fingers. "This is her…" Ishna whispered. "She was a pretty one, at least. Not as much as you, but still something."

She opened her palm, letting the seed rest there. "Would you like it?" Ishna asked, "It's yours if you want it."

Erwine tentatively reached out, before her hand closed entirely around the witch. She looked at the thing, shuddering. Her fingers closed around it as she pulled it close to her chest. "So what's your plan…?" Erwine asked, "In the end, what do you want?"

"You'll find out eventually…" Ishna said. Her voice took on a sad, lamenting tone, "Truthfully…I wish I didn't have the goal I do now. With my power…I could do such much. There's an entire universe out there untouched by mankind. I almost want to try and explore it for myself. To go out and learn all there is to know."

She had tears in her eyes as she continued, "I really wonder what it would like to be the first person to see it all." Her head turned a little, "Do you think I could do that, Erwine?"

Erwine didn't reply at first. Then she looked into Ishna's eyes. She nodded. Ishna put on a sad smile. "If I wanted to do that…I would take you with me. We could go out, run away from this cursed existence…yet I cannot run from what is ultimately my duty."

"Why can't you take me with you now?!" Erwine asked desperately.

Ishna froze. "Right now, you're the only person who really seems to care for me. You're the only person who really understands what I'm feeling. I'd do anything to be able to come with you, even if it's on a path of destruction."

Ishna shook her head, "That's not your destiny."

"Then what is?!" Erwine cried, weeping, "To live a terrible life?! To live a life that was made for me by other people! You say you made me, then why don't you embrace your creation and protect it?!"

"I'm sorry…" Ishna whispered, "But I can't do that."

"Then you're no better than Adrianne!" Erwine said. "I'd be willing to understand! I'd help you, I'd even watch this galaxy burn with you if that's what you desire! Anything to get away from this!" She understood that the words she said made her a traitor.

She couldn't care anymore. Not about protecting the Imperium. Not when it had never done anything good for her. Erwine felt her heart break as Ishna shook her head. "No." The girl said, "That's not going to happen."

"Then what is?" Erwine begged, "What will happen to me?"

"You will be a better person than I…" Ishna said. She giggled a little. "Erwine…I'm about to murder tens of millions of people, are you ready to bear the weight of that sin?"

She seriously stared into Erwine's eyes. The little girl looked into her heart, and found that she couldn't condone that. "Exactly," Ishna said, knowing the answer without even reading Erwine's mind.

Erwine tried to take deep breaths, tried to calm herself. She couldn't. She kept on crying. "Then…then if you won't take me with you…and you won't protect me…then you're no better than Adrianne."

Ishna nodded. "I know that…I'm worse, actually. Adrianne has a chance at redemption…" Ishna maniacally grinned, "I just love murder."

She sighed, "That's right Erwine…Adrianne has a chance. Give it to her. Please, do it for me if nothing else." Erwine was struggling to break free from her grip, but the struggle was weak.

Ishna's arm extended outwards, her other one still holding Erwine. "Now…when I snap my fingers, one of the most beautiful sights you'll ever lay eyes upon will appear before you." Ishna explained, "You'll love it, I think."

Her fingers snapped, and the world was no longer colored grey. Erwine's eyes went wide as a strange sensation washed over her body. It was like she was being hit with a wave of despair. It was the only way to describe what she felt. The pillar reached high into the air, climaxing, before it expanded outwards.

A huge dome-shaped wave of blackness swept out for several kilometers around the epicenter. The dome began swirling about and pulsating, waves of black energy rippling out from the huge formation, random tendrils flaring out and tearing at the area around it.

Erwine's eyes went wide, her free hand going to her chest as Ishna stepped away from her. "Surprised?" Ishna asked, "This amazing sensation…" She threw her head back, laughing with glee.

"You witness the birth of a new witch!" Ishna cried, "A truly beautiful one as well! I can only imagine the despair that those trapped there must be feeling right now! And soon, it will only grow! Till all in this city feel the beautiful touch of a being behind their comprehension!"

Ishna cackled wildly, as Erwine struggled to try and tear her eyes away from the sight before her. The sky was already growing darker and darker, clouds swooping in as thunder boomed and lightning flashed. Hints of rain began to appear.

"Adrianne will be here soon. I made sure she knows exactly where we are." Ishna said, stepping in close and leaning over Erwine's shoulder. "She won't be very pleased…" Ishna giggled.

Erwine shook her head. "This isn't happening…" She said, "This is…this is horrible." She gritted her teeth, eyes looking at Ishna, who still leaned over Erwine's shoulder.

"I will destroy you…" Erwine promised, lacking determination at first, yet it grew stronger with every word, "If you reject me, then I have no choice but to treat you as a villain."

"Good…" Ishna said, "That's exactly what I want, ma belle peche." She smiled brightly, her eyes shutting as her lips spread wide. Erwine's gaze went back to the swirling ball of energy. It slowly formed into the shape of a huge black egg, still pulsating with dark energy.

"You're a monster…" Erwine whispered.

"I know that…" Ishna said. "But it's just so fun, can you blame me?"

Ishna cocked her head to the side, looking up. "She'll leap up here, and shout 'Let go of her! Ishna!'" Ishna laughed at this, as if it had already happened. Erwine found that the words were said in a perfect copy of Adrianne's voice.

Then a wave of daggers came down from above as a figure leaped through Erwine's vision, going above and behind her. Ishna merely chuckled as all the daggers were crumpled into balls of metal as they shot towards her. The sound of them falling to the ground was overshadowed by all else.

"Let go of her! Ishna!" shouted Adrianne, landing several feet behind the girl, daggers in her hands and fury in her eyes. Ishna stepped away, her magic freezing Erwine in place.

Ishna looked Adrianne in the eyes. "Good to see you…" Ishna said, "You seem a bit distressed, why?" She looked over her shoulder, "At the witch, perhaps?" Then she looked back into Adrianne's eyes, cocking her head to the side, "Or Erwine?"

Adrianne breathed slowly, steadying herself. She opened her mouth, but Ishna cut her off. "Strange that you care about her, given what you did to her earlier. But maybe you want to keep a toy around, so that you can use her as you please?"

Adrianne's face twisted into a look of horror as she briefly considered the concept before throwing it out. "In fact, Erwine being in danger seems to break your meekness…that's cute." Ishna said.

"Ishna…" Adrianne whispered. She shut her eyes, Ishna staying where she was. Then they opened, new light in them. "You destroyed my life!" she screamed, "Ishna Kleimar! You murdered Nadine and the others, you killed Airi! And you've done so much more!"

"You took Nadine and Airi from me, and in my own bout of stupidity I lost Erwine too." Adrianne said. "But I'm not done yet. I'm not even close to being finished with you, Ishna."

The hatred in her voice amazed Erwine as she saw the girl stand up to Ishna. "There's nothing left holding me in this world any longer, no ties to anyone, no ties to any moral or belief. Either you or I took everything from me, so there's nothing left for me to do but destroy you."

Ishna grinned as Adrianne continued. "Around thirty years ago, I remember promising that I would get my revenge. I promised…I swore on my soul, on the souls of Nadine and the others…and now Airi…that I would destroy you."

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Adrianne held her ground. "And I will uphold that promise! Now until the moment I die, I will fight to fulfill that promise!"

Erwine found herself unfrozen. She spun around, facing Ishna as the girl cackled,

Outstretching her arms, Ishna shouted. "Well then! Let us dance as the world ends!"

* * *

Ishna Kleimar is alive.

-Message received by the Grand Inquisitor's office on Holy Terra.


	26. When the World Ends

Grand Witch: Grand witches are several times more powerful than the average witch. They do not need labyrinths, and are formed from a cluster of witches and wraiths. Some may know of the legendary Walpurgis Nacht, a beast that scourged Holy Terra in ancient times. Their threat is equal to that creature.

They can be formed by shattering a massive number of grief seeds and grief cubes at the same time, preferably with sacrifices to go along with it. The huge amount of despair released by this action will, if guided properly, condense into a grand witch, and cause it to be born into the world.

Humans cannot perceive it for what it truly is. Only magical girls can act against it. Its kiss can spread for miles, affecting massive numbers of people. Countless humans will die when one appears, as will many magical girls. The best way to defeat such a creature is to prevent it from ever being born.

-_Encyclopedia Magica: Inquisitorial Edition_

* * *

There was an earth-shattering boom, causing Erwine to whip her head around to see the source. The egg-shape was splitting open. White lines covered its length, the whiteness growing brighter and brighter. The glare intensified, great beams of white light beaming out into the now-dark sky.

Then there was an even louder crack, traveling behind a huge force that pushed outwards as the black burst away. The shockwave pushed Erwine back, causing her to lose balance and stumble back a couple steps, her eyes going wide.

In an instant, the sphere cracked open entirely. The entire thing pulsed out then dissipated, leaving behind the entity that was the grand witch. It was monstrous. Erwine could not even describe the emotions it radiated with her words. Those were too terrible to describe.

But the form of the creature was definite. And it could be described by the words of humanity. Four bodies, torsos, heads and arms, sat in a circle. The arms of each torso were fused to the arms of the nearest torso at the elbows. The arms were strangely skeletal. No, they were translucent. The bones were the only things truly solid about the creature, but the dim color and form of flesh could be picked out. That flesh was perfect, pristine. The bones were of perfect form.

Each torso was not translucent, instead being less perfect than the arms. The spinal cord seemed to twist and wind in and out of the flesh, going forwards than backwards. There seemed to be no other bones, simply the massive spinal cord, the vertebrae of which reached out to tear and grab into the nearby flesh.

The spinal cord finally ended in the proper place at the base of the neck, bone sickeningly grew upwards from that point. From the back of each skull protruded a halo made of bone, which hung there as if it was not made of the creature's own body. The face of the creature was perfect, untouched by the ravaging force that had torn apart the torso area. The eyes were closed, eight eyes at peace. The mouth was in a similar way, perfectly content with the world. The hair of the four heads was short and cropped, but made of what looked like cartilage. Bloody cartilage.

The wounds in the torso where the spinal cord emerged from the flesh were gushing blood. It ran down the body of the creature, towards the lower parts, which were even more inhuman. The torso's had structures that looked something like legs. If they had been true legs, then they would have been crossed. But as it was, the legs turned into something different.

The arms of each torso were resting on top of what should have been the knees, but were instead the end of a neck. The necks of rotting dragons. Each neck was as long as the torso and head combined, and there were eight in total, protruding from the spaces where the knees should have been. The necks seemed to move of their own will, twisting around in the air and spitting black flames. The scales of the necks were decayed, falling away as rotten flesh was exposed.

And in between each of the pairs of necks were the real legs of the witch. Massive, slender legs rose from the ground, connecting to an area around the groin of each torso. The legs were like those of a spider, but there were four in total. They had a dozen segments each, and the massive, bristling hairs of each could be seen even from a distance. And the legs were easily one hundred meters each.

If Erwine squinted her eyes, she would have noticed that that the legs did not even entirely touch the ground. They floated barely a few meters above, so that the city was in no danger of being stomped on by the creature.

The entire thing had a black and white coloration, even the blood was pitch black like oil. The fingers of the arms were long and skeletal, each one as long as the forearm that held the hand it was attached to.

The eight arms of the witch were raised high into the air. There was a massive scream, seemingly a haunting chorus of a million different voices, before the fingers of each hand closed.

As the fingers slowly closed in on themselves, black energy swirled around the monster. One ring, then two rings, then three rings of energy, all tilted in different directions, swirled round the grand witch. When the hands fully closed, the rings reached their greatest intensity.

Then the fists opened. A massive wave of force was blasted out, coming close to knocking Erwine and the person who held her back. But Ishna was firm, and she made Erwine watch as the city was torn into by the shockwave.

Buildings close to the witch were torn into pieces in an instant. The foundations held, but the outer walls were done for. As the shockwave went outwards, it smashed apart the walls of other buildings. After it had traveled a kilometer, enough energy had been lost so that it could only now break the windows of buildings, but they were still shook by the force. Erwine and Ishna, being three kilometers away, were untouched.

But that was not even an attack. The rings coalesced into around three hundred individual figures, each one shaped like the shadow of a magical girl. Erwine watched as those familiars of the witch spread out across the city, flying to all corners of it, already raining death and destruction.

Erwine tore her vision away from the terrific sight as she heard motion behind her. Adrianne's daggers curved towards Ishna, the former inquisitor moving fast enough so as to lose several volleys in what seemed like one single smooth motion.

The volley of blades shot towards the girl in blue, Adrianne manipulating them to curve and weave around in erratic paths so as to prevent easy deflection. It was two dozen glints of silver that cut through the cold air.

And it was exactly zero of these glints that even came close to touching Ishna Kleimar. Ishna didn't react as the projectiles were ripped apart by unseen forces. Yet Adrianne still leapt towards her, fresh weapons in her fingers.

"Haven't you learned?" Ishna asked, stepping to the side as Adrianne came in close. "You can't touch me…" Adrianne's left foot landed on the ground, leading to her spinning about, rising her right foot to kick out.

The spinning kick, with its speed and force, would have knocked the head from a human. Ishna merely grinned, raising her left arm. Adrianne gritted her teeth as her leg did absolutely nothing at all. Ishna's arm glowed as she held entirely firm, more damage being incurred by Adrianne.

"Overcharging…" Adrianne muttered. She leapt back as Ishna's opposite arm came out in a near instantaneous strike. The punch barely grazed Adrianne's nose.

A bright flash came from Ishna's side, Erwine screaming, "Flinch!" at the top of her lungs. The girl came leaping forwards, propelled by her wings, swinging her sword in a wide horizontal slash.

Adrianne flew through Erwine's field of vision as the younger girl came to realize that there was no sword in her hands. Erwine saw dust running from in between her fingers as Adrianne face planted, Ishna standing right behind where Adrianne had once been.

_How can we fight someone who can stop time…? _Erwine wondered. She knew that if she could attach something to the girl, then it was vaguely possible, but she had no ability to do so.

Then she recalled Adrianne's cabins. _That would work…_Erwine realized as Adrianne quickly got to her feet, weapons back in her hands. _And Ishna won't hurt me…_Erwine saw that only her sword had been taken from her, _so if I distract her, then I can give Adrianne a chance. _

Erwine summoned her sword again, gathering her magical power into her voice as she shot towards Ishna, pushing her wings as hard as she could. Taking a deep breath, Erwine shouted as loud and as forcefully she could.

She gathered all her hatred towards Ishna, towards Adrianne, towards the situation she found herself in, and projected it out at the one who had masterminded it all. Even now, the smirk on the girl's face only added to Erwine's anger.

"Die!" she screamed, swinging her blade at her. Ishna's face merely changed to one of pride as she caught Erwine's blade in one hand. That hand was coated with a blue sheen of magic. Erwine had heard vaguely of the practice.

Overcharging, something that should generally destroy one's body. It involved pumping magic energy throughout the entirety of a body, making it far more powerful and effective, but also quickly degrading the body, meaning that there had to be equally fast regeneration of the body. Only the best magical girls could do it for perhaps a minute at a time, yet Ishna didn't seem to be fazed at all.

Ishna's hand crushed down, then twisted as she stepped to the side, getting out of the way of Erwine herself. The sword was torn in two as Erwine swung her foot in and punched with her free hand. Ishna disappeared, appearing behind Erwine. She stepped back as Erwine spun about once again.

"What do you want?!" Erwine cried, "Do you even want to hurt me?!"

"Not at all," Ishna shook her head. Her knee raised up, still bent. Then she spun smoothly as someone came from behind. Her leg snapped out. "Adrianne on the other hand..." That girl jerked to the side, barely dodging the kick. Ishna snapped out her opposite leg, bringing the other one back to the ground.

Adrianne stabbed out with one dagger at the floor, while her other one was sent at Ishna. A dozen copies appeared around it, all trailing chains behind them. They first flew towards Ishna before they curved to wrap around the girl's leg.

Ishna's foot collided with the dagger, and the weapon shattered. Adrianne's hand felt the wave of telekinetic force trailing out in front of the kick. Her hand crunched as she was hit as well. But her daggers did grab Ishna, and Erwine was behind the girl.

From behind, the young one swung at her opponent's back, her blade growing a bright silver. Ishna chuckled. She leapt off the ground with her right leg, then kicked out behind her. Her foot hit only the blade, the telekinesis tearing up the metal.

Adrianne yanked her back down, holding tight onto the chains. Ishna merely let this occur. Adrianne leapt up towards her, arm cocked back to strike out. Adrianne flickered in and out of existence for a brief second. Ishna raised her right arm to block behind her head as the daggers came at her.

They were knocked aside, and Adrianne was merely amazed. She was to the side of Ishna, no longer holding the chains. She twirled in the air, landing perfectly on her feet as Ishna destroyed the chains.

Adrianne stepped back beside Erwine. Erwine was amazed as well. _You were gone…_she said quickly.

_I used my magic to make myself invisible to any observation, remember? It didn't work, it seems. _Ishna turned around, anger on her face. "Though I saw that coming, it still angers me." She spat. She took a second to calm herself, then a grin was on her face again. "You're still so much fun, Adrianne. Always you've been a lovely bundle of surprises, but this just takes the cake."

Adrianne's eyes widened. Daggers were in her hands again. "Erwine…" she whispered, "It worked…my magic worked on her."

Erwine's eyes went wide. "But she's so powerful-"

Ishna cut in, her voice smug as she explained. "Power has nothing to do with magic, not raw power that is. Emotions are what drive magical girls. And Adrianne is motivated by thirty years of emotions that have been building up for a very long time."

Adrianne leapt forwards, determination on her face. "Yet she still can't win!" Ishna moved faster, pivoting on her foot to chop downwards at a point behind herself. Adrianne cried out as the hand hit her in the back of the neck. Ishna's knee came up, knocking her back again.

"I can see it all!" Ishna cried, "Every second after this one! Your actions are so boring!" She raised her hand again as her left pulled Adrianne's head and pressed it against her knee. "If anything, this is mere punishment for Erwine!" Ishna cried. The chop came down again.

"Good luck!" Adrianne cried hoarsely, the call clearly directed at Erwine. _Stop moving…_she added.

Erwine rushed forwards. Then she found a shield blocking her. She struck at the barrier, but it was too late. Adrianne sounded serious, and Erwine knew there was little else she could do, she froze. There was a sickening crack and Adrianne's body fell to the ground with a thump. The girl's eyes were blank, and her chest didn't move.

"Adrianne!" Erwine called, wondering why she cared at all.

Then the world was tinted grey. Ishna grinned as she strode towards Erwine. _This is what she gave me…_Erwine realized, in the split second that her eyes widened and Ishna knew something was wrong.

Erwine cried, "Freeze!" as she rushed forwards. The command had no effect on the girl, but Ishna found her eyes darting back to the lifeless corpse beside her. Erwine cast her blade at Ishna.

And though Ishna's hand wrapped around it an inch from her heart, she found herself bleeding. Then her face widened into a grin as her other hand chopped. Both chains were severed, telekinetic forces tearing them apart.

Erwine found a hand carefully feeling her face as Ishna's telekinesis held her down. Time was still frozen. But the connection that held Erwine to Ishna was gone.

"That's just amazing…" Ishna whispered, "She actually hid from me…her power to hide. In the end, she burned up almost all her magic just to avoid my divination. And it worked, too, attaching the chain to me and then to you, making sure they were invisible."

She shrugged, "Clever, but unfortunately she still lost. _You_ still lost, Erwine."

"Then just get it over with!" Erwine growled.

"No." Ishna replied, "That's not an option at the moment." She giggled as time started to move again. Already, the city was in chaos.

Sounds echoed throughout the expansive mass of buildings. Most were signs of struggle. Though the sky was dark, and rain came down hard, that did not stop flames from shining out through the darkness. The grand witch was slowly moving, ripping apart the city was it moved.

The clouds were alive with the sound of thunder, and the sky flashed with bolts of lightning. "A beautiful mass murder…" Ishna whispered, "Don't you agree?"

Erwine shook her head. "What do you want?"

"You keep asking the same questions."

"You keep giving the same answers…" Erwine replied, her face steady.

Ishna giggled. She stepped away, laughing to herself. Then she stopped suddenly. She looked over her shoulder, head bending back at an unnatural angle. "You…even when you were moving in the stopped time…I should have been able to see that happen."

She smiled gleefully. "Yet I could not. Therefore, they're already starting to unravel!"

Erwine furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean? You can't see my future?"

"I can and can't," Ishna said, "Foresight is no done deal. Mine's just the most accurate out of perhaps anyone's since the Great Prophet herself. It's entirely possible that the future observed is the incorrect one."

Erwine was released. She raised her great sword again, staring with hatred at Ishna. "You seem pleased that you cannot see my future, why?"

"It means that I'm right…" Ishna said. She shrugged, "I mean, I have done everything I've done for about a hundred years now based on a guess. An educated guess, but a guess nonetheless."

"You've killed…you've killed so many people based on a guess you made?" Erwine was astounded, "What guess was this? What could be so important?"

"Getting you into the right position to bring ruin to an entire realm." Ishna said, "And it seems that you're in that position, giving how large your web of possibilities has become. Even I can't see the end."

Erwine shuddered, "You…no…that's not true. You mean…you want me to destroy the Imperium for you?"

"Did you not just say that you'd do anything for me if I brought you with me?" Ishna asked.

Erwine gritted her teeth. "That's…" It is what she had said. "But why?"

"Why not?" Ishna shrugged. Erwine knew there was more to this than mere psychopathy, or so she thought. But there was no way to prove anything at the moment. All she could do was hope that there was more than a mere desire for murder.

"What am I going to do?" Erwine asked.

"That would ruin the surprise…" Ishna replied, "It's your _destiny_. You shall fulfill it no matter what." Flickering lightning in the distance and the booming of thunder only made her words more dramatic as her finger pointed out at Erwine.

Ishna's fingers closed around a dagger. She turned her hand around. A barely visible ripple of force shot it back at the person who fire it originally. Adrianne grunted as it landed in her gut. Erwine looked to the side, seeing the girl there.

She stared into Adrianne's eyes for one long second, and came to the conclusion that she didn't care. Ishna shook her head as Erwine looked back, "Are you truly so uncaring?" she wondered.

Adrianne's muscles tensed up. Her eyes went wide as her arm started to move. It moved on its own. She fought it with every bit of strength she had, her limb slowly approaching her stomach. Erwine swallowed as Adrianne's fingers wrapped around her dagger.

The girl winced as she yanked it from her own body. Her eyes darted to the side, watching Erwine's blade raise into the air. Adrianne steeled herself as her other hand was forced to the ground, the dagger-wielding hand above it. Her hand froze there, Adrianne refusing to die.

A cry of pain escaped her throat as her hand fell to the ground. Erwine's blade had been a flash as it severed the appendage. "Ohohohoho," Ishna laughed, "So you still care about her life?"

"You're wrong." Erwine replied. She glared at Adrianne. Her head tipped back, turning to the side to stare at Ishna. "I need Adrianne to kill you. And besides…death is too good for her."

"That's cruel…" Ishna commented.

"Cruelty is all she deserves." Erwine stated flatly.

"It seemed like you might be forgiving her. For a moment, I thought you did." Ishna shrugged, "Of course, I don't see why you would forgive her. Why forgive someone who has only destroyed lives, who has done nothing she set out to accomplish?"

Ishna's tone dropped down low, her words conveying so many other meanings as she said lowly, just barely loud enough for Adrianne to hear, "Such a lust for revenge. So great that it drives you to overcome all my sight. Yet it's also so great that you cannot help but destroy yourself and those around you for the sake of this perverted passion." She giggled.

Erwine was about to speak. She was surprised to hear Adrianne cut through. "You act as if I didn't know that already…" the former inquisitor shakily got to her feet. Her disheveled hair fell all around her face, her eyes staring through the tangled locks. Her free hand wiped away the gold, leaving only her hatred staring into Ishna's eyes.

"Ishna..." Her words were low, but her determination was obvious. "I'm no hero. I'm no real inquisitor. This has all opened my eyes to that fact…" A sort of cocky grin came onto her face, "And there's no option but to accept that fact, is there?"

Adrianne stared into Ishna's eyes. "I'm no slave to anybody anymore. Just try to stop me, Ishna. It doesn't matter how long I have to chase you, eventually, you'll make a mistake."

"What?" Ishna scoffed. She danced about on one foot, saying, "You want those thirty years I took from you back? You want Airi's life back? You want Nadine's life back?" She tipped her head back, looking back at Adrianne, "How romantic…"

"I do ask myself while I'm still doing all this. I do wonder if it's just to suffer…to keep hoping to get rid of this pain that has plagued me for so long…" Adrianne shook her head, certain in her intentions, "No. It's not to get my past back. It's not to get Airi and Nadine back. I get it now, for too long I've been fighting for myself, wishing that I can get what has been gone for so long."

"Now…It's not about my life, nor about theirs. It's about your existence," Adrianne shot, "As in, as long as you continue to exist, you will have an enemy."

"I could kill you right now." Ishna laughed.

"Then why not do so?" Adrianne replied. Ishna didn't seem fazed by the question. "You're playing a game with me, with all of us." Adrianne said, "And that facts means that eventually, you're going to make a mistake.""And as I said before…" Adrianne's voice rose suddenly, "I will destroy you when you do!"

"Good luck…" Ishna replied. She took several steps towards the two, hands clasped behind her back. "But…I doubt you'll succeed."

Adrianne moved forwards. Erwine's sword blocked her. "No." She said, "Adrianne, your hand is still damaged, and you burned yourself dry on magic, I'll take her from here."

"There's no way you can-" Adrianne quickly said, before another voice cut her off.

"That's so wonderful Erwine…you've finally become the thing Adrianne always dreamed of you being." Ishna said. Her voice was rife with amazement, "It's just so beautiful…seeing you in this state after all you've been through to reach this point. Truly a most magnificent journey."

"What?" Erwine asked. Several seconds of silence passed, Erwine looking over to Adrianne in that time. An unspoken question was on her lips.

"I'm sure you didn't actually want to know…" Adrianne said, ashamed of herself, "But it's the truth. I won't deny it."

"This is what you wanted all along…?" Erwine asked, "What you did to me…you planned that?"

"I did no such thing." Adrianne replied, "Unfortunately…it merely served to act as the final catalyst for your transformation into the being I wanted. I wish that it could have been done a more peaceful way, but with the way you were, there's no way it could have been done in a peaceful manner."

"I'm sorry…" She said softly, looking in the girl's face, "But Erwine…there's a part of me that's overjoyed with you right now."

Erwine's hand went to her mouth, covering it as she gasped in shock. "You so easily raise your blade against Ishna, without a second's hesitation." Adrianne gritted her teeth, the shame clear on her face. "I hate the fact that I love it, but I can't deny it."

"How cute…" Ishna commented. "Adrianne…you ought to just let go."

"Cease your games!" Adrianne screamed at her, turning towards her. "You're trying to get me to turn, it's so obvious! You try to fill my heart with despair by making me feel the guilt that I choose to ignore, but it won't succeed! I have already let go of Erwine, she is stronger than I have ever been!"

"If you want me to turn into a witch, then come into my mind and make me do it!" The shout was a demand. Ishna laughed at it.

She kept on laughing, even as Erwine leapt forwards. Adrianne moved along with her, her hand mostly regenerated. Together, the two charged at Ishna. Somehow, they hoped that they could land a blow. That they could do something to her.

Together they struck, and together they missed her. Ishna leapt back towards the very edge of the building. Erwine and Adrianne paused, wondering what she could do next. "Well…this is getting boring."

Erwine felt Ishna's gloved finger gracing her chin as the girl appeared in front of her, "This has been the most excitement I have ever felt in so long…" She whispered, her words so obviously true. "I loved it, I thank you both for that much."

She appeared back where she was before. "I guess I'll let you two have some real fun now. I can always pop in and save the day if necessary."

"Wait!" Erwine shouted, even as Adrianne leapt forwards again. She watched the golden-haired girl go, running after her.

Ishna smiled, raising her hand. "Goodbye!" she waved. Then she spread her arms out and fell backwards. The blades of her foes tore through nothing but the cold air.

Rain splattered all around them, the pattering sound more and more apparent as they stared over the edge. Ishna was gone. The pattering was briefly overshadowed by a thump. Adrianne's body hit the floor, her breathing slow as her energy fled from her.

Erwine ran forwards, looking over the edge. There was nothing there. She sighed, hanging her head in defeat. They weren't any closer to actually catching her, that much was clear.

Erwine looked around, wondering what to do. She didn't have much time to consider her options, given the wider situation. Then she found herself feeling faint as well. Her knees collapsed, and she found herself sitting down beside where Adrianne lay. She crawled over the wet roof to lay a hand on Adrianne.

The girl was breathing, but it was faint. Adrianne's eyes cracked open, staring up at Erwine. "I'm sorry…" She said, her tears mixing in with the cold water that already ran down her face.

Erwine kept her hand there, but looked back to the witch. It had advanced about two kilometers at this point, and was still tearing into the city. So many had to be already gone, and there would be many more deaths before this thing was even close to being stopped.

It seemed to have been deliberately avoiding the building Erwine and Adrianne were on, but now that Ishna was gone, dark shapes could be seen approaching. Erwine got to her feet, doing her best to summon her strength. She looked down, "Get up." She ordered, "I'm not protecting you from everything."

Adrianne struggled to do so, even as Erwine's fingers gripped around her newly-summoned blade. Erwine grabbed the former inquisitor and tossed her backwards, as the attack began.

Three of the creatures streaked in at Adrianne and Erwine. Already, dark bolts of energy shot out at the pair, loud insidious cackles audible over all else. As they moved to reply, a figure appeared out of the corner of their eyes. Leaping through the air, a blonde-haired girl spun, carrying a large rifle of some kind.

The weapon boomed once, and a massive shot took one of the familiars. The starry substance it was made of was blown away, and the girl landed to fire two more shots. The familiars were surprised, and had no time to dodge the shots.

All three were blasted apart in a matter of two seconds. Erwine and Adrianne looked up at the person who had helped them. Standing there, holding an anti-tank rifle longer than she was tall was Juno Eskel. "Adrianne, Erwine," she said, "Sorry for not helping, but we needed to control the familiars, and I could see you two were being played with,"

Erwine glared at her for the last part of the sentence, but realized that it was true. _Ishna could have killed us both, but she needs me for this purpose of hers. _"Any ideas as to why that Ishna doesn't want both of you dead?" Juno asked.

Adrianne was silent, still struggling to maintain her balance. Erwine took one look at her, then spoke for herself. "She wants me and Adrianne alive." She considered her words carefully. _If I give away too much…they might just want me dead as well. I can't allow that to happen. _"I don't know why, but I think she has some greater purpose for the both of us, I can't imagine what."

"She's a diviner, perhaps she's some plan," Adrianne added in quickly. Juno nodded. There was far too much literally going through her mind right now for her to be entirely concerned with that. Being the oldest magical girl on the planet, all communications were ultimately passing through her head.

The lord inquisitor turned to look at the witch. "That thing…" she said, "We'll stop it, but it'll take some time…"

Lightning flickered through the sky to strike at the buildings and streets, explosions erupting from wherever they touched. The flames from the dragon heads covered out to roughly half a kilometer, and a massive expanse of scorched earth was in the wake of the creature, and was slowly being created in front of it.

_It's already destroyed about ten kilometers of the city in total, _Juno explained, switching to telepathy, _and it's estimated that roughly half the city will be gone by the time we stop it. If you're wondering, that amounts to roughly twenty-seven million casualties, if not more, that estimate is around the best case, assuming our rescue teams are one hundred percent successful." _

Another familiar came screaming in at the three. It screamed, but in a way that sounded like a twisted kind of laughter. It extended an arm, the shape distorted, and with its handless wrist, fired a volley of black bolts at the three.

Adrianne jumped to the side, already flinging three daggers. Juno rolled forwards, firing her gun as she went into the roll. Erwine simply stepped to the side, not attacking. It was not lazy. She knew that she could not do anything that the other two could not do better at this range and in this situation.

The slug from the anti-tank rifle hit the familiar in the head, right before a trio of knives went into its body. With a brief flash, the shape winked out of existence.

"How do we beat the thing?" Erwine asked.

Juno looked at the witch as she came out of her roll_, Well, the only way to destroy the thing is to beat it down until it's gone, _she explained,_ It's far more resilient than any other witch. Conventional attacks will hurt it, but there's a chance that not even a blast from orbit will kill the thing. _

Adrianne stood near the edge of the roof and nodded in agreement. She turned to look back at Juno and Erwine, _The best way is to get in close. There's usually some kind of focal point of the creatures energy that if hit, will at least do more than just firing at it will. However, the witch ultimately has a huge seed at its heart. If this seed isn't properly handled, or if it's destroyed, then it will collapse and release the witches that made up the creature. So we have to be incredibly gentle in the final stages. _

Another half a dozen creatures then flew in from all directions. Their screaming laughter combined into one atrocious dirge that hurt the ears of all who heard it.

They fired dozens and dozens of bolts, covering the roof of the building in blasts. Adrianne leapt off, leaving a couple knives impaled in the roof. She held herself on the side of the building with the chains, before she used the pull of the chains to launch herself back up.

"How was the witch made?" Erwine asked as she spread her wings and jumped backwards. The wings helped propel her, and she swung her sword out to the right. There was a familiar there, and it was almost cut in half by the blade. But it dodged upwards, and only lost its legs to the blade.

It curved in the air and came back around to fire at Erwine. Another one was further right of the current one attacking her, and it turned to fire at Erwine as well. She threw up her wings as a shield around herself, and the shots were deflected.

Erwine had started to move forwards as well, and opened her wings as hard and fast as possible to knock the familiar right in front of her back. She propelled herself fast with her wings, curving to dodge the shots of the farther one.

_Made by a large amount of grief cubes and seeds being placed in a single area. Multiple magical girls were most likely sacrificed, turned into witches themselves, in order to jumpstart the reaction. They functioned as a catalyst, the grief released by their transformation kicked off the birth of all the other witches and wraiths. They all fused together to form one large witch,_ Juno explained, as she ran straight forwards.

A familiar came in towards her, and another one came in from the side. She jumped into the air, firing straight ahead. She then curved, pointing her gun at the other familiar. Black bolts flew towards her, and she would not be able to get out of the way in time, were she not a teleporter.

_The large sphere first seen was the fusion process occurring. We came close to completely interrupting it, and we are lucky that we did so much .This thing would be far more powerful otherwise,_ Juno explained, as she disappeared.

She teleported right in front of the creature firing her rifle into its face. The familiar's flat head was already half-impaled on the long barrel of the weapon before the gun fired.

Adrianne leapt up from below the lip of the roof and threw daggers to either side. Three weapons went into the two familiars to either side of her. Chains were attached, and she pulled the two creatures into each other, smashing them together to finish them off.

_We need to move fast. The familiars are only meant to distract us. If we close in, then we can take advantage of the witch's slow speed and low mobility. If we stay far away, then it just picks us off with lightning_, Juno said, and as if to emphasize her point, a massive bolt of lightning hit the building she was on.

A massive detonation rose from the center of the building, as Erwine flew in towards the farther-away familiar. She struck in, jabbing with the sword she held, before she immediately pushed herself back, spinning around to tear the other familiar in half.

Her spin took her within distance of the building, and her feet touched the roof as the lord inquisitor continued to speak. _You see my point, if you look closely, the witch is not hitting anything near it with its attacks. The lightning seems random, not exactly targeted, so that means that the lighting is merely generated by the creature. It's magically enhanced, but is somewhat natural. _

The building was starting to collapse. The top half was tipping forwards. Adrianne leapt off, going as far as she could before flinging her knives. Juno leapt off, before teleporting to the next roof.

Erwine was near the end of the roof, so she ran down the increasingly-steep slope before leaping off and flying into the air with her wings spread. It was only a short trip to the roof Juno was on, but Adrianne's daggers had not made it all the way to the roof. She was pulling herself up, but a familiar came in as she did so.

Juno was firing off into the distance, taking pot shots with her rifle. The problem was that the familiars were very quick, and her shots were slower than their speed. She did not see Adrianne about to be blasted off the roof.

Adrianne heard the creature behind her, and kicked off the side of the building and spun around, flinging her knives. They hit the creature, but she did not have the chance to get out of the way. She knew that she could survive with some damage, and threw up her arms.

Erwine flew in, grabbed Adrianne, spun around and folded her wings in front of herself. The bolts hit the blue wings and did nothing to either girl. Erwine flew up and landed on the roof. She instantly checked her soul gem. She could feel in her mind that she was running low on magic, but she had three nettings of cubes. One on each hand, and one on her head.

They were doing their jobs, and Erwine figured that she had about an hour of this level of use left, before she had to even start to worry about her magic levels. She flew onto the roof and dissipated her wings, dropping Adrianne off. The inquisitor looked at Erwine, who only looked back with annoyance in her eyes.

"Do better next time," she said, "I shouldn't have to help you." Before she walked off towards Juno. Adrianne was left frozen, consistently left considering past events now that the focus of her hatred was no longer present. The dark sky still let down buckets of rain.

She meekly walked towards Juno and Erwine. The former was still firing shots off at all the familiars flying about. There was the sound of boots hitting the roof, and Juno turned to see five magical girls touching down.

Erwine and Adrianne turned to see the five, and Adrianne was surprised as she recognized the girl who was clearly their leader. She wielded a pair of long curved blades, resembling scimitars, but each over a meter long. She was the receptionist from the archive offices, judging from her hair.

She saw Adrianne and nodded to her, before reporting to Juno. "Juno," she said, addressing her commanding officer by her first name, "We've contained most of the familiars. A few strays are running about, but the teleporters and flyers are on those ones. There are about forty girls now free for an attack on the witch itself. Telepaths have dispatched a distress signal, and we already have a return message from the Multi-Sector Overwatch Committee."

She cocked her head to the side, and her eyes widened. A lightning bolt flickered over her head. It went above by about five meters, but a few stray bolts flickered down to strike at the group. A shield raised up instantly, and the bolts were deflected, crackling wildly into the air before dissipating.

"Well," the girl said, as if nothing had happened, "They just heard back from the Segmentum Sect. They are discussing the situation, but reinforcements are already on the way from MSOC. Word is that there's also a unit of mage knights in the sector. We may receive help from them if this is a wide-scale attack."

Juno nodded. Another bright blue bolt came from behind her. It was a one in a million chance. She was struck in the back, launched forwards several meters. She would have flown right off the building if Erwine had not caught her.

Her back was scorched down to the bone, and she was lucky that her soul gem had not been destroyed. Due to the magical nature of the explosions generated by the bolts, hitting a magical girl had cancelled part of that enhancement, so Juno was not entirely annihilated.

Erwine found the girl's soul gem on a necklace, and held it up. It was already darkening, but it was clear that the body was dead. Erwine looked at the gem in awe, "How is she alive?" she asked with wonder.

One of the girls who had just arrived ran over. She knelt down next to Erwine, taking the gem from her and removing the necklace. It was not hard, as the neck did not really exist anymore. She placed it in a box of cubes, before she applied her hands to the girl's body.

"Move on," the healer said as she started to do her job, "Juno will be fine in about…five minutes, at the most,"

Erwine was astonished. "That would have annihilated a human," she said, looking up at the receptionist girl, "How?"

"That's a forty year old healer right there," the girl replied, "And magical girls are very tough. You'll understand when you die for the first time."

She looked at Adrianne, "Before we too get shot, I suggest we move," she said, then added, "By the way, I'm Liselotte, Liselotte Arna,"

Erwine stood up. She had yet to truly regain her composure, but she could function. "How do we approach the thing?" she asked. The witch, as magical girls had tried to move in, had formed a massive wall of lightning around itself. Only the magical girls who had closed in the first place were able to function safely near it,

Liselotte grinned, "That's the fun part," she said, then looked behind herself. There was a bright flash from behind her, about a kilometer away, and Erwine was shown something that came close to the true power of a magical girl.

* * *

Laelia had yet to truly recover from the events earlier in the day. She and Ayelen were still not working well together. Luckily, Laelia had Celestine. Ayelen didn't have anyone else to rely upon.

She looked up at the massive leg of the witch as it moved forwards once again. The massive hairs of the beast's legs were charged with static electricity, which jumped out to shock anyone who tried to approach.

A dozen machine guns had been rotating around Laelia for the past twenty minutes of combat. She had emptied thousands of rounds into the witch, and the creatures around its feet.

She realized that the witch was going to succeed in tricking the others into trying to approach it. The lightning would prevent them, and if they did get past, then they would have to deal with the dozens of spiders falling from the underside of the creature.

The spiders were about three meters high, looking like standard spiders but larger. They emitted lighting from their jaws, capable of wounding a magical girl badly. However, Laelia did notice that they exploded in a rather satisfying shade of green blood.

Her shield was up as she stood in the intersection of a street. The leg was about ten meters away, and she knew that it could clear that entire distance in about one step. Her shield was actually extended to about five meters out, the reason being that the lightning from the legs would kill Celestine if she tried to go out of the shield. Laelia was barely holding the shield and firing up at the legs at the same time.

Suppressing the more active hairs with some kind of attack seemed to work in stopping the lightning from becoming too intense. Celestine had her rapier out, and with her invisibility, she used Laelia as bait, striking at the spiders that sought to strike at her.

There was an effective wall of the creatures in a half-circle in front of Laelia at this point. Every time one was killed, another few would fall from the bottom of the witch. But they had a job to do, and that job was preventing the spiders from advancing to the people actually doing damage.

The other six magical girls caught with the witch: Estelle, Sechylia, Justinia, Sanae, Ayelen, and Wei, were all busy attacking the dragon heads of the creature. Their efforts had already brought down one, and due to the distance of the heads from the legs, the static electricity did not affect them.

The leg was moving now. It had been slowly getting closer, and Laelia had held this position for ten minutes now. Her true internal clock told her it had been ten minutes, but the rest of her told her that it had been around an hour.

She retreated as the leg moved, Celestine running with her. The dragon head to the right of this leg was destroyed, but the one to the left was still alive. It was strangely mobile and responsive to attack, so it was hard for the others to land solid hits on.

Celestine had run ahead of Laelia, who was falling behind due to the need to keep her shield up. The spiders were starting to catch up with her, and the force of the leg landing could knock her down. Celestine jumped back, flipping herself over. She swung her blade in a wide arc as she went through the air. Her magic increased the length of the blade, and it cut through two dozen creatures.

Laelia saw her do this and immediately made the shield solid for humans. Celestine hit the edge and kicked off the solid surface. She flew backwards, grabbing onto Laelia before jumping away from the fresh wave of lightning bolts traveling through the air. She landed at another intersection of streets, but this one was farther down from the leg.

They were now two steps away, and the spiders scurrying to catch up, bolts flickering through the air to strike at the shield. Laelia got up from the ground, where Celestine had held her after the jump. The two had talked little after figuring out the plan.

She dissipated her guns, saying telepathically, _I can't keep them up anymore. I need all my magic for the shield. _Her voice was tired, faint. Celestine turned around to look at her. The spiders were close, five seconds from getting inside the shield.

_I got you, Laelia, _Celestine said, _just keep the shield up, and we stop these things from going after the others. The rest of the magical girls in the city will be here soon. _

Laelia shook her head, _I can't do it, _she said, _it hurts too much. I can't even enjoy this anymore. _

_Enjoy this? _Celestine asked with a frown. The spiders came into the shield, and as Laelia fell back down to her knees, the violet-haired girl engaged the enemy. Her sword was once again covered in blood as she swung it carefully and efficiently. _You don't need to enjoy fighting to fight. _

_It would help, _Laelia said. She shook her head, _I can't even crack a smile at any of this. _

Celestine could feel that Laelia was suffering. Though she did not know why, or what she could do to help, Celestine knew that she had to try. _Why can't you smile?! _She shouted, not angrily. It was more a cry for help, a desperate one.

_You know exactly why, at least act like you understand, _Laelia said, her voice becoming lower and more lifeless. _Don't act like you don't. Betrayal can only make one person hate the betrayer. _

Celestine gritted her teeth as she realized the truth of the statement. She did not particularly like Laelia at the moment, but she was willing to listen, more for the sake of her own survival. She took a bolt to the right arm, and immediately switched her blade as she lost feeling in the scorched limb.

A creature lunged and bit her in the right leg. She lost the foot at that moment, as the lightning surged forth and blasted the flesh off the bone. She fell backwards, striking out to clear the spiders out of her immediate area.

She knew that this was it. She could not possible hold them off any longer. Laelia had only distracted her. She looked at the face of one spider as it prepared a bolt to finish her off.

"No!" a shout from behind Celestine tore her out of her grimace. Laelia leapt forwards, two dozen guns forming up around herself. She held her hands out, before clapping her hands together. The two dozen weapons formed into one single cannon. It was roughly five meters long, and about half of one meter wide at the widest points. It looked like a large version of one of Laelia's machine guns.

She opened fire as she floated back down towards the ground. The gun fired with the speed of a magically-summoned machine gun, firing dozens of rounds a second. But it hit with the force of a tank cannon.

Within five seconds, the entire street was clear of spiders, and a few shells had even landed on the leg itself. The constant gunfire from the Laelia had done great damage to the leg, and black blood was showing in a few places.

The street was also now covered with craters. As the gun dissipated, Laelia fell forwards, unconscious. Celestine crawled over to her, and checked her soul gem. It was low, and she had already burned through a full netting. She had only one more, and the fact that she was so powerful told Celestine that something more was going on here.

_Ayelen, could you get down here?! _She shouted, _Laelia needs you immediately, and I am out of the fight for the moment. She is out as well, please get down here. _

There was no affirmation from Ayelen. But there was from Sanae. She was with Ayelen at the moment. _We are moving, give us a second. _And unlike other times when one says to give a second, Sanae and Ayelen were actually there in one second, their forms a blur as they leapt in, landing smoothly.

Ayelen ran towards Laelia, while Sanae ran down the street. She went as fast as she could, weapons sheathed at the moment. She was a melee specialist after all, and nineteen years old at that. She still could not compare to the likes of a mage knight, but she could easily hold her own against the enemies coming out from the witch.

Ayelen knelt down next to Laelia. She looked concerned, but there was also an amount of hatred on her face. She looked almost…pleased that Laelia was in pain. Celestine did not ask, only saying, "She's running out of magic very fast. She's powerful, but she's already burned through two soul gems worth of magic. You need to do something."

"And you want me to do what?" Ayelen asked,

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Celestine replied harshly. Her words were like venom to Ayelen's ears. "No matter what Laelia says, she's suffering because of what she's done. You need to forgive her."

"I don't need to do anything," Ayelen replied, anger in her voice.

"Unless you want her to die," Laelia said, "You _have _to do something."

Sanae leapt forwards at the front most spider. She kicked out as she flew through the air, her leg hitting the ugly thing's face head on. This stunned it, and she landed with her other foot on the ground to punch at the thing.

This flattened out into a spear with her fingers. The fast-moving strike burst a few of the creature's eyes as it went. The spider went down, stunned but not dead. Another one fired a bolt at Sanae, but she rolled to the side and lunged out of the roll hit it in the face.

She hit it twice more with spears to the eyes, before rolling aside again. She smiled to herself. She had been experimenting, seeing if she could just use her hands and save the magic. She could not.

She reached to her belt. On it was her wakizashi and katana, as well as one other sheath. She removed a tantou from that sheath, the finely made blade flashing as lightning crackled overhead. The blade curved as it went, so the tip was slightly lower than the base of the blade.

Holding the blade in her right hand, she leapt into the mass of creatures. The leg was around twenty meters away, putting Sanae in danger of being hit by the electricity, but not in too much danger.

She flipped the blade around in her hands as she stabbed and slashed, all her cuts made expertly and efficiently. Not a single drop of energy was wasted on any fancy maneuvers.

She suffered grazes here and there, but she kept fighting, as Ayelen spoke with Celestine. "I cannot just forgive her!" Ayelen cried, "It's not how it works!"

"Yes it is!" Celestine demanded, feelings for Laelia overriding any care for Ayelen. "She's going to turn into a witch at this rate!" Celestine had tears in her eyes.

"Like you even care about her!" Ayelen replied, "You're relationship was always just a game you two played to get information, don't act like you two are suddenly comrades!"

Ayelen flinched as Celestine grabbed her by the collar. "Don't act like we're not," she growled, "I don't want her to die, but there's nothing I can do. I'm not as close to her heart as you are. Right now, you're the only person who has any chance of saving Laelia." She looked to the girl's gem, which was only growing darker by the second as her body struggled to recover. She was all out of grief cubes as well.

Ayelen was clearly displeased with this verdict, but she realized that she had to do this. The witch was still advancing, and all the help that could be gathered was necessary in order to destroy the creature.

Laelia's eyes opened, and she found herself being embraced by Ayelen. Celestine was gone, off to assist Sanae. Her foot had healed sufficiently, and her arm was almost back to full condition. "I'm sorry," Ayelen said, "For all the things I did and said earlier." She did her best to sound sincere, but it still seemed as if she was forcing the words. In fact, she was forcing the words. It wasn't difficult at all for Laelia to understand this. Her expression changed to one of confusion to disgust.

"Don't apologize to me just to make me feel better," she growled, struggling to get to her feet, pushing Ayelen away as she did so. Facing away from the girl, water dripped from her soaking hair as she snapped, "I don't want you lying to yourself just to try and make me feel happy. You were not in the wrong back there, you were not the one in the wrong for four years. Don't you dare apologize to me again."

The blonde stumbled to her feet, trying to straighten her back. Ayelen stood up as well, as Laelia sorted herself out. Ayelen gritted her teeth, looked the girl in the eyes, and shouted, "I hate you! I hate you for what you did! You…you made my life happy, but that doesn't excuse the methods you used to make my life happy! But I also hate it when people are sad, maybe because you made me like that, so I want you to smile!"

Laelia stared right back at Ayelen. Previously, Laelia had a grim look on her face. It balanced out, showing a neutral expression. Laelia walked forwards, and pushed the girl aside. "When you give me a reason to smile, I'll smile," Laelia replied sadly, "I thank you for being so truthful, but I would prefer that you be happy. So how about you just forget about all this, and go on to live a happy life?"

The girl brought up her shield, and ran forwards to join the battle once more. Ayelen froze for a few seconds, before a determined look grew on her face. "I guess if she sees me being happy, then she might smile," Ayelen whispered to herself, then shrugged. "I guess…I guess she just wanted to help me, so why should I hate her?"

She was moving when she heard a massive explosion. She whipped around, to look up as the wall of lightning which had previously separated the witch from those outside of the wall had a massive hole blown in it.

She would have seen what had done it, but the light of the event blinded her for a few brief seconds. She could say later that those few seconds were like staring upon a star itself.

Estelle's day was getting worse and worse. First, she found that Adrianne had done something which was really not something one should do, and to a person who was practically her daughter. That threw off her beliefs about the inquisitor, and made her question everything she was doing.

Then, she had found that Erwine had become a different person as a result of that, and had managed to completely break Adrianne. Things could not have gotten worse, until the grand witch appeared.

Then Estelle realized that apparently this day was out to make her miserable as possible, and then became dedicated to defying the day. It was a silly quest, but one that drove her on throughout the battle.

Especially because she was a telepath. She was good in any area of combat besides fighting a witch. It was very hard to attack a creature's mind when it did not really have one to attack. So she was restricted to using her halberd.

And when fighting a massive fire-breathing, dragon head, such a weapon was not the best thing to be using. She was not as bad off as Sechylia, who was basically hiding inside a building hoping to not be seen. Until Ayelen and Sanae left, they were doing quite well together.

However, the biggest damage dealers were Justinia and Wei. The two could do more to the heads in a few seconds then Estelle could do in five minutes. So the inquisitor had resorted to the strategy of using herself as bait. She ran about, doing her best to make herself an obvious and easy target for the massive heads.

The girls had to be on the roofs of buildings to even begin to get the proper height to attack, but Wei kept launching herself upwards with her various programs, and Justinia used assistance from Adrianne to gain a good height, even though she could use her rocket launchers at a long distance.

Estelle ran across the ground, feet pounding as the head above her aimed at her. She could hear the sound of the fire preparing to release, and as it did, she leapt forwards and up. Kicking off a building, she twisted in the air to grab onto another one on the other side of the street.

She moved under the head as it scorched the ground, exposing itself to assault from Wei and Justinia. The latter girl popped out from behind a building, a dozen launchers around herself.

With a cacophony of loud bangs, she fired them off. They would've all hit the massive target, but the long neck of the creature allowed it to whip around wildly, dodging half the rockets simply because of its random flailing.

Wei, meanwhile, was on a building, a large matrix building itself around her. Multiple levels of slowly rotating circles, inscribed with strange symbols were formed in front of her. Four lines extended through the center of the circles, and arranged themselves pointing towards the witch.

The flames were coming towards her, but she did not seem to mind. She was focusing on what she was doing. Her hands, raised in front of her, were glowing brightly. Thin white lines of energy attached her fingers to the four long lines, which resembled spears now, in the center of the circles.

The flames closed in, but Wei's hands glowed brighter than before, and she jumped away. The white lines, previously slack, grew taught, and yanked the spears. The long lines of energy spun around as the flames cascaded over the entire construction. Wei was in the air, safe from the flames as she moved backwards.

The lines spun around, before fusing together to form one long projectile. The various lines formed into a single long line, like the tether of a harpoon. The circles then shot out both forwards and backwards as the arrow-like projectile shot forwards at the head.

It was so close to the creature that it could not dodge in time, and it was speared by the shot. Wei landed on the street, close to the lightning wall, before she turned to another construct she had made. It was a series of rings facing upwards, and she tossed the line out, letting it drift into the center of the rings.

Then it was pulled down, like a magnet attracted by its opposite. The rings tightened around the line as it touched the ground, holding it in place. The line went tight as the dragon neck wrestled around, trying to escape from the harpoon spearing it.

But it was caught. Wei knew that the trap would last for barely a minute before it would fail. But that would be enough time for Justinia to do massive damage to the witch.

Wei fell to her knees, tired from what she had just done. She was certainly very powerful, but she lost a lot of magic whenever she did such a thing. Her actions had already cost her two soul gems worth of magic. She had one more netting left before she would be out of options.

Justinia opened fire on the witch. Her rockets torched the skin off the trapped head, ripping off the flesh and digging deep into the bone beyond. The head could not attack her, trapped in one place.

Wei tried to stand up, wondering if she would make it through this battle. The matrix she had just fired off had taken several minutes to construct, and she would have to do that several more times to take down the other heads.

Then she lost the ability to see for a few seconds. The witch was about to suffer the wrath of around fifty magical girls. It was to be a display that few things could top.

Erwine watched as the bright blue beam of light shot over her head and crashed into the wall of lightning. It hit the wall, energy expanded out along the surface of it as the beam continued for a few seconds. Before the beam ended, there was an earth-shattering eruption of sound, accompanied by an equally overwhelming flash.

Erwine stumbled as the wall was blasted apart, the beam even punching through to hit the creature beyond. The leg of the witch was even scarred by the beam a little, such was the force of the attack. "What was that?!" Erwine shouted.

Liselotte walked up beside her, "That," she said, her voice proud, "Was a magical programmer combining her force with two ranged specialists. A sniper and a cannon type, to be specific. Combined age of about two-hundred years, and plenty of grief cube support means that things like that are possible."

Erwine's jaw dropped at the attack, feeling that such a thing could feel even a titan. Liselotte pointed with one of her swords, "But as you can see, the wall is down." Indeed, the entire wall of lighting had gone down, not just the sector that had been hit. "And now we are really going to attack the thing,"

She raised her other arm, pointing that sword high into the air. She took a deep breathe, before striking downwards and pointing straight forwards, _All teams! _she shouted_, Destroy the witch! Prevent a catastrophic collapse of the seed! _

_The Goddess Protects! _she shouted, before leaping from the roof and moving forwards. Adrianne paused, seemingly lost in thought. Erwine took several steps forwards, before pausing. She looked over her shoulder. Adrianne's face was covered in water, the rain still pouring down hard. Occasional shivers passed through her body as her distant gaze stared out at nothing in particular.

"Adrianne," Erwine cut into her thoughts like a blade through flesh. The girl tensed, eyes instantly going to the source of the noise. "Come on," she insisted. "There's no time to dawdle." Yet Erwine didn't move herself.

Adrianne brought a hand to her face, trying to wipe away all that covered it. "I'm coming…" She whispered. "I'm coming." The repetition only made the affirmation stronger.

"Thank you," Erwine said, looking at Adrianne. "For…for what you did to me. Though I'm not sure this is who I really want to be, I think that it's a step on the right path." Her words were spoken with the utmost seriousness. She was not lying.

The reaction from Adrianne could be described with so many words. Joy, shock, horror, fear, wonder, the list went on. And the expression that seemed to finally sort itself out was some ungodly combination of all the words on that list.

It finally ended with her falling to the ground, weeping. "Don't…" She said, holding a hand out in case Erwine would approach her, "I don't want your sympathy."

"I don't intend to give it," Erwine sternly said. She found that while the words could be found to cruel, it was so easy to say them.

Adrianne fell over onto her hands and knees, tears dripping down onto the already soaked roof. Steadying herself, yet still crying, she stood up. "I was such a fool, wasn't I?" she asked, wondering if Erwine would judge the question to be worth answering.

"You were no fool." Erwine said, "You were something worse than that." Her words carried little emotion along with them, but that didn't stop them from tearing deep into Adrianne.

The former inquisitor looked back at the girl who formerly treated her like family. "We'll end this cursed tale of ours one day," she promised, "And I look forwards to that end."

* * *

I should have listened to my dreams. A dream kept telling me to run away, to take my family and run far away. But I couldn't. I just couldn't, how could a little girl like I do that? Now I realize I should have at least tried. Because now, that family of mine is dead, and I'll never be the same again.

This is the last entry I'll write as a normal girl. I'm contracting as soon as the Incubator comes back.

-Annoymous diary entry, circa M39, from the world of Cochielis, after suffering massive damage from a grand witch.

The greater someone's destiny, the more of a presence they shall have in the flow of time. People or things that are destined for great things, or have been a part of great things, shall form a massive entity amongst all the smaller little bits.

It would make sense that these large objects, centers of karmic forces, should function like a star does. A star's gravity is due to its mass. Karmic force can be equated to mass. The greater this force, the more that shall be attracted to whoever the force is tied to.

Reports have shown that girls destined for great things have disrupted diviners around them, put out strange dreams into the minds of those sleeping, even caused irregularities in reality itself. The universe is not the rigid substance that we believe it to be. It is more malleable than many other things.

-_Reflections on Fate, _published by the Ordo Wyrd, disbanded after the publication of this text.


	27. Hope and Despair

The power of a magical girl increases exponentially with age and experience, at least for the first twenty to thirty years. After that point, it starts to even out, increasing at a more steady, normal rate, but it still increases. A magical girl's power will increase to an infinite point in theory, but the Equality Theorem does counteract the Infinite Potential Theory.

However, a magical girl can still attain incredible heights of power. After a couple hundred years, a girl could go toe to toe with a titan, and damage it. A whole squad of girls aged to such a point could easily rip apart such a might machine.

Despair is the ultimate enemy of magical girls. It cannot be defeated, only staved off, until the end finally comes. If it could be defeated entirely, if it, like pain, could just be programmed out of one's mind, then magical girls would be unstoppable.

-Excerpt from the _Grimoire Ingenium, Annex One._

* * *

Ayelen had previously believed that there was little chance of making it out of this battle alive. She braced against the beam, but her eyes lingered on it for too long. The brightness was canceled out by her enhanced eyes, but the distraction was enough for a lightning bolt to find her.

She was sent flying about ten meters, to land inside of Laelia's shield. She, Celestine, and Sanae were still fighting the spiders, but all were stunned by the light and noise of the blast.

Ayelen lay on the ground, half-dead. Being sent so far by such a powerful blast was not good for even a magical girl. Her face was wide, and a huge burn scarred her torso. Blood dripped out from the places where skin had been torn and broken by the impact on the ground.

The world was going dim, and she could barely look up at Laelia before she went entirely unconscious. All she could see was a look of worry on the girl's face as she cradled Ayelen's head.

_She does care about me…_Ayelen thought, _she really does care. _A smile came onto her face before it, and Ayelen herself, slipped away. Celestine and Sanae recovered, and ran to continue the fight, but even as they ran, a message came into Laelia's head.

_Tighten the shield, _was the order. Laelia obeyed it instantly, knowing that it come from someone with more knowledge of the battle than herself. The shield, which would block all magical attacks from without, was moved inwards. Celestine and Sanae jumped back inside the bubble as it closed to become only one meter in diameter, barely enough to cover their heads as they crouched.

But above them came a rain of fire. A literal rain of fire. A bright flash signaled the path of a fireball as it shot into the midst of the advancing creatures. They had recovered and moved forwards again. But the white hot fire vaporized the first ones hit, and the remainder died slow deaths as the flames consumed them.

The explosion covered a three meter radius, and it was not even the only one. In the blink of an eye, the entire street was in flames. The pyromancer firing the shots, her hands ablaze with white fire, melding nicely with her mostly tan costume and contrasting with her dark hair, landed next to the shield. _Conserve your energy, we'll take things from here. _

Laelia did as she was told, watching as another girl jumped over their heads. She was in blue, her hair chestnut brown. A cape of some kind flowed out behind her as she landed on the ground. The static around the legs spiked up, and shot out at the girl.

She laughed as the lightning gathered, before striking an exaggerated fighting pose that screamed for the witch to come at her, her left arm outstretched, her right arm pulled back near her head. Her left hand flashed, and the lightning, all the various bolts, were pulled in towards that one hand.

The lightning arced around her arm, jumping through the air as she retracted the limb and pushed out her right arm. Her palms, both flat, rubbed against each other as she brought her arms across her chest. The movement blasted out a single massive bolt which struck the leg as she crossed her arms in front of her, staring up proudly.

The titanic bolt of lightning hit the middle of the massive leg, and exploded with a magnificent eruption of flames. They cleared in a few seconds, and when they did, a splintering sound, like that of wood or bone, could be heard. The witch rocked, as the leg snapped in half at the point where it had been hit by its own lightning.

It struggled to maintain its balance, as the other forces capitalized on the sudden imbalance. It was hit from all sides as it rocked back and forth. The detached part of the leg started to fall forwards, but yet another magical girl leapt far past. She skidded on the ground, before jumping up to meet the falling limb.

She was dressed in a fur long coat of a scarlet hue, her blonde hair flying out behind her as she leapt high into the air. She extended her arm, and touched the limb. It started to freeze. Ice spread down the entire thing, and the movement slowed a little, before picking up again as gravity took effect. The entire leg could not be frozen, but it could certainly be weakened by the effect of the ice.

Then another girl, standing on a nearby roof, ran and jumped up. She seemed to propel herself in the air, and the lack of any wings told Laelia that this was a telekine. She massively accelerated her speed, and as she went, a ball of flame came up in front of her.

She extended her leg, straightening into a flying kick. Laelia saw a disturbance in the air as the girl extended her telekinetic ability to protect the limb. The cryomancer fell back down the ground as the telekine hit the leg head on.

There was a massive explosion, and the upper part of the leg was blasted into tiny pieces, while the lower part fell down mostly intact. The telekine shot through the leg, but stopped herself from going any farther, and flipped over in the air, falling back down towards the ground. The pyromancer, cryomancer, and electromancer gathered around the spot she fell down into.

The telekine stood in the middle of them, taking a deep breath as she stood up. The same moment she landed, the rest of the leg hit the ground. Just behind the girl, the limb shattered apart, the frozen bits scattering everywhere. She smiled, "Antoinette Marilia" she said, then gestured to the three around her, "SEO, Special Elemental Operations Squad, under Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel." They were most certainly several times older than any of the girls they had just rescued.

Laelia looked down at Ayelen again, impressed by the performance but more concerned for her friend. Celestine walked up to them, _Healers would be nice for her, _she gestured to Ayelen, _And the others may have wounds as well._

Antoinette nodded. _They are incoming. There are a lot of civilian wounded, but we're pulling as many girls as we can from the planetary defense forces to make up the difference. You might have to make due on your own for the moment. _

Celestine replied quickly. _Understood. _She looked up at the witch. The girl took in a deep breath, grasping the blade in her hand tightly. _Come on, _she sent to the others, _we need to continue. _

The witch had raised its arms, and seemed to be preparing some kind of retaliation. As this occurred, the other three legs went down one by one. Units of at least ten magical girls had gone after the other limbs, and they all went down in a matter of seconds. But the fire-breathing heads were still active, and the main body itself was still alive.

The gathering energy led to a gesture from Celestine. Antoinette and the other older girls spun around, looking up at the creature. The witch's hands pulsed brightly. The girls scattered, leaping backwards as far as they could, but no attack came.

In the blink of an eye, the witch was no longer falling towards the ground. It was floating in the air, suspended by some unseen force, despite the lack of legs. _It's nothing, _Antoinette said to them, _it's just levitating, fear not._

She bent her knees, _continue the attack. _She leapt forwards, once more, followed by the others as they shot ninety feet in a couple seconds. Celestine made a move as well, before Laelia grabbed onto her arm.

The girl's concern was obvious, yet Celestine yanked the limb away. "What is it?" She asked. "We need to watch out for Ayelen right now." Laelia said, "She's injured, we cannot continue on at this rate."

Celestine nodded. "Sanae, stay back with us." She ordered, as she bent down to scoop Ayelen into her arms. They leapt to the side of the street, resting Ayelen back against the side of a building. All around them, the battle still raged, yet the four girls looked as if nothing was happening at all.

Ayelen was lapsing in and out of consciousness as Laelia knelt down beside her, hands glowing as she started to heal her. Sanae watched out for any threats, but the spiders seemed to have stopped with the destruction of the legs. Celestine was beside Laelia, worry plastered on her face.

It was only a minute or so before sounds indicated new arrivals. Sanae spun round, while Celestine stood and turned. Erwine was running towards them, preceded by Adrianne. Several other magical girls were with them, and all but two instantly leapt off towards the witch.

"Is Ayelen alright?" Adrianne asked quietly, stepping up beside Erwine.

"She'll live," Laelia said, not turning to look at the girl.

"Good." Adrianne looked over her shoulder, Liselotte approaching with another girl.

_Wounded? _She asked.

_Just one who needs assistance. _Celestine replied, _soul gem is not looking well. I suggest keeping her under, mental issues are present. _

_Understood, thank you._ The healer who accompanied Liselotte said. She moved past Celestine then knelt down to get Ayelen. Laelia gave her a harsh look at first, almost seeming protective.

A gentle hand was laid on her by the violet-haired girl. Without a word, Laelia stood up. The healer scooped Ayelen into her arms, before she leapt backwards, heading behind the lines of battle.

Laelia watched her go, eyes flickering a little. The girl was soaking wet from the rain. They all were. Celestine stepped up behind her, wrapping her arms around her from behind. "Just let her go." Celestine begged softly, the other girls around them averting their eyes.

"You know I can't do that." Laelia replied. She stepped forwards, then turned around, actually brushing past Celestine a little.

Adrianne's eyes went to Liselotte. _Estelle, can you find her? _

_She's linked into the telepathic network, yes. _Liselotte replied. It only took a split second. _Cross-referencing with clairvoyants, I have her. _The location was sent to Adrianne. The former inquisitor immediately leapt away in that direction.

Erwine watched her go, hesitant to actually follow the girl. Her eyes darted back and forth from the departing Adrianne to the grand witch. She didn't look content with either choice. _I only know what I read from your mind two days ago, but I think you need to go with her. You two always seem to sort things out. _

_That's what you think, but I'm done with her. _Erwine replied. To herself, she had to ask the question, _so why do I even consider following her at all? _Shame overwhelming her, Erwine leapt off without saying a word.

Even as her wings were spread to propel her, she gripped her sword tight in her hand. She wondered how hard she would regret this decision, as she leapt again, soaring through the dark sky as she saw Adrianne's figure in the distance.

* * *

Estelle was not doing too well at the moment. She was now pinned down in a house. Not by an enemy force that was directly assaulting her. She was legitimately pinned down.

She had been hit by the flames from the head. The right side of her body had been instantly charred. She jumped into a building seeking cover, but even as Wei bound the head with her magic, the building started to collapse. She fell down onto her face as her left arm stretched out.

Then a large chunk of metal had fallen on that arm. She had immediately cried out, and that was right before a series of pieces fell on her body itself. Due to her enhanced everything, she was able to stay alive, but she almost wished she was dead.

But she knew that death would not be good. It cost less magic to keep herself alive than it did to die. If she died, her soul gem would automatically attempt regeneration. That would get her killed, due to the fact that she was crushed. Her soul gem was safe for the moment, but her legs were also pinned, so she was trapped in an incredibly uncomfortable position as she lay face down on the ground.

Tears rolled slowly from her eyes. She had hoped that things would not end like this. She had hoped that she could at least live a happy life, maybe die happily. But she also knew that the universe was quite cruel. So she closed her eyes, waiting silently for the end.

A large part of her mind told her that this was not the end. It told her that she would be rescued. But Estelle wanted to prepare for the worse. The head was trapped in position. It could easily just fire again and destroy her entirely.

The stench of death was everywhere. Thousands of humans had died due to the birth of the witch. The initial psychic scream had wiped everyone in a kilometer radius out, and all others had fled from the advancing creature. The decaying bodies of those who could not escape could be seen and smelled.

Estelle tried to contact others telepathically, but the witch's very presence was doing much to hinder such communication. She was hoping that someone would come looking for her.

She decided to dig deep into her memories, and have her life flash before her eyes before the end came. If the end came at all.

* * *

Wei was resting right next to the point where she had set up the holding point for her magical harpoon. She could not move for a time afterwards due to the massive energy required.

Justinia was doing a good job against the witch, but when the barrier went down, a new wave of gunfire came in. In the blink of an eye, the head was blasted into its constituent atoms as cannon shells, lasers, and missiles alike all slammed into the skin of the beast.

Six heads were left, and with the legs down, the battle was nearing the end. The turning point had come, but only after huge numbers of humans had already died.

Wei stood unsteadily, watching as dozens of magical girls approached from all directions. Justinia rounded the corner, calling to Wei, "Sechylia alright?" The girl sounded concerned about the helpless one.

Wei nodded, gesturing to the building behind her, "Should be inside," she said. She walked in, "Sechylia?"

A voice replied, "Wei?" It was from the next room, and Wei walked in to the find the girl still seated in the same corner she had been in when she had left. But there was another there. Several others.

Humans, varying from what looked like a right-year old boy to a grown man. Eleven in total, all sitting in the same room as Sechylia. They had blood and dirt on their faces and bodies. They were not in good shape. Several had wounds, which Sechylia had done her best to repair. "They're hiding from the witch," Sechylia explained, "Don't worry,"

Wei nodded, "Counterattack has begun," she said, "We can move out now,"

The humans brightened up. The eldest amongst them, roughly forty years old, stood up excitedly. "You're getting us out of here?!" he cried.

"Others will be," Wei said, before turning to Justinia, who just walked in, "Call for a teleporter, we need to get these ones out,"

The smaller children looked up in awe at Wei and Justinia, of which there were four. One girl and three boys. The youngest was the eight year old, and the others ranged from nine to eleven.

The girl, who was ten, leapt up, running towards Wei, "Are you a magical girl?!" she excitedly asked, "I want to be just like you when I grown up!"

She wrapped her arms around Wei. The two were of similar heights, and Wei patted the girl on the head before waving for all to stand. A twenty-year old women rushed towards the two magical girls, tears in her eyes. "Why can't you save us?!" she cried, "Please, why couldn't you stop this?!"

It did not even seem that she was actually angry at the magical girls for being unable to stop the witch sooner. She was in disbelief, as if it was impossible for magical girls to fail at anything.

Justinia held her hands as she shoved forwards. The others started to move forwards as well, either sobbing or cheering. It was strange. Their reactions did not seem entirely natural. Some of them seemed forced, as if they were not acting on their own.

Justinia put on a sad smile as she looked closely at the women in front of her. "Ma'am," she said softly, "Forgive me. The Goddess Protects." Then she snapped the girl's neck with a single brutally fast twist of her hands.

_They've been kissed by the witch, _Justinia said, _kill them all. _And as the women died, the others pulled weapons. Whether they were shivs made from rubble or pistols, they were drawn and aimed.

Several rushed forwards at Wei and Justinia, while those with guns aimed at Sechylia. She shouted at this sudden move, frozen by the sudden revelation.

Wei was just as surprised as the little girl sunk a blade into her ribs. The other children had clustered around as well, and they stabbed at her quickly. She pushed them all back, lacking the conviction to just instantly kill them.

Justinia had the conviction. She drew the long knife from the women's falling body, and flung it at the first one to draw a gun. Her fast-moving fist sent the first one to rush at her flying back. Her other hand grabbed the weapon from their hand, and it was thrown at the other gun wielder. The third with a gun was firing it at Justinia.

Justinia dropped to the ground, swinging out with her leg. The one remaining with a knife was knocked to the ground by her sweep, and the gun fired over her head. Justinia lunged forwards, grabbing the knife from her hand. It was thrown at the one with the gun. Justinia then hopped a little, and took the gun from the falling man.

She aimed the crude revolver at the reeling children. She fired four shots. Four heads now had holes in them. The gun was dropped as soon as she finished. The eleven were dead, Wei was wounded, and Sechylia was untouched.

Wei was horrified, staring at the dead children with wide eyes. Tears fell from her orbs, and she backed up, running out of the building as her mind was overwhelmed by the horror she just saw.

She hyperventilated as she bent over outside, her guts leaving her stomach. Justinia followed her out, standing next to the girl as she vomited. Wei looked up at Justinia, fear in her eyes. "I'm disappointed," Justinia said, "This is why Adrianne is smart. Her girl could at least have killed those kids, without taking such pointless wounds,"

Wei fell to her knees, as the pain from the holes in her lower torso started to truly take effect. "If you lack the conviction to kill anyone or anything at any time, then I do not want to serve with you anymore," Justinia said, her voice completely honest, "I expect that if I ever come close to turning, that one of you will not hesitate to kill me for a second."

Wei met Justinia's eyes. "Do you understand me?" Justinia asked, as the teleporter who was requested arrived.

She looked down at Wei, _what happened? _She asked, before tossing a box of grief cubes to each girl.

_She's alright, the humans were witch-kissed. _Justinia replied, her tone more neutral than her critical voice used with Wei._ Should have known. Be on your way with Sechylia, this girl will be fine. _The teleporter was gone the next second, taking the somewhat shocked Sechylia with her.

Justinia walked away, leaving Wei sitting on the ground. Wei could only stare down at the ground as she felt an immense revulsion spread through her being. She looked up at the witch, wishing that she could be as good as Erwine.

* * *

A cry brought Estelle from her thoughts. She'd already felt another presence tickle at her mind, someone trying to get to her. But she was lacking energy for various reasons. The cry seemed vaguely familiar, though.

Estelle's eyes widened as she gasped. It was a struggle to turn her head in the right direction to look at who approached her. Out of the corner of her eyes, through the thick downpour, beneath the bright flashes of lightning in the sky, she saw Adrianne sprinting towards her. "Estelle!" she called, repeating the cry multiple times.

The girl had tears in her eyes as she slid to a stop, almost slipping on the wet ground. A dagger was in her hand as she struck down, ripping through the rubble atop Estelle. Estelle's eyes were wide as Adrianne hurriedly removed what pinned the girl there.

She kicked away the metal pinning the inquisitor's arm as if it was nothing. In a matter of seconds, Estelle was free from her imprisonment. Adrianne grabbed her, pulling her out of the rubble entirely. The girl seemed to be weeping. "Adrianne…" Estelle muttered, struggling to hang onto the girl.

Adrianne moved her out onto the ruined street, putting her back against another half-standing wall. "You're going to live," Adrianne promised, the blonde girl's wavy hair sticking to her face. "You're going to live." She repeated, pulling Estelle tight against her.

"What's wrong?" Estelle wondered, wondering what had brought about this sudden bout of panic. "Adrianne." She said the name forcefully. The bearer of that name froze up, eyes wide. "Why?" Estelle wondered.

Adrianne looked to the side, ashamed. "I…I've never wanted you to die, Estelle." She held onto her tighter. "No matter how much I hated you, no matter how much I thought you were going to prevent me from getting my revenge, I never wanted you to die."

"Please don't die…" Adrianne begged, choking up on her tears.

Estelle did the best she could to return Adrianne's embrace. "I won't, I promise. You…the two of us…we have a lot to work out. I won't die, at least not till that's done."

"There's nothing to work out…" Adrianne shook her head, "The only thing that needs to be known is that I was a fool all along." She collapsed into Estelle's grip, "All this time…I've been doing everything wrong."

"That's…that's not true," Estelle whispered, "You're done plenty of right in your life." She pulled Adrianne's head away, making the girl look into her eyes. "You…you don't deserve what you got." Estelle said, "Adrianne…you're a beautiful person who just got unlucky."

Her hand ran through Adrianne's hair, settling on her cheek. "You ended up drawing the worst hand life could offer, yet you continued this far. Don't give up on your dream now, just because you've made mistakes." She grinned. "We all make mistakes."

Estelle's eyes shut, her exhaustion overtaking her. Her head rolled to the side. Her soul gem wasn't in good shape. The grief she felt for Adrianne, the stress of the battle, the very presence of the grand witch itself, Estelle was accelerating faster and faster towards the point of no return.

Adrianne's hand went to her coat. Concealed in a pocket was Airi. Airi's grief seed. The only thing left of her. She looked at Estelle, fingers tightening around the object. _I'm sorry, Airi, _she whispered.

Noises to her side alerted the girl. Adrianne's head turned, knowing with almost total certainty who stood there. Adrianne paused as she looked at Erwine's stature. The girl's arms by her side, eyes aimed down at the ground. "I thought for a while…on my way here." She started off in a low voice.

"I still can't say that I know exactly _why _I followed, Adrianne, when I've made it so clear that we're done." Erwine sighed, "Yet, something made me come here. And…and I think I figured it out. At first, I thought maybe I should kill you, for the sake of revenge, or perhaps reconnect with you, but those aren't the answer. I know what is, though." Erwine looked up, eyes making contact with Adrianne's. A grin came onto her face. "I finally figured it out."

"What did you figure out?" Adrianne asked.

"My purpose. That thing that I've been searching for since this morning. It wasn't very long ago at all that I started, yet it seems like an eternity has passed." Erwine's voice took on a melancholic sound as she went on. "A long, painful eternity, but I finally found it."

Erwine felt herself choking up, but she stood up strong. She didn't want to show any weakness. "Adrianne…my purpose is to die."

Adrianne froze. Her arms fell away from Estelle's body. She fell onto her rear, shocking overcoming her so entirely that she had no idea at all how to reply. "You see…Ishna, she plans to use me to accomplish something. And we know that something can only be something terrible, something that will destroy the Imperium."

Erwine took a deep breath. She looked up at the sky, the rain still pounding down, as if the heavens intended to drown the world. A cold wind swept down the street, chilling the bodies of the three girls there to the bone. Even as the battle raged on, sounds echoing, lights flashing, Erwine just stood there.

"All along, I've been Ishna's tool. Think about it, from the very beginning, she has been guiding me towards this state. She wants me to be like this. She's wanted everything to happen." Erwine looked back down to Adrianne, "How can we fight someone like that, whose plan is so complete and all-encompassing that it cannot fail?"

Adrianne opened her mouth, trying to find the answer. "The only way to do it is to remove a necessary component of the equation." Erwine's hand went to her chest. "I'm that component. Without me, Ishna has no chance."

"Doesn't it make sense?" Erwine asked, "My purpose in life is to die, so that further bloodshed can be avoided."

Another gust of wind swept through as time ticked by. Estelle stared at the sight before her, unsure of what to say. Erwine seemed to be waiting for something. Perhaps she wished for someone to try and convince her otherwise.

"No." Adrianne said. It took maybe two minutes for the reply to come, but it came. "No." She repeated, shaking her head.

"Adrianne…it's over between us." Erwine said. She looked up at the grand witch. "That thing has to be stopped. I shall do it, sacrificing myself in the process."

Adrianne shakily got to her feet. "Erwine you can't!" she shouted.

"Why not?" Erwine asked.

"Because you have a life worth living!" Adrianne shouted, "We already discussed this! There's so much in this world that you have yet to experience!" She had tears in her eyes again as she shouted in desperation. "You don't deserve this sort of end!"

"Are we not instruments of the Goddess?" Erwine asked, "Are we not deliverers of hope and justice?"

"We are, but-"

"Then this is my duty." Erwine said. She felt proud of herself as she stood there, standing up to the girl. "For the Imperium, for the Goddess, for all of humanity itself. Every magical girl out there. This is _my _duty to them." Erwine insisted.

She was crying as well, despite her best attempts to lock it all away. "For the first time in my life, I understand exactly what I have to do. It all makes sense to me now, everything that's happened."

"Within my hands is the power to stop Ishna." Erwine said, "And more than anything, I desire to see the person who made me like this destroyed."

She gritted her teeth. Her legs collapsed beneath herself. "I never wanted to be a hero." She wept. "I don't want to be this kind of person. I don't want to accept killing, I don't want to actually have the strength to hurt others."

Erwine fell over, going to all fours as she supported herself with her arms. "I never wanted the power I have…I never wanted any of what you gave me."

"I…I was such a fool, making that contract." Erwine said. "But I'm not done yet. I promised Nada I'd become a hero, and heroes…they die fighting, right?"

"The only way I can be a hero is if I die fighting here, else I'll just waste away and turn into a witch." The little girl despaired. "I can already feel it clawing at me, like something wrapping its fingers around my heart."

"You cannot stop me." Erwine said. She sat up straight, crying out, "I will become a hero!"

Her soul gem glowed brightly. Her wings spread out, now reaching out ten feet in either direction. They shone brightly, images of her power. The moment she stood up enough to jump, she was away.

Like a bright arrow, Erwine shot off into the sky. Her soul gem was ripped from her chest, and from it a shining bright blade was born.

Adrianne watched with wide eyes. She fell down to her knees, watching as the only thing she'd ever come close to doing correctly flew off to destroy itself.

There was a huge thunderclap, accompanied by a massive burst of light. As the blinding flash dissipated, and the sound echoed off into the distance, the witch was no longer where it was a moment before. Erwine came to a halt, reforming her gem into her hand as her wings collapsed back inwards.

She stumbled to a halt atop a building, wide eyes searching around for the enemy. A second thunderclap resounded behind her. Erwine spun on her heel, seeing that the witch had somehow teleported itself halfway across the city. It was now closer to the center, and the attack had begun once again.

As the battle lines were redrawn, Erwine rushed forwards once again in a desperate attempt to fulfill her destiny. The rain kept falling down, and Erwine kept knowing that this was the fate she had.

Adrianne felt a sense of relief flood into her heart when the witch teleported, and Erwine was temporarily spared. Yet she was still rife with fear, and understood that she had to act quickly. Her eyes went to Estelle.

The girl was half-unconscious. Adrianne's heart sunk. She was at the girl's side in an instant, worried that she had been too late. Ripping the girl's gem from her body revealed that she was not, but Estelle was perhaps a minute from death.

Removing Airi's seed, she pressed it against Estelle's gem. The blackness was moved from the gem into the seed, and the former object burned brightly once again. A sigh of relief escaped Adrianne's lips. Estelle stirred, eyes opening up as she regained full control of herself.

"Don't you think you ought to get rid of that?" the question came from behind. Adrianne knew the annoying little thing was correct. Given the presence of a grand witch, it was incredibly likely that Airi's seed would hatch into the witch once again, especially since it had just been used to recover an almost full-blackened gem.

"No." Adrianne said, looking over her shoulder at the Incubator that sat there.

"You might regret that action," the creature said.

"So what?" Adrianne replied angrily. "I'll deal with it then. Now get out of my sight."

The thing didn't move. "The death of Erwine Braune is the best course of action, given the current data. We highly suggest that you allow it to occur."

The Incubator turned around, and leapt behind a pile of rubble. It was gone.

Adrianne looked back to Estelle, who was now smiling at her. "Adrianne…" She whispered. The former inquisitor before her couldn't meet her eyes.

"I failed. Erwine's going to die." She gasped as Estelle pulled her close.

"She won't die." Estelle got to her feet, pulling Adrianne up along with her. Adrianne stepped back, a bit scared. "Why are you scared of me?"

"I don't know," Adrianne admitted. She stepped away, trying to distance herself. "It's just-I have to get to Erwine, but I still can't get over the two of us."

"We can handle that later," Estelle said, "My objective…" She sighed, "It's always been to see you be happy and safe. If saving Erwine from this is that important, then I won't stop you."

Adrianne paused, turning back. "If you want to save her, then we need to move fast." She continued. "I already called it in to Juno, and she'll hopefully try to talk the girl out of it, as she understands there's more going on here."

Estelle reached her hand out to Adrianne. The blonde grasped it tightly, looking at the contact with strange eyes. "Let's go." Estelle said, leaping away with Adrianne right behind her.

Laelia leapt to the side, rolling through the collapsing room of the ruined building she was in. It was a tall starscraper, just around the position where the witch now was. It had been a short journey over, but it had been one that had cost the lives of thousands due to its length.

The body of the witch was visible to her, and she was about level with the bottom of what remained of the creature. All eight heads were gone, as were the legs. The body was now taking massive damage. The rain still fell incessantly from the sky.

Laelia was drenched at the moment, having been under the rainfall for over half an hour now. Her current position brought her respite from the weather, but she was already cold and wet. Her shield was up, as lightning crackled through the building. Her guns fired wildly at the creature, doing what they could to damage it.

Thanks to the witch's relocation, the areas where the wounded were being treated had come under threat. So the wounded girls who could fight had gone out to do just that.

Laelia and Ayelen wouldn't deny that it wasn't chance that brought them back together, but the fact was that they had a better chance working together than they did alone. Celestine, Sanae, and rest of Estelle's girls were all still nearby as well.

Ayelen was trying to block the ranged strikes from the witch, as she did not want to approach it. Only the more skilled melee fighters dared to do such a thing, and they suffered plenty of wounds despite their skill and power.

The building shook. Ayelen rolled into the same room Laelia was now in. The room they had left started to crumble as the building fell apart. Others were in or on the same structure, so Laelia and Ayelen knew that they had a chance of assistance if needed.

As Laelia walked sideways across the room, firing her guns through the cracked walls and windows, the floor cracked. Lines spread through as the surface failed. Laelia dropped through. Ayelen saw this happen, her head turning to check on the girl as she exclaimed.

Ayelen jumped down the hole after her, as the floor above her started to collapse. She had only a minute, if that, to get Laelia out. The floors below cracked as Laelia hit them. She fell down two floors, landing in a roll. The floor started to slide away from her as the building tipped to one side, the foundations collapsing.

Ayelen hit the floor above her, and dug a javelin into the floor to anchor herself as she reached out for her friend. The building was starting to fall, and Laelia managed to grab onto Ayelen's hand. The two were about to go vertical when Ayelen jumped back up. She tried to make it to the upper floor, trying to exit the tumbling upper half of the starscraper, and she managed to burst through the window.

Laelia trailed behind her, but both girls were now exposed in the air in front of the witch. They were in the only targets in this direction. Laelia raised a shield desperately. A single bolt, like the wrath of a god, struck the shield, and sent the two flying backwards. The shield should not have converted the energy into motion, but Laelia used the magic in the bolt to push back against the magic in her shield. This was enough to get the shield moving, and she pulled it tight against the two to carry them with the shield.

Ayelen found herself staring up at the sky as she arced through the air. Laelia dropped the shield as the two smashed into the starscraper they had just escaped from. It seemed that only the upper half had fallen, the lower half was intact. They were in the middle of that lower half, yet still dozens and dozens of meters above the ground.

Ayelen felt pain in her back from the impact, but when she realized that Laelia was not beside her. She sat up, looking around, and found Laelia was nowhere. The room, the entire floor she was on, was desolate. Ruined items, pieces of furniture, lay around, cluttering the area. Debris did the same for the space.

Half of the floor had fallen away. The jagged edge split the place in half, even as the ruined wall still reached out on unsteady foundations of the other walls. Ayelen saw a couple fingers gripping the edge.

She rushed towards them. Her first question was why Laelia did not use her strength to just pull herself back up. That question as answered immediately as she looked down at the girl.

For a moment, Ayelen mistook the rainwater on the girl for tears. Then she realized that she had mistook tears for rainwater. She was indeed crying, as water pounded down from the sky. Ayelen grabbed her hand and tried to pull her back up.

Right as she did so, Laelia let go of the edge. "Why?" Ayelen screamed, "Let me help you!" She did not grab onto Ayelen's hand, instead trying to push herself off of the girl.

The sound of battle, the rain, the myriad other noises of chaos, drowned out their words. "I'm sorry," Laelia replied, looking up at Ayelen, "But I've had a good run. Just let me go, make it easier for both of us. You get your payback, I get my redemption."

"You can only redeem yourself by dying?" Ayelen was astounded.

"What would you prefer?" Laelia asked, "Don't you hate me? I'm not even needed to protect you, you can clearly do it on your own."

"I…I don't," the healer replied, as she lay on the floor, desperately trying to get Laelia back up, even as the building wildly shook. "You care about a single person more than most people care about everyone in their lives combined!"

Laelia shook her head, "I can't forgive myself…besides, your words sound false, like they are only meant to blossom briefly, root themselves into my mind, and then wither and die as soon as we are both safe and sound."

The girl holding her shook her head, "That's not true," she insisted, "Please, just come back!"

Laelia thought for a few seconds. Her arm was starting to hurt very badly. She would not be able to hold on for much longer. She looked back up at Ayelen. "Alright," she said, "We can talk about this later,"

In the time that Laelia had thought, Ayelen had thought as well. She had made a stern decision. "No," she replied, "Or at least…not until you smile,"

Laelia was not amused. "Pull me back up," she said. She truly did not possess the strength to pull herself up on her own. She could not even reach the lip from her current position. Her voice was emotionless, yet still demanding.

"Not until you smile," was the equally demanding reply. Ayelen looked down at Laelia. "Please," she said, "Not for me, for yourself. You deserve to be happy. All your life, you've tried to make other people happy, and you've only suffered. Good people don't deserve that reward."

Ayelen's heart went out to Laelia as she spoke now. "Please!" she cried, both with her voice and with her eyes, "Just smile. We can both be happy again!"

Laelia looked into Ayelen's eyes. She smiled. And while many people die with smiles on their face, Laelia was not one of them. Ayelen yanked her back up, embracing her warmly as soon as she could. The two sat there for a few seconds as the battle raged around them.

Both were silent, save for the few tears shed by both sides. They did not need to say anything. They both forgave the other for what had occurred.

A single voice interrupted them. "Laelia? I always expected a betrayal, but not like this." Celestine chuckled.

Adrianne finally caught up to Erwine when Erwine herself was stopped by someone else. The inquisitor leapt onto the roof the girl was on as she spoke to someone else, who Adrianne vaguely recognized from a distance. As soon as she looked up from her touchdown, she saw Juno.

It seemed that the only reason Erwine had actually stopped was because Juno had a gun pointed at her, and because Arietta was right there, most likely inside Erwine's head, at least suppressing her mind.

"You can't just do this," Juno said, "We don't know what Ishna wants from you, but how do we not know that this is what she wants?"

"She wants me alive," Erwine replied, "And do you truly want to find out what she has planned?"

Juno nodded, "Many people do. MSOC does. The Segmentum Sect does. No matter what she's doing, Ishna has set up a massive amount of infrastructure throughout the Imperium, outsmarting everyone who has tried to chase her, even your inquisitor. She needs to show her hand to us, so we can get her once and for all. If we make her commit to an attack, then we can get at her, but if you die now, and stop her head-on, then she'll just run off and repeat this somewhere else."

"She can't repeat this," Erwine insisted, "She made it very clear that all of this was set up very carefully. If it began with Adrianne, if it began with Nadine even, then it has taken her at least thirty years to set all this up, it can't just be repeated."

Erwine stomped her foot on the ground, Arietta flinching momentarily as she found even Erwine's mind to be too toxic to actually control at this point. "I wanted to find out what I have to do." Erwine said angrily, "And I know that right now, my goal is to die."

"You can't die!" Adrianne cried, storming towards Erwine. Rage was on her face. "You cannot die!" Adrianne insisted, her body trembling as she stared the girl down.

"Why can I not die?" Erwine asked slowly, turning to face Adrianne.

Adrianne had no good reason. No logical, carefully thought out reason that would hold up under careful examination by another intelligent person. She only had her passion, her emotions guiding her. But that was all she had ever had. She looked at Juno. Her eyes begged for the girl to go. Juno stayed right where she was. Her head nodded to the side, and Arietta leapt away. While her gun was still raised, Juno did take a couple steps backwards.

Adrianne stood where she was, looking resolutely at Erwine. The rain wasn't coming down as hard now, but the clouds still dominated the sky. Estelle stood right behind her friend, silently waiting.

"Erwine…I know you think this is the correct choice, but it's not," Adrianne insisted, "Please, you have to believe me." Her voice was desperate. The girl's mind was a whirlwind of emotions that she wasn't even close to being able to sort out.

"Why is it not?" Erwine wondered. She wasn't quite as angry as she was before. Her question was asked honestly. "There's no reason you can give to say otherwise."

"Because-because…" Adrianne stomped her foot on the ground, unable to find a proper answer. A curse escaped her lips as her gaze turned to an angry one. "You shouldn't die! You don't deserve to die!"

"What do you mean by that?" Erwine was taken aback.

"You've come so far since you first began, you're a real magical girl. You're ready for anything you might find out there," Adrianne said, "Yet…you insist you must die."

"Don't act as if my reasons aren't valid," Erwine said.

Adrianne paused. She knew that she didn't have much time. If she hesitated for much longer, Erwine would go ahead and do it anyways. She had to give her some reason.

Her mind raced wildly, considering everything that had occurred over the past few hours, the past few days, the past couple weeks. Yet she couldn't find the thing that would save the girl who needed saving the most.

"I know why Ishna needs you!" she cried suddenly. The gears had all clicked in her head. They all came into alignment, giving her that reason she needed. Adrianne took a deep breath, reigning her excitement in. "I know _why _she's going to use you."

"Why?" Erwine asked. Suddenly she was pausing as well. The matter had just increased by several degrees of seriousness for her.

"Your wish." Adrianne replied, "That wish you made. It was to escape fate, wasn't it? To break out from control, that's what you wanted, right?" Adrianne took a step forwards, desperately asking, "You wished for freedom, right?"

Erwine nodded, a bit uncomfortable at Adrianne crying out the details of her wish. Then Erwine herself froze. She gasped, the realization hitting her just as hard as it hit Adrianne. "You mean, she said she couldn't see my future, because of the number of possibilities. My wish…did it actually destroy my set destiny?"

"We've talked about fate a lot," Adrianne said, "And while it most certainly exists, I'm not sure it's so easy to escape from it. But that wish you made, if you had the potential to do it, you might have been put on a path that will lead you to escaping fate."

The little girl's hands came to grasp either side of her head, "That's why she wants me…" Erwine whispered, "She wants me because…I'll have that power."

"The karmic cycles of this universe are based around fate. Hope and despair always balance back out to zero if magic is involved, but if one isn't bound by fate…" Adrianne explained.

Erwine finished for her, "Then they don't exist within the cycles of the universe."

Juno was given pause as well. Her weapon was lowered. "Therefore…they would become something akin to a living god. Based on the Infinite Potential Theory, they could easily reach a state of omnipotence without any repercussions."

"I can't do all that," Erwine shook her head, panicking as they went on. "No, how I can become something like that?"

"The evidence is there," Adrianne insisted, "Ishna plans for you to become a god."

"And that would destroy this world…" Erwine said, "Absolute power…I can't have that. No one should have that kind of power. Does she mean me for to tear apart the entire universe?" She started hyperventilating, till she froze.

"Yet…" Calm was on her face now. "Yet if that is the fate Ishna plans for me. Then I cannot ascend to that state, can I?" She asked. "I cannot be allowed to continue on, for we don't even know how Ishna plans to do this."

She looked into Adrianne's eyes, panic in her own. "I have to die now, or else we might lose before we even realize we've lost."

Adrianne paused. Somehow, she hoped that saying such things would make Erwine reconsider. Yet she herself understood it now. _Erwine doesn't want power…_Adrianne thought, looking at the girl, _that's been the problem from the very start. She's always wanted to help people, but she's never wanted power, she's never wanted to fight, she wanted to be a hero without really understanding what it means to be one. _

"I don't want to a god," Erwine said, "I just want to be…I've never had any courage, or any determination, up until the Incubator came to me that day."

She shook her head, "How I wish I never stopped…I wish I never made a contract." Erwine wept, stepping away from Adrianne. "I just thought it would be great to be a hero…"

The little girl paused. She spun around, looking out at the witch. "And this…" She whispered, words barely reaching Adrianne, "This is what means. It means I have to sacrifice myself for the good of others."

"That's what it means!" she cried, words aimed at herself more than anyone. "And I told Nada I would be a hero!" Yet, there was that restraint. Adrianne couldn't stop hearing it. She didn't know why no one else heard it. _Erwine doesn't want this. _Adrianne could tell. The girl didn't want her short journey to end here.

She gazed over her shoulder. "Adrianne, let me go. Thank you…for everything you've done to me. I never wanted to become the person I am now…but, if it means I finally have the will to become a hero, then I am content."

"You really want to do this?" Adrianne asked. _This is my last chance to stop her. _

"I do." Erwine nodded. But Erwine couldn't even look Adrianne in the eyes.

"You are sure this is the path you want to walk down?"

"I am." Her voice was shaky.

The former inquisitor nodded, shutting her eyes. When she opened them, she whispered, "Then I have no right to stop you."

Juno stepped aside, "Ultimately, you are correct."

Erwine tried to put on a smile. "Try to remember me, alright?" She asked, voice filled with sorrow and regret.

"One thing," Adrianne called as Erwine stepped forwards. The girl paused, annoyance showing in the way she stopped.

"Make it the most beautiful thing I'll ever see." Adrianne requested.

Erwine tried to open her mouth in an attempt to reply. She found no words. A leap carried her away.

And Adrianne watched as the girl who was a daughter to her went to her death. Adrianne stood where she was, close enough to the witch to watch the end.

She had barely known Erwine for two weeks. Two weeks in which Adrianne had learned more about herself than she ever had before. Yet she knew that it was too little, too late.

Erwine went to die now. To die for the greater good of all mankind. Adrianne stood alone, her eyes pried open by her will as she stared at the witch. The rain was finally clearing as the grand witch's power decreased, but every second it lived, another dozen people fell to its kiss.

The clouds finally broke, and the sun shone down upon the witch through the broken shroud. Erwine removed her soul gem from her tiara, and took a deep breath. She looked back at Erwine, a grin spreading out across her face. Her magnificent wings outstretched, her sword was a shining blade of bright silver.

Even now, the inquisitor felt that this was all somehow wrong. Like this wasn't the end Erwine deserved. Inside herself, she knew that it was by no means the end she deserved. The girl fell down to her knees, silently cursing the world as her eyes stayed locked on Erwine. She felt Estelle's hand on her shoulder, the comforting grip warming her heart.

It was the end. The end of a long story that had lasted a brief two weeks, yet somehow managed to be an epic tale that Adrianne would always remember. Adrianne felt like it had been the grandest journey she'd ever been on.

She smiled back. Adrianne could only cry as Erwine raised her blade. She leapt from the building she stood on, flying through the air, her huge wings launching her forwards.

"Do your best," Adrianne whispered.

_So this is the end. _She thought.

* * *

Many have wondered why despair just can't be programmed out of a magical girl's mind. The answer is that it cannot be. The reason for it is unclear, and may be for some time, but it is certain that it is impossible. Hope and despair are the two dominant emotions that drive magical girls forwards.

Since magical girls are beings that take power from their emotions, they cannot function without two of the most important emotions within the human mind. In fact, the Key Triangle, as it is called, shows the most important concepts for a magical girl.

Hope, despair, and love, are all needed for a magical girl to properly work. While hope is never a bad thing, despair is a bad thing, and love can lead to despair or hope. Unfortunately, these things cannot just be wiped away, like pain can be. No emotion can just be wiped away, even something like fear, without significantly decreasing the power of a magical girl.

To this day, magic theorists still speculate as to why emotions are so key.

-_Grimoire Ingenium, Annex Two. _


	28. Death brings Life, Life Brings Death

The power contained within a soul gem is immense, but so much of it goes unused, merely powering a girl's body and maintaining her mind. If all of it were to be used up, the gem would be destroyed in the rush of energy, thus ending the life of the girl.

However, it is possible to use this as a trump card. In a situation where one knows they will die, the use of this final burst of energy can be an advantage. A single strike that utilizes a girl's gem itself as the catalyst can do several times more damage than even the strongest possible strike she could make otherwise.

In some situations, this may be the best way out, for it guarantees one's gem will not fall into the hands of the enemy. The magnificence of this death far outstrips the risks of letting oneself be captured.

-Article within the Yearly Inquisitorial Newspaper, M39.789.

* * *

Erwine was entirely ready to meet the end that she was to face. As she soared through the air, she felt as if it was the thing she had been meant to do all along. Her mouth spread into a smile. Everything was going to be just fine.

Though her mind spun with questions of what would come after the end, if there was to be anything at all, Erwine didn't pay them mind. Or at least she tried her very hardest to not. The fear in her heart was raging now, and a part of her wished she could take things back.

_I…I want to be a hero, I have to stop Ishna. But, is this really living? I don't know who I am, in the end, Ishna is still controlling my life. I'm only doing this because of her plans, I don't even know if they're real. _Nevertheless, she had no time to back out now. She was going to finish this job.

Someone grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. Erwine widened her eyes, suddenly confused. She fell back onto a roof, whoever had grabbed her had tumbled down beside her. Erwine looked to the side, seeing Adrianne there. The blonde girl was distraught, her face twisted in fear.

"I can't let you die," was the explanation she gave. The girl stood shakily as Erwine rushed to her feet. The little girl's first instinct was anger. Anger at the one who denied her the fate she deserved, who had stolen away her only way out.

_But even then, dying now would just be running. I'm still not strong at all, am I? _The two girls steadied themselves as they stood, looking each other in the eyes. Both had so much to say, but both were afraid to speak. The world was still moving, the witch was still being fought, but for the two girls, it was though everything had stopped moving.

"Why won't you let me do it?" Erwine asked. To herself, she wondered, _why would I let myself do it? _Her breathing was slowing down. Her mind ached. Erwine just wanted to go home. To that home she used to hate so much.

"Because I know you don't really want to do it." Adrianne said, "You don't want to die. If you do, then you'd just be running away from the truth, from Ishna, from…" She had to force the word out. It took all her effort, but she said it, "_Me._"

The girl took a deep breath. Erwine waited expectantly for her words, as though they were the most important ones she'd ever hear. "I know you don't want to run away any more. So don't run."

Erwine looked sad. "And you?" She wondered, "What are you going to do?"

Adrianne looked towards the grand witch. The thing was almost gone. A constant stream of attacks were ripping it apart, piece by piece. Soon, the battle would come to an end. "I failed to stop Ishna, again. Dying here won't stop her. I won't die until she's dead." Adrianne almost laughed at that, crying at the same time, "So I'll guess I'll be alive for a long time."

"Your soul gem," Erwine observed, watching the thing on the girl's hand. "It's darkening, fast. You need to take a break."

"I won't die." Adrianne promised her. Her eyes went to Erwine's head. "You…you need to worry." The girl gasped, reching up and yanking the thing from her crown.

The silver-haired girl stared down at the murky light. It was being healed properly by the netting, but it was still running out. Adrianne's gem was the same. A moment of silence passed as they stared at the things. "Our souls…" Adrianne said softly, "They get stuck in these things. We're not humans, are we?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "I'm not even a human being anymore."

There was a sound as she fell to her knees, covering her face as she wept. Erwine stepped back, flinching out of shock. _Did Adrianne never realize this? Was she never able to truly accept it? _The girl froze suddenly, staring at the gem. Her eyes went wide, her body shook.

"And when they fully blacken, it turns into a grief seed." She whispered, "And I become a witch. A witch." The girl was horrified. Erwine wanted to cry just for the sake of the girl before her. _She never really realized what she was, did she? She never came to terms with it. _

Erwine sucked down a long gulp of air, desperate to stabilize her mind, stabilize her emotions. She couldn't. It all ran wild, as she struggled to adjust her view of Adrianne. Simply put, the crying little girl before her _could not_ be Adrianne.

_She's not a girl who cries. She deals with the truths of the world like they're nothing. She doesn't mind any of it. _Erwine tripped over herself, falling to her rear, her eyes staring with confusion at Adrianne. "Did you…did you ever realize that fact?" Erwine asked, calling across the space.

Adrianne shook her head. "I knew about souls from Nadine…but…witches…" Adrianne broke down again, struggling to catch a breath, "Witches I learned from Ishna. She turned one of my friend into a witch right in front of me. I hit it all away, forcing it away by thinking only of the vengeance I had to obtain." She looked at her gem, her hand close to her eyes. "I never really accepted the fate that I would one day suffer."

The girl looked up at Erwine. "I'm sorry I did all that to you, Erwine. I never realized just how much I was hurting everyone around me. All I could think of was getting back at Ishna, but that's not much of an excuse, is it?"

The other girl didn't agree. "It's no good thinking like that," she said, walking towards Adrianne. "Don't blame yourself. You were running from the truth, just like I wanted to." She got to one knee, taking Adrianne's hands in her own. "Don't run away anymore, Adrianne," Erwine said softly, "We can do this."

"I'm just so scared!" Adrianne cried, "The entire world doesn't make sense anymore. Nothing is the same, and it never will be ever again." She took a deep breath, before it hit her. "I don't want to be a magical girl."

"I know you're scared," Erwine said quickly, "But I'm scared too. I woke up today and realized that Erwine Braune is just something constructed by you, by Ishna! I have to realize that I might not be the person I am right now." She felt tears in her eyes as well, and choked up on them for a few seconds.

She didn't want to give up. Erwine didn't. She pushed through. "Though you're scared, I'm scared too." She took a deep breath. "So Adrianne, let's be scared together."

"What?!" the girl cried, "After all I did?"

"We're the same person when it comes down to it," Erwine explained, "Both of us don't really know where we are, or who we are. So why wouldn't we at least try to face this world together?"

Adrianne nodded, "I…I understand," she whispered. Erwine slowly helped her to her feet, holding her hands the whole time.

"Come on," Erwine tried to grin, "Let's not run away from anything anymore. Let's make this world a great one." Adrianne couldn't help but agree.

The two girls stared into each other's eyes. For the first time, Erwine felt like she really understood something in her life. She really did.

Slow clapping interrupted the moment. Their heads whipped to the side, in the direction of the witch. Above a building, a bit higher than the one the girls were on, sat Ishna. The girl grinned as she stared down at the pair. "Well, I'm proud of you, Erwine." A storm of blades passed through where she had just been.

Ishna appeared to the other side of the two, chuckling. "Still trying," She smoothly weaved around a pair of strikes from both girls, as though she was dodging a couple of children. "Come on now." She said, "You two being friends now won't make you any stronger." She looked at their gems, "Besides, both of you are about to break."

This forced the two to stop, knowing that any further action would endanger themselves. Adrianne's was close to going entirely black, most of her cubes gone. "Why are you still here?" she demanded, "If you're not going to kill us, then what do you want?"

"I want to assure the both of you that this is far from over. And to deliver a message. I just did the first thing, so now onto the second." She giggled as Adrianne stiffened, a telepathic message going straight into her mind. "From an old friend," Ishna explained, "I believe you loved her very much."

Adrianne fell to her knees as the message went through her head, but Erwine found Ishna's attention to fall on her. "Well, you can chase me all you want, you'll even know exactly where I'm going. But you won't win."

"Why not?" Erwine spat.

"You can't fight fate." Ishna explained, "It's an irresistible force."

Erwine's mind flared with…with _something_. It was a crackling sound, like a vox that failed to function. Her hands went to the sides of her head, flashes of black and white filling her vision as the static spiked. "H-Have we had this conversation before?" Erwine asked.

"Ah," Ishna smiled, "It's already working. You're already becoming what I envisioned." She threw her head back, laughing. "It's finally going to end!" she cried.

She spun about, grinning the whole time. "Well, I'll see you later, Erwine, and you too, Adrianne. I've things to do."

The girl leapt high into the air, spreading her own wings. They were massive black shapes, looking too real as the feathers ruffled in the wind. Ishna stabilized herself in the air, facing the grand witch. Her left arm was extended, a massive black shape appeared. Curving backwards, a bow.

Ishna's other hand came to the string, grasping it tenderly. All of a sudden, she was the focus of a dozen girls. Shot after shot was fired at her, but none of them hit. Ishna encircled herself with her wings, slowly drawing back the string.

As the string was pulled, a bright light began to appear. The arrow. An ethereal violet, the arrow crackled with fierce energies. Ishna pulled it all the way back. Suddenly, a huge complex of shapes spread out in front of the tip. They extended out on a flat plane, impossible geometries appearing before Erwine's eyes.

The energy reached a boiling point. The air itself hummed, the arrow glowing as bright as a star. A massive crack shook the world. Miles away, windows were shattered by the thunderclap of the arrow's release. Erwine was thrown to the ground, desperately trying to track the magnificent projectile.

The boom deafened the humans who heard it, and magical girls all around were shaken. The arrow flashed forwards, first running into the net of strange geometries. The arrow pulled against them for a second, before breaking through, the plane of shapes shattering and converging into six beams of light.

These beams spun into the arrow as it went on its way, but it was almost like there were two projectiles now, one inside of the other. The one that formed from the shapes was inside the first. The grand witch disappeared, its entire form blasted to pieces by the shot.

The other arrow continued onwards, until it hit the sky. It hit something that wasn't there. Nothing solid stood before its path. But something was shattered by the godly power. The sky itself seemed to crack open. _Evacuate! _The order was shouted by Juno. _She just ripped open the Materium! _

The cracks bulged, some invisible energy surging against the weakened walls. Lights of every color shined through the web of fractures. Erwine felt something she'd only felt…in the warp. She spun around, grabbing Adrianne. She scooped the girl into her arms as Estelle jumped down beside her.

The inquisitor grabbed her, jumping as far as she could. Erwine struggled from Estelle's grip in midair, grabbing onto her hand as she spread her wings. She pushed herself downwards as hard as she could, as an unnatural scream echoed through the air.

For a split second, the world was an inferno. Plague-ridden bodies were piled on the streets below, floating on an ocean of blood, as the world burned. Screams of pain and ecstasy shared the air, as the foulest stenches Erwine ever smelled came to her nose.

Then she was a few meters from the ground. "Pull up!" Estelle shouted. Erwine barely managed to slow herself, coming to a safe landing, caught by her wings. Adrianne was still clasped in one arm. Estelle touched down safely, but she was shaken too.

"What was that?" Erwine asked.

"Ishna fired something that broke open the walls of this world and those of the warp. It wasn't a full rift, so the universe repaired itself quickly. But the damage has been done." Just as she said that, a few black blobs fell down from the sky, forming up further down the street.

Erwine saw humanoid shapes form from them, along with something that could only be a witch. "The entities that constituted the grand witch, they've been released and empowered by that rift." She looked at Erwine as she moved forwards. "I have magic, I can fight. You two need to get out of here, you're both important at this point."

As if those were magic words, Juno appeared beside them. "Telepathy and teleportation are down thanks to high warp energy concentrations," She said, "I can manage teleporting, but don't try using telepathy." The lord inquisitor extended a hand to Erwine, who now held Adrianne with both arms. The girl was shaking, shocked by the message she'd received. "What's wrong with her?" Juno asked.

"Nadine…" Adrianne whispered, "I heard her voice. She told me where to find Ishna."

"That's for later, we need to save the city first," Juno said, "But come with me, I'll get you two back to the safest location we have." Erwine nodded, shifting Adrianne to grab onto Juno's hand.

Then the girl slid down from Erwine's arms, standing up on her own. "I can stand," She said, grabbing onto Juno's other. "Good luck," She called to Estelle.

The inquisitor nodded, "Thanks, stay safe yourself." She waited a few seconds, then added, "Please Adrianne, for me." Then the three were gone.

They appeared into a scene of chaos. Juno left after a brief set of telepathic instructions to those already there. Erwine looked around, identifying the open space as a dining hall in some fancy dwelling. The tables had all been smashed apart, the pieces tossed out, to clear room for what was a makeshift triage station.

About a dozen girls were there in total, accompanying what seemed to be a collection of the planet's more vital officials. Five of those girls were moving, seven were on the floor, wounded and tired. One of the medics looked to Adrianne and Erwine. The former inquisitor was barely able to stand, while Erwine could hold herself up with some effort. _Adrianne, was it? Over here. _

Erwine helped Adrianne to the indicated space, laying her down on the sheet that had been palced on the floor. _Psychological? _The healer questioned, _no wounds. _

Erwine nodded, _yes. _The medic stood up. A split second later, Erwine felt her mind open up, as the telepath in the room connected her to the network the medics were using to coordinate their operations. As this happened, a teleporter popped in, placing another girl down, delivering a diagnosis before flashing away.

The telepath took a second more to reply. _Sorry, handling a lot at the moment. _A couple seconds passed, the girl quickly assessing Adrianne's mind. _There's a problem. She's a step away from spiraling. I need you to try and talk to her, help her hang on. If she can get better, then we can shut off her mind, and her soul should be fine on its own. But as it is, if we shut off her mind, it might spiral downwards and hit the event horizon before we can get her back. _

_I understand, _Erwine said, sitting down beside Adrianne. She took the girl's hand in her own. "Adrianne?" she said quietly, carefully watching the girl's gem. There were barely any grief cubes to spare at the moment, and her netting was all out. It was up to Erwine.

The girl nodded, indicating she could hear. She was physically sound, but her mind couldn't in good shape. "What did Nadine tell you? What happened?" Erwine found a message sent into her head.

_Hello Adrianne. I am not sure if you will ever receive this message, but Ishna has promised me that she'll give it to you at some point. So for all I know, you're sitting on your deathbed with that girl towering over you at the moment, but I'll try to make this useful, so I hope you are alive and in good condition._

_No matter what Ishna says, she is not trying to save anyone. She is a tricky one, saying that she fights for the good of humanity, that she supports the Goddess. But she does not. She is a mass murderer. She means to bring about the end of the Imperium, I can tell you that much. She has a plan to do it, but I can't tell you what that plan is, she hasn't told me._

_All I know is that she will somehow make contact with an outside group, most likely a xenos group. They will give her something, a guide of some kind, that will lead her to what is supposedly the most powerful weapon in existence. Ishna hints that it was made a long time ago, possibly dating to the Heresy, or maybe even before. This weapon will bring the Imperium down in a matter of days._

_I've no idea how, no idea what this thing does, but I know that it can do these things. You have to stop Ishna at all costs. She is just trying to get you to help her. She knows that you are gullible, she knows that your emotions guide you. She also speaks of someone born in the future, someone that she will use to finish her plan. This girl is one who has amazing potential, and Ishna means to manipulate her._

_That's all I know, save for one thing. Ishna says that Act Four shall occur on a planet scorched by fires set right now. This message hails from M30.11. Find the number of years from now in whatever year you are in, and look for a planet which might be fire-scorched._

_I hope that this message reaches you at an ideal time. She allows me to say this only because she thinks she's playing a game. I imagine that she thinks she can lead you into a trap, so I would be wary of even what I tell you._

_I wish you farewell. We shall meet in the next life. I hope that you can catch this girl. Bring her to justice, for all of us._

_Goodbye._

Erwine gasped, saddened by the tone of Nadine's voice._ "You're sure it's her?" _Erwine asked.

Adrianne nodded,_ "It is." _She was crying. Erwine bent down, embracing the girl.

_"Don't worry, we'll find her, I promise." _Erwine assured her.

_"Find who?"_ Adrianne asked.

_"Ishna, maybe even Nadine." _Erwine said,_ "If that girl's alive, then we'll save her. We're closer than ever before. You succeeded in…" Erwine took a breath, "As much as I hate it, you succeeded in making me, the two of us can't fail." _

_Adrianne nodded a little. "Will I live?" _

_"If you believe you will, then certainly." _Erwine replied. Adrianne grinned.

_"Then I'll live, just stay here, if you could." _Adrianne looked to the side, ashamed._ "I…I want to be reminded of some good that I've done, even though I know you're not happy with what I did." _

_"I'm not," _Erwine admitted_, "But without you, how else would I be here?" So she stayed._

* * *

The hand reached out. Slowly it came down against the wet ground, before the arm it was attached to tensed up. The body dragged itself forwards, its other hand already reaching out. The little boy's breathing was coarse, faint. His vision was cloudy.

A shadow came up over him. What little light was left in the evening sky was suddenly blocked out. He looked behind himself, seeing towering things standing over him. He didn't know what they were.

Their heads flashed bright. The boy's life didn't head. Flying in out of nowhere, the girl flipped around in midair, expanding a field of blue shapes out in a dome. The lasers deflected off the shield, ricocheting off into the sky. In her hands there was a hard clank, her arm working something back, then forwards into place.

Then the world was filled with a tremendously loud thundering sound, the tall creatures blasted apart by whatever the girl fired. They didn't stand a chance, annihilated in a matter of seconds. When the sound ended, the girl turned around, the barrel of her gun smoking.

Her blonde hair flowed out behind her, striking blue eyes staring down the boy. He'd have flinched had he the energy. Then she grinned, "Don't worry." She said, only a few feet from him, "I'm here to help." The girl was like an angel.

She knelt down beside him, scooping his frame up into her arms. "Stay calm, I'll get you to safety." She said, brushing the dirt off of his face. Her hands glowed, and the boy breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his wounds fade away. He was about thirteen years old.

The child opened his mouth to stay something, but the angel spoke first. "Don't talk, it'll make it worse." Suddenly there was a crash. To the side, a large shape pushed itself against the still active shield. "Damn…" she whispered, moving to drop the boy to the ground.

The witch was like many of the others released by the grand one and the warp rift. Many of them were mere amorphous blobs, screaming and raging at the world around them. It was definite that they were entirely mindless, seeking only to seek reparation for their own despair.

This witch screamed out, shifting its shape around to face something behind. There was the sound of several strikes, and suddenly the witch's form was pierced in several places, all around it, but nobody was there. Distracted in this way, the witch was unaware of the next attack till it heard the sound.

"Watch yourself, Celestine," the angel mockingly called, opening fire into the shape of the thing. It roared, writhing about, till a final blow from the invisible attacker tore it open entirely. The entire shape froze up, hardening to a glass-like state. Then, without any influence, it shattered apart, leaving only a small black thing behind.

A girl in purple, another angel, appeared there, lifting up that spherical object. The boy found himself picked up by the first girl. "Not even going to thank me?" The purple one asked, smirking.

The girl in blue said nothing. The boy shrunk up, feeling the animosity between the two as they glared at one another. "Move on, I need to get this one back."

"Have you checked him yet?" Purple asked. Blue froze. She wasn't a bit taller than the boy. She looked to his face. Then he was on the ground.

"Linking in now." The blue one sighed. She looked into his eyes, "Look, you're about to feel something rather uncomfortable. Just hold onto my hand, and…and you'll definitely be alright." The angel paused for a moment, "My name's Laelia, what's yours?"

"Antony," the boy replied faintly. Laelia smiled, holding tightly onto his hands.

"Just hold on," She ordered. Then he felt a strange sensation in the back of his mind. He shuddered, as something reached inside. It felt like a needle being driven into his skull. "Let it happen," Laelia said, "It'll be faster." Antony realized he was resisting, so he stopped.

A couple seconds later, it was done. Laelia grimaced. She looked over to the girl in purple. "Celestine," She sighed, "Why are you still here?" She asked.

"Because we ought to go back together," Celestine suggested.

Laelia shook her head, scooping the boy up again. "No,"

"Carrying baggage like that won't help you in a fight." The girl pointed out. "My sector is clean, no more survivors." The boy winced at that.

"How many total?" Laelia asked, "Alive?" then added, "Now?"

"I found thirty-three," Celestine said solemnly, "Probably a couple thousand people lived in those blocks." Laelia nodded. "Only two went back." The blonde's expression darkened.

"This is the first one who even has a chance." Laelia said quietly.

"Then let me come with. The city is mostly clean anyways." The girl in blue groaned, but accepted. She kept her shield extended, leaping upwards. The boy gasped as they landed atop a high roof, clearing the space in a single leap. Celestine landed beside Laelia, smiling at Antony.

"What happened?" he asked, Laelia's healing returning his strength.

"A traitor launched an attack, summoning daemons to aid her," Laelia explained, reciting it as though she had said it many times. "Those things you saw were those daemons."

"My family…" Antony whispered, "Do you know where they are?" Laelia suddenly paused. She had just landed after another jump. The girl looked down, a solemn expression on your face.

"I would not expect to see them again," Laelia whispered. "They have joined the Goddess by now." Antony burst into tears, as Laelia jumped again, Celestine right beside her.

_How many did you have to kill? _Celestine wondered. Laelia grimaced, not wanting to say anything. _It hurts less when you talk. _

_Twenty. _Laelia responded, _I killed twenty of them. It was quick, they didn't know what happened. _She hated the work.

The witches and the warp rift were a terrible combination. Despite the altered shape of the creatures, their kisses were still just as terrible as ever. The rift only made it so that it was near impossible to cure. And those whose minds were certainly touched by the warp had to be put down.

The grand witch's reach had already extended to millions by the time it was destroyed, the breach made it worse. And the witches that now roamed the city capitalized on that to entrap more and more, bestowing the same murderous intent as that of the grand witch.

The initial psychic shock of the grand witch flashing into existence killed many, and the shock of the breach killed even more. After all of that, the city still had many left to be possessed.

It was the unfortunate job of the magical girls to clean things up. In many blocks of the city, there wasn't a single person who could be saved.

_Sorry, _Celestine said quietly, _I didn't mean to intrude like that. _

_You've been intruding for the past twelve hours. _Laelia shot back, _just let me be. I don't want your assistance, you can't make me feel better. _Laelia leapt forwards, their destination close by. The sun was setting, and the city was starting to fall silent.

The place was desolate, devoid of the life it once had. Every building seemed to be in ruins, and only a few sane survivors existed amongst the vast expanse of ruin. In less than a day, the city had been reduced from a bustling center of life to a barren mountain of corpses.

Laelia didn't ignore the destruction, she focused on it. She found it comforting, telling herself that it was the fate of everything in this world. _To just be destroyed, _She thought, pausing before the final leap back to the makeshift command center.

She wanted to brush away the hand that fell on her shoulder. "Laelia, I'm sorry about what happened, but dwelling in depression won't redeem you. I've seen you, over the past few years. You've made yourself suffer enough. It's time to stop." Celestine walked away with those words, knowing that it was all she had.

"If you want to listen to me, then do. I beg you to do so, but ultimately, I wouldn't dare force someone I care about to change themselves." She bent her knees, then leapt upwards into the half-ruined building.

Laelia scanned the city once more, glancing down at the boy in her arms. Antony looked up at her, having stopped crying a few minutes ago. "Are…are you two angry at each other?" he asked. The child was desperate for something to distract him.

The magical girl thought for a few moments, then looked out forwards again, replying. "Yeah, you could say that." Her voice was melancholy.

"What will happen to me?" Laelia looked down once more. _He's smart, _she thought. It wasn't easy to answer, though.

"I don't know," She had to admit. "With the way things are…" Laelia had things she could have said. However, she didn't want to say them. She'd have been shot for saying them. "Probably put in some kind of relocation camp till things have been rebuilt. You could be placed with a new family, or you might be put in an orphanage, depends."

The boy nodded. Then, he started laughing. He clutched at his stomach, laughing hard. Eventually, the laughter turned to tears. "I always laughed at the girls around me, obsessing about magic, just doing girly things in general." He shook his head, meeting Laelia's eyes. "But now, more than ever, I wish I was one of them, just so I could contract, and get revenge on whoever did this."

Laelia held him tight, pressing his head into her shoulder. "Shhh…" She said, adjusting him in her arms so that she could embrace him. "Don't think like that, this isn't the kind of life fit for everyone." She choked up a little, "Besides, revenge might not be worth the cost it takes to get that revenge."

Antony cried out, "No! I'd give anything to see whoever did this dead!"

Laelia nodded. "I intend to see her dead as well. In fact, the entire life of a girl close to me has been about trying to kill that traitor." Antony caught onto her tone.

"And…and where is she now?" He sounded scared all of a sudden.

"Almost dead, deprived of almost all her hope, hanging on to that desire for revenge," Laelia said. She looked into Antony's eyes, her piercing glare making him shake.

"Yet she's still close to you?"

"I would follow her into the warp," Laelia said with a grin, "I believe that ultimately, what she's doing is right, she deserves closure."

"Then what about me?"

"You have a life left. When my friend had everything taken from her, she'd already chosen her path. You have so much left to do. Don't put yourself through such suffering unless you are absolutely certain it is what you desire." Laelia pulled the boy close, squeezing him tight.

"Come on," She said, leaping upwards.

Juno looked out over the city. A glass of amasec was in her hand. The entire thing was ruined. She was currently standing in the ruined apartments of some rich man or woman. They were killed by the witch.

The death toll had gone up to around twenty million in the few hours of the attack. A huge amount was destroyed. It would take years for the city to recover. Three magical girls had died. There had been fifty in the city. Even a grand witch could not do much against such a massive assault.

There was the stench of blood in the apartments. The place was mostly intact, with only a cracks in the walls and windows, seeing as how the teleportation of the witch did result in atmospheric disturbance. There had been dead bodies when Juno had entered ten minutes before.

They had been cleared out with her help. Even now, ten girls were resting throughout this large apartment space. She did not want to keep anything to herself. Not when others needed it.

She looked out over the city, sadness in her heart as she thought of all those who had died. The sun had set long ago, leaving the burning city in darkness. Those areas which should have been lit by the artificial lights of hundreds of buildings were still lit by the low smoldering of flames.

Three girls had died to the witch. They had been mourned. Luckily, none had turned into witches themselves. The battle throughout the city after the destruction of the gem had been long, but that was only because everyone was as safe as possible. Due to this, none even died in that long operation.

But thousands and thousands more humans died in those long hours.

* * *

Juno lifted the glass to her lips, taking a sip of the liquid within. It was good, a quality brand. She wondered if she should indulge herself. _Probably not, _she thought, _there are better things for me to do besides getting drunk._

There were footsteps behind her. A raven-haired girl stepped up beside Juno. A long cloak covered most of her body as it wrapped around her shoulders, but her head was clearly visible. "Arietta," Juno said in acknowledgement of her presence.

The telepath spoke, her voice low but clear-cut. "MSOC has gotten back to me with a full report. This has gone straight through to Segmentum command. They've taken interest, as this can be little else besides a sign of a large scale operation. We can expect a full company of knights to arrive within three weeks, and they're calling in some that are already in the sector. Inquisitorial troops are being dispatched, and supposedly they are even bringing in a Deathwatch kill-team, but the commander has yet to confirm her availability."

Juno nodded. She turned her head, looking at Arietta. She held out the glass, saying nothing, but the gesture of offering was clear. Arietta shook her head, "No thank you," she said, "I'd rather not drink,"

Juno turned back around entirely and lifted her glass to her lips, before replying, "So the sector will be fine…but not this planet,"

"This was an unfortunate loss," Arietta agreed, "We expect fatalities to reach 80% of the city's population before midnight."

"And how much would that be?" Juno asked, her words harsh.

"Roughly twenty to thirty million," the telepath replied solemnly. "Along with some five million dead across the rest of the world from the psychic shocks."

Juno did nothing, simply standing there and continuing to take sips of her drink. "It was nice being commander of this Sect," she said, "It was a good run, but all things must come to an end."

"You expect a demotion?" Arietta asked, "There's no way they can. You have multiple sources which can confirm the fact that Ishna saw all of our moves before they occurred. MSOC and Segmentum Sect already know that we're dealing with a high-class diviner who is also a soul-stealer. There's nothing anybody could have done with what you had and what you knew."

Juno shrugged, "Doesn't change what I think of myself. It's trivial to throw off the suspicions of higher power. They'll take any excuse you give them, because they don't want to get rid of good people." She cracked a grin, "But yourself…that's an entirely different threat."

"Don't criticize yourself," Arietta said. Juno opened her mouth to say more, but Arietta interrupted her. "And before you say anything in reply, I must inform you that this was not a standard grand witch by any means."

Juno's eyebrows raised, "What do you mean?" She still looked out the window, with Arietta behind her.

"The witch was formed right as the warp opened in space," Arietta explained, "I checked entry records, and at the exact moment the witch was born, a large warp corridor was opened by a few ships coming into the system. It was timed perfectly, down to the nanosecond."

"So the witch gained power from this?" Juno asked.

"Of course it did," Arietta replied, "And there was more. We know witches always cause small fractures in the barrier between Materium and Immaterium, but this fracture only increased in size due to the warp corridor being open. I suspect Ishna was somehow affecting the flow of the energy, as shockwaves spread across the entire sector."

She continued, "Minutes ago, I got a message coming from a trader that just got out of a warp storm. It came from nowhere. There was no sign, no hint that it was going to occur. Their clock coincides with ours. It occurred at the very instant the witch was born fully."

"So she's tearing apart the fabric of space?" Juno asked, "Weakening the walls…that doesn't concur with anything we know of. There has to be a wider plan here, something bigger she's doing."

"I've told MSOC that," Arietta replied, "And that's why they're bringing in Deathwatch, and there are even rumors of the Grey Knights coming in."

"Grey Knights…" Juno commented, her head turning to look at Arietta.

"Yes," Arietta replied, "They're thinking that we're now looking at some kind of attempt at a full-scale demonic invasion. I think the moment I explained the wider situation, they were already sending back to Terra itself. I think this went all the way up the chain to the Lord High Inquisitor herself."

"And will she be coming out here?" Juno wondered.

"She's not, unfortunately. She's on the other side of the galaxy, wrapping up a sector-wide purge, Valievas sector, I believe."

"Damn it…" Juno muttered, "Deathwatch has been called in?"

"The moment she got the word, she mobilized everything around us in a five sector radius. The whole Segmentum is on alert, we're not letting Ishna get away again. I believe the closest reinforcements are a detachment of the Hearth Knights, currently wrapping up some operations only a week's travel away."

"Alright, that will be fine. Anything on Ishna's whereabouts? Have you gotten anywhere?" Juno asked.

"Not as of yet, we've recorded several ships leaving the system, but they were all normal ships. Nothing special, all were recorded and pre-planned. Unless she was aboard one, she's still here," Arietta replied.

Juno nodded, "Keep looking. She's not here anymore."

"Certain?" Arietta asked.

Juno placed her glass down on a table to her right. Arietta frowned as the lord inquisitor turned around. A strange look was on her face. Grim determination was on her face, suppressing an undertone of hatred. Her eyes were looking down at the floor, her arms straight at her sides. Her feet were a bit apart, her right a tiny bit ahead of the left.

"Ishna, whatever she wants, just killed thirty million people, and ruined the lives of millions and millions more," Juno looked up, her eyes digging into Arietta's, "She's still here. At least in this system. We might not find her, but we will."

"And when we find her?" Arietta asked.

"I don't care what personal vendettas other people have against her," Juno said, "I'll let Adrianne finish with her…and then when she's done, that daemon will find me waiting for her…"

A smile came across Arietta's face, "So the Nightmare of the East has returned?"

Juno smirked, "Did it ever leave?"

* * *

The sun was rising once again over the city of Hadiens. While the day before, it had risen over something that could be called a city. Now, it raised over something that was a city in name only. The blue skies looked down on a land filled by rubble.

Almost all aerial traffic, excepting the PDF craft that continued to drop off and pick up search and rescue teams, was directed to a small clumping of buildings, around what had once been city proper. Within one of these tall towers, silence reigned absolute in a certain room.

Juno sat, accompanied by Arietta, and her third-in-command Reitia, at a small table. Facing them was Adrianne. To the lord inquisitor's left and right sat, in a menagerie of various types of chairs, quite a few girls. The entirety of Estelle and Adrianne's teams were present, as were several others.

"Adrianne Azure, you stand accused here, at this 'court'." Juno did treat the word with sarcasm. "Of the psychological damaging of Ayelen Nita, the rape and psychological damaging of Erwine Braune, and the turning of Lilith Meriade." Juno stared the inquisitor in the eyes. "How do you plead?"

"Guilty as charged," Adrianne said. Juno's hand was instantly held up as both Erwine and Laelia shot to their feet.

"One at a time. Laelia, you first." Juno ordered.

"I admit to full guilt for the psychological damaging of Ayelen Nita. The full report of this situation has been compiled and placed within the permanent Inquisitorial Record. I believe it shall prove that I am ultimately the one to blame. As such, I request that the charge against Adrianne be withdrawn."

Juno nodded. "Alright, I've read it, and I don't think anyone will disagree with me when I withdraw that from Adrianne. Laelia, please take the floor alongside Adrianne." She then looked to Erwine, "Go on,"

"Adrianne did not psychologically damage me. I am in a sound mental state," Erwine's shakiness was clear. "I am fit to serve." She had indeed read the definition of the term. "I request that the charge against Adrianne be withdrawn, for it never occurred."

"As for the rape?" Juno asked, "Do you have any input on that?"

Erwine tensed up. She looked at Adrianne. The girl couldn't match the gaze, looking away ashamed. "W-well…" Erwine couldn't stand to complete the sentence.

"Erwine Braune, was it rape? Yes or no, those are the only answers." Erwine stiffened, taking a deep breath.

It was only a whisper. Nobody could hear it. Erwine knew that much. "No." She whispered.

"Are you lying?" Juno demanded.

"Maybe," Erwine's face fell.

"Yes or no." The lord inquisitor was stern.

"I am not lying," Erwine forced the words out.

"Then what happened was entirely consensual?" Juno asked. Erwine nodded. "Then explain your actions immediately following the event."

Erwine was at a loss. She found that she just couldn't. "That's what I thought." Juno sighed, "As such, I find Adrianne guilty of that charge." Erwine opened her mouth. "Don't make me come down on you for defending her. Let her stand guilty for what she did." Juno spat. "Now sit down." Erwine did so, shame on her face.

"The court will now call upon Estelle Adramartis, determined to be the most reliable source of information regarding the psyche of Adrianne Azure." Estelle stood up from her chair.

"Estelle, would you consider Adrianne to be in the proper state of mind to assess her guilt in the charges presented against her?" Juno asked.

"I would not. She's currently suffering backlash from the death of a loved one, and is feeling massive guilt. Also suffering from realization syndrome, long denied by the feelings of revenge she has. I cannot consider her to be in a proper state of mind to assess her guilt." Estelle was clear and emotionless.

"Would you consider her to be guilty in the charges presented against her?"

"In the cases of the psychological damaging of Erwine Braune, and the rape of Erwine Braune, yes, I would. I do not personally know the details behind the death of Lilith Meriade, but I…I would not put it past her." Estelle said.

"Good, you may be seated." Juno said. She stood herself, looking around the room. "Well, I have come to a verdict. Laelia Aemilina is found guilty of the psychological damaging of Ayelen Nita. She is to undergo full psychological examination to ensure that she may properly serve in the future. The court will then attach Laelia Aemilina to Celestine Luminesce, who will function as her handler, should Laelia be found fit to serve." The lord inquisitor took a deep breath, pausing.

"Adrianne Azure is found guilty of the psychological damaging and rape of Erwine Braune, as well as the turning of Lilith Meriade. She is to be stripped of her rank, and undergo a full psychological examination to ensure she is fit to serve. Due to extraneous circumstances, Adrianne Azure will be then be attached to Estelle Adramartis, in order to hunt down Ishna Kleimar. Once Ishna Kleimar is successfully disposed of, Adrianne shall be sentenced to a full trial to assess whether or not her mind should be rewritten."

"Any questions?" Juno demanded. No one said anything. "This ruling is effective immediately." She stepped away from the table. "Now that's over with, Erwine and Ayelen, report to the Psychatus as well, undergo examination. Once that's done, we can talk about Ishna."

The room was silent for a few seconds, before the girls quickly dispersed, heading off.

"Do you think they'll be found fit?" Arietta asked, as soon as all but the three commanders were gone.

"Oh yes, they all will be. Those are some of the most determined people I've ever seen. The moment Ishna's gone, they'll fall apart, but till then, they'll hold themselves together with whatever they have." Juno sighed, "The whole reason I sent them isn't to try and save them now, it's to try and save them later."

* * *

Ishna walked down a hall. It was dark. Not because it was night on the planet below. It was because it was a secluded corridor of a ship. She strode through the corridors, walking silently, like a ghost.

The crew, few in number, avoided her like the plague. Whenever they saw her, they immediately turned around and went the opposite direction. She laughed sometimes at them, how they scurried away like little rats.

Yet they had not been recently. For the past few minutes, they did not even notice her. It was because they could not notice her. Being invisible meant that there was absolutely no trace, not even sound.

The ship itself was silent, moving through the void slowly as to not attract attention. It would be found soon, but that would be when it entered the warp. And Ishna wanted it to be found then.

She came to a door. She opened it. Beyond was a small chamber. It looked like a bedroom for a few standard crewmen. No one was in it. There were no signs of it being occupied. Ishna shut the door, not locking it. She went to a wall. It was barren.

She faced the wall for a moment, before she was gone. She teleported to the other side of the thick wall. It was three meters. A normal search would find nothing. Even a clairvoyant would be hard pressed to locate the magically-sealed chamber, only accessed by Ishna due to her having synchronized with the counter force of the disruptively charged metals some fifty years ago, when she first made this chamber on the ship that she had used for so long.

The room she now stood in was somewhat medium sized. The wall stretched for four meters to the right and left, while the walls went forwards about six meters. The room was dark. Almost entirely dark, save for a few dim lights on the ceiling.

There was the outline of a figure against the opposite wall. Ishna smiled, yet she herself could not be seen in detail. "The message was delivered, Adrianne will be chasing after us as soon as we leave the system."

"The other girl?" the replying voice was faint, yet desperately begging for knowledge, "Is she truly what you're looking for?"

"She is," Ishna confirmed, "Erwine Braune…little does she know the scale of what she'll do. And don't say 'you're', _we're _in this together now."

"Right," replied the voice, clearly a girl, "Is everything, and I mean _everything_, going according to plan?"

"Yes," Ishna confirmed again, "Erwine's on the right track. As expected, Erwine's not quite yet ready to die, and she's not quite ready to strangle Adrianne either. From this point forwards, the two should have little trouble, till one meets a rather unfortunate end, and one is prepared to do anything to find the truth."

"She'll really die?" the girl asked.

"Of course, it is unfortunate, she's so very fun to play with. However, it's just a necessity," Ishna said. She sounded regretful.

"I trust you, Ishna," the voice said, "Don't let me down,"

Ishna smiled, before she snapped her fingers. The lights came on fully, illuminating a room neatly furnished, as if it was the room of a king. "I just felt like leaving you in the dark for a little bit, never hurts to remember what you've gained,"

"Don't play games with me," the voice replied, glaring back at Ishna.

"I don't play games with you," Ishna said, chuckling, "We play games with the rest of the universe." She bowed deeply and gracefully.

In the blink of an eye, Ishna was gone once again, leaving the girl trapped in the room. She stared at where Ishna had been, before she laughed a little.

A hundred different emotions were in the laugh, but foremost amongst them was triumph. Triumph after a long time of suffering.

* * *

Hadiens Contingency Plan: I took the time to draft up a plan like this for every world in my sector, some time ago, and it still applies. I calculate that with the current population, we could extract a massively high yield if we were to follow this plan. My best theorists looked at it, and they confirmed it. The plan will take even less time thanks to the witch and Ishna damaging the barriers with the warp. All the math is located below the main plan itself.

In the event that Hadiens, the capital world of this sector, suffers an attack massive enough to severely damage its output, then it should be properly converted to a grief farm. Even the most devastating of strikes should leave millions alive, which will form a spectacular basis for the farm.

The seeding operations can be done quickly, and it should only take about a week for things to take root…

-Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel's Hadiens Contingency Plan, as sent to Tempestus Four Toella Multi-Sector-Overwatch-Committee


	29. Recovery, New Desire

'Justice' is a term that takes on a different meaning when it comes to magical girls. Humans rarely take into account emotions, as well as any other baggage that comes alone, when one of their own commits a crime. They are judged by what they did, and why they did, nothing else.

With magical girls, everything is judged. Full examinations of the psyche, using telepathy to examine every square millimeter of the mind, just to ensure that the final verdict is the one that shall not only mete out a sufficient punishment, but also save the most resources. Emotions are more important than the actual actions, for magical girls.

As such, things like assault, theft, maybe even murder, are disregarded based on the emotions of one. If the act was committed with entirely malicious intentions, there shall be a trial, but if not, then not much will occur at all.

Some see this as a terrible practice, something to be condemned. Others see this as the most sensible way to act, given the rapidly changing mental state of any magical girl, as well as the harsh truths the world we live in confronts us with.

-Report on the Justice System in the Inquisition.

* * *

Erwine found herself hesitating outside the Psychatus's 'office'. It was just a series of rooms that Juno had set aside for the girls to work in, given the trauma that the witch had to have caused. Magical girls were top priority, but a few humans were waiting as well.

She and Adrianne were to be the first in to see them. They both now stood at the edge of the 'waiting' room, in reality the hallway outside the suites being used. "Good luck," Adrianne said. She paused for a moment, "And thank you, for what you tried to do in there, but…but I don't want to run from my guilt."

"I don't want every part of you to be erased and redone," Erwine said, "Right now, there's a risk of that."

"I don't intend to live past Ishna's death, so there isn't." Adrianne walked ahead, turning a corner into the room she was sent to. Erwine walked straight ahead into the suites, continuing straight before knocking on a door.

It was opened up, a cheerful looking girl on the other side. An unnaturally long, blonde ponytail went down her back, dressed in dark blue and green. "Erwine, correct?" she asked. Erwine nodded, instantly put off by the girl.

"Good, come in." Erwine stepped forwards, the other girl closing the door behind her. The silver-haired girl looked around the room, seeing a reclining chair in the center, with a smaller chair beside it. A small table was right next to the smaller chair, a box atop it. There wasn't anything else in the rather sizable room. It escaped the damage wrought the previous day.

"Have a seat, please," The girl gestured to the chair, and Erwine sat down in it. The girl strode over, standing in front of Erwine, apparently thinking. Erwine shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what was to come. "Your gem, please," Andrea held out her hand. Erwine paused, "In case something happens to sadden you." Erwine removed it from the crown and handed it to the girl.

It was placed inside the box, revealed to contain grief cubes. Erwine's breathing rose, as she started to wonder just what would be happening.

"Scared?" the girl asked. Erwine nodded. "Well, don't worry. All I have to do is ask you some questions, then look into your head to get a full examination of your psyche."

"If you can look into my head, why ask me anything?" Erwine wondered.

The girl sat down, nodding. "Good question. The answer's that while the raw information and emotions inside your head are important, the way your conscious mind is processing those emotions is what matters. That can't exactly be found, not easily at least, from a telepathic examination." She held out her hand, "Just call me Andrea," Erwine shook her hand.

"Are you ready?" Andrea asked. Erwine took a deep breath, then nodded. "Then let's begin." She held nothing in her hands, just sitting there with her palms clasped together in her lap. A bright smile was on her face. "Erwine, at the moment, could you describe the dominant emotion you are feeling. Take as much time as you need."

Erwine didn't reply for what felt like a long time. It was a little over thirty seconds before she spoke. "I'm not quite sad, but I'm not happy, not even content. Somewhere in between, I guess."

"Melancholy," Andrea replied, "That would be the term." She waited a second more, then said. "How do you feel towards Adrianne? Once again, the dominant emotion."

Erwine felt it was easier to answer this one. "I don't hate her, and I don't like her. I respect her determination, I respect what she did for me, and I sympathize with her."

Andrea looked interested. "Well, do you feel that you could properly serve with her?"

"I could," Erwine confirmed, "I don't have any bad intentions towards her."

"Good, good." Andrea took a deep breath. "Do you have any suicidal tendencies, any desire, any at all, to die?" Erwine was struck by the suddenness of the question.

But, she still knew what her answer was. "No, I do not." She said nothing more.

"Then what is your opinion on your wish?" Andrea wondered. "Do you think you made the right choice in making it? Would you change it, had you the option?

Erwine was not prepared for this question. She froze, eyes opening a little wider. She felt her teeth chattering as she shivered. Tears rolled down from her eyes. The little girl had to force herself to speak. Force herself to admit it. "I wouldn't have made it all…" She whispered.

Andrea stiffened. Her eyes instantly went to the soul gem amidst the grief cubes. It was darkening, but not fast enough to be dangerous. "Erwine, are you alright?"

"I haven't been alright since I made my contract," Erwine said, "I didn't even make it because I wanted to. Ishna…Ishna convinced me." Andrea narrowed her eyes.

"Excuse me?" She asked, "What did you say?"

"That's right…" Erwine could barely speak. "I never told anyone but Adrianne, did I?" She took a deep breath, trying to provide an explanation. "The days just before I contracted. Ishna kept appearing before me. I didn't know who she was, but she told me that millions of lives depended on me. She had an Inquisitorial Seal." Erwine bent over, crying out in grief, "I trusted her! She made so much sense, she made me feel better, so I trusted her!"

Andrea gasped. "You…she took that much of an interest in you." Instantly, she sent off to Juno, informing her of that immediately. "Erwine, did she contact you after that point?"

"In my dreams. She gave me the wings I have as well." Erwine wept, "Ishna saved me, she made me into who I am right now." The girl shook her head, "I'm nothing more than her creation."

The therapist looked to the side, eyes staring at Erwine's gem. She struggled to find words as she watched the thing darken even more. "I'm sorry, Erwine. I…do you think there is any quality within you right now that is a result of your own reflection?"

The little girl shook her head. "I'm just a doll, stuffed with what Adrianne and Ishna wanted to put in me. Just a puppet, being pulled by the strings they attached to me." Erwine cried harder, "The worst part is that I let it all happen. I didn't question it at all."

Andrea stood up, pacing around the room as she thought. "What is keeping you alive at the moment?"

"Dying would be running away from this truth. I don't want to run away anymore. And…I want to know why Ishna puts such an interest in me." Erwine took a deep breath, "Maybe…maybe it would be better for everyone if I did just die."

"No!" Andrea snapped, "That's not the way to think. Ishna's plan is not going to succeed. The entire Segmentum is mobilizing to chase her down. You don't have to do anything."

Erwine leaned back in the chair, eyes looking up. "But I do. I have to know. Erwine Braune the magical girl only exists because of Ishna. I need to know what reason validates my existence. I need to know the truth."

"You'll stop at nothing to get it?" Andrea asked.

Erwine nodded. "I will find her. I know this same desire destroyed Adrianne, but she doesn't have what I have. She didn't have what I have now." Erwine grinned, "I'll make it work."

Andrea sighed. "I don't think I can do anything more for you at the moment. You have determination, and if you won't deviate from your goal, then I can't help. Just to be sure, are you absolutely sure that you believe everything you are saying?"

Erwine nodded. "Yes. I believe it all." She was not lying.

"Then please continue to relax like that." Andrea reached into a pocket, retrieving a small case. She placed it beside the box of grief cubes, opening it. Inside was a small vial, filled with a clear blue fluid, and a syringe. Erwine tensed up. "Juno also asked me to give you the full complement of mental and physical enhancements, all magical girls have it. I'm sure you've already had some experience, but with the full set, you'll become far more effective."

She filled the syringe up. "This here is a sedative, to relax your body. I'm going to be putting a lot into your mind, which will change a lot in your body." Andrea approached, ensuring the syringe was good. "The human brain is more complex than any cogitator ever made, and with this, I'll be adding a huge amount of code. Ah, your sleeve please." Erwine rolled her sleeve up to her elbow.

Andrea pressed the syringe to Erwine's arm, injecting the fluid in. Erwine instantly relaxed, feeling her body go weak. "Just calm down. Think of something happy, it should be over quickly."

Erwine was happy to not think about anything for a little while. She closed her eyes.

* * *

The experience had brought back some unfortunate memories of pain to Erwine's head. Despite the sedative, and her best attempts at relaxation, she had to be awake, lest the procedure go wrong for some reason. Even now, her head was roaring, and her muscles ached.

_Understandable, given that my entire body was apparently changed by that. I do feel different in many ways. _Her mind was sharper than ever, she felt as though her breathing was different, and her stride was a bit faster than before. When Erwine regained full consciousness, the world was still spinning about.

Andrea placed a small piece of concrete in her hand, just a fragment. "Squeeze down," she ordered. Erwine did so, and gasped as the thing cracked under the pressure. It didn't shatter, but it was close to it. "Be careful," Andrea said, "Stay away from people for a few hours, figure out your strength. At least stay away from humans, other magical girls aren't a problem, but a single punch will crack a human skull." Erwine nodded, shaking at the thought of this.

"So…what else has changed?" She asked.

"Your mind is sharper, a lot faster than it was before. We don't have the time to go over splitting your consciousness, but it's not entirely necessary for you. You're more aware than you were before as well. You'll be faster, and your breathing will be one hundred percent efficient at all times. There's a lot, and I could spend a while listing it. For the moment, try to get used to your new state." Erwine stood up.

"Alright," she said. The girl paused, thinking for a few moments. Then she looked at Andrea. "Thank you," Erwine said quietly. She quickly headed for the door. Andrea didn't say a word.

Erwine was walking away from the little section handed over to the Psychatus personnel now. She was tired. Her eyes were heavy. Everything was so much clearer. But at the same time, she wasn't sure how she felt.

"Erwine?" A surprised voice asked. The silver-haired girl didn't recognize the voice. She looked to the side, seeing Wei coming down the hall towards her.

"What?" Erwine asked, her voice showing annoyance.

Wei was stopped in her tracks. "I see…" She whispered, "Sorry for intruding then." _I'm not wanted, _she thought, _no point in speaking to her if she'll just drive me away. _

"Wei…" Erwine took a few steps after her. The girl stopped, looking over her shoulder. "Sorry," the girl blushed, "I…I was just thinking."

The dark-haired girl turned around fully, rocking back and forth on her feet. "Do you want to talk?" She asked. Erwine nodded.

"I need someone who I know my feelings towards."

The two had found an empty room. A couple of chairs happened to be there. They sat, across from each other. Erwine bent over, an arm holding up her head. Wei frowned, feeling only pity for her. "So, I…I'm sorry about what happened, Erwine. Did…did she do it because she was angry at you, for what you and I did?" The shame wasn't missed.

"Don't blame yourself," Erwine said. "Adrianne did it for many other reasons." She shuddered, thinking of what happened.

"I know people have asked you this already…" Wei took a deep breath, "But…" She tried, but ultimately couldn't say it.

"What was it like? Did I really fight it?" Erwine chuckled. She sat up, head falling to the side. "Ah, that's right, isn't it? Well," She felt tears in her eyes. Suddenly, she realized she didn't know the answer.

The room fell into silence, Erwine staring right past Wei, at the wall behind her. Wei sat there, unable to take her eyes from the girl. The silence started to dive both of them crazy, until Erwine finally answered. "I didn't fight it, but I didn't embrace it. I let it occur, because I pitied Adrianne."

Wei nodded. "Should she have been found guilty?" Erwine shook her head.

"No." Erwine took a deep breath. She shifted her gaze, head going straight. Wei recoiled as Erwine caught her stare. "Do you still want to be as strong as I am, Wei?"

The girl nodded. "Strenght is what I want."

"Did you wish for it?" Erwine asked. Wei shook her head.

"Then why do you want it?"

"Because my experience so far has taught me that I'm not strong, but that I'll need strength if I'm going to survive. Therefore, I need to be stronger." Wei sighed, "Erwine, you're the best chance I have. You understand how I feel, but I don't understand you."

"You think that makes us friends?" Erwine scoffed.

"You said you know what you feel towards me." Wei shot back, "Is it friendship, or what else?"

Erwine paused, dwelling on it momentarily. "Friendship." She admitted, "That is what I feel." Her face lightened, as though an epiphany had hit her. "You're my friend…" She whispered. "That's what I've even lacking this entire time. Everyone I've spoken to since I entered this wider world has treated me like the novice I am. I'm equals with no one."

"But you," Erwine said, standing up. "You are my equal."

Wei nodded, standing up. "We…we can be friends, if you want."

Erwine blushed, embarrassed. Then, she shook her head. _I have to focus. I can't let anything distract me. _"Wei…" she said quietly, "I'm sorry, but friends are going to hold me back. Right now, I need to find out who I really am. You might not like the Erwine that I end becoming. So…I don't want to make any connections that I might destroy."

Erwine headed for the door, no intention of stopping. "Wouldn't that make you just like Adrianne?!" Wei cried. Erwine froze. It did make sense.

She opened the door anyways. "Maybe that's what I need to become. If it is, then I'll become it. Just to destroy Ishna." Wei ran after her, but stopped. She knew that tone. Somehow, she knew that Erwine was just lying to herself.

* * *

"Alcee," the girl who greeted Adrianne immediately said, extending her hand. Adrianne took it, feeling the strong grip of the black-haired girl. Dressed in yellow, she led Adrianne into the room beyond. It looked much like the room Erwine had encountered.

The former inquisitor couldn't help but get a sense of discomfort from the girl in the room with her. It sounded as though the girl either disliked her, or was afraid of her. Adrianne sat down, knowing how this would work. Alcee was hesitant to begin.

"What's wrong?" Adrianne wondered. "I won't hurt you, don't worry." Alcee chuckled at that.

"Scared is the last of the things I am." The therapist sat in her own chair, a smug look on her face. "Just answer one question for me, Adrianne. Are you capable of fighting?"

"I am," Adrianne answered confidently.

"Certainly? There is absolutely no doubt in your mind?" Adrianne sighed, confirming it again.

"Well, that's why you were sent to me." Alcee laughed, "To be perfectly honest, I don't see the need for any other examination, though I will conduct it just for the record. I happen to despise you, despite this being the first time I've met you. The things you've done are just terrible, but they tell the story of someone who won't give up."

"Do you want to help me or insult me?" Adrianne sounded emotionless.

"Do you want to be helped?" Alcee grinned. Adrianne couldn't help but concede to that.

She really did think before she answered, though. "Maybe. Maybe one day I'll find something worth living for. Until then, I don't want to be helped."

"There are plenty of things worth living for. Shouldn't just serving be something worth it?" Adrianne shook her head.

"I've never acted out of piety. I've just pretended to, to justify my own actions to myself." Adrianne shuddered as she breathed long and slow.

"Do you still believe you were in the right?"

"No. I know for a fact that I wasn't." Adrianne choked on her words a little. "I-I distinctly remember that before, I really did believe that everything I did was absolutely right. Now, I know that what I did was wrong, but…but I wouldn't take it bad had I the chance."

"Before what? What changed everything?"

"Erwine," Adrianne grinned, "Not the girl herself. If it weren't for us running into Ishna two nights ago, nothing would have changed. However, what I did to that girl…"

"Say it," Alcee demanded. Adrianne shook her head, not willing to let that fact settle in. The girl repeated herself, "Say it!"

"I raped her!" Adrianne shouted, "I did. She'll deny it, just to try and save me, but I did it." The girl broke down into tears. "I hurt that girl in a way that I can't take back. The only good thing is that she's still alive, unlike Lilith."

Alcee nodded. "Tell me about Lilith."

"She was a good girl." Adrianne whispered, "Had a lot of hope, wasn't scared at all. Lilith knew that things weren't going to be easy, but she would put up with what she had to. I pushed her too hard, and she pushed back. She was smart enough to see that I was just playing her." Adrianne sighed, "I pushed her so hard I ran her into the ground. She turned."

"You admit to killing her?"

"I did," Adrianne confirmed.

Alcee furrowed her brow. "How are you still alive?"

"Because I desire nothing more than to kill Ishna. She's not dead yet." Adrianne shrugged, "It's about as simple as that."

"You feel no other reason for living?" Adrianne nodded. "Nothing at all. Why, because of your guilt?" The girl nodded again.

"I realized that I've nothing but hurt people. I'm not like Erwine. I want to run away from the things that hurt me. It's why I hid the realization about soul gems and witches away behind all those layers of hatred, hoping that I could just forget." Adrianne's face was spread in a tiny grin, but she didn't look happy. "So when I accomplish my goal, I'll run away from my grief. The only way to do that is to die."

After thinking for a few seconds, Alcee shrugged. "I cannot help you, I'm sorry. The only thing for you to do is get over you guilt. I respect the fact that you refuse to, and that you take responsibility for your actions. I know Juno wants to ensure you'll stay alive, but I think only someone you trust could help you with that."

"You did help, though," Adrianne whispered.

"How?"

"You did help me sort something out. Erwine…I really did succeed with her. She's alive because she won't run away anymore. I'm going to die because I want to run away." Adrianne almost laughed, "I wish she'd stop trying to deny my guilt. She does care about me."

A minute passed, Alcee waiting for anything more. "Let me take a look at your mind," she said, "Relax, it'll only be a few minutes."

Adrianne nodded, leaning back.

* * *

The former inquisitor wasn't surprised to find Estelle waiting outside for her. "Come on," Estelle said, "Let's not talk here." She led Adrianne back through the ruined building, eventually making it to an empty room. Empty because it was half-destroyed, the room exposed to the air.

It was cold, the witch having brought about a sudden front of freezing air. The heavy storm had rained out all the moisture though, so there wasn't any snow. Just the brutal cold. Adrianne didn't mind it as she stood there, looking at Estelle.

"I suppose I answer to you now," She said neutrally. "How would you prefer to be addressed?"

"I can't tell if that's sarcastic or serious," Estelle said. Given Adrianne's blank look, she knew it to be the latter. "By the Goddess, just call my Estelle." She grabbed onto the girl's shoulders, Adrianne flinching. "What's wrong?"

"I want to destroy Ishna. You don't." Adrianne spat, "Juno knew exactly what she was doing, sticking me with you. She intends to sideline me, giving Erwine the chance. I don't want to deny her, but I want my own revenge."

Estelle dropped her hands, looking away. "I won't deny it, I'd like to do that." Adrianne smirked.

"There you go," She whispered.

"But I won't," Estelle stated. She suddenly stepped in, embracing Adrianne. She pulled the girl tight. "Adrianne, I've always wanted the best for you. Before, you went chasing after a dead girl who never did any of the things you claimed. Even then, I knew that if Ishna was real, from the sound of what she did, I knew that you'd never catch her unless she let you."

"It had been years since you last saw her, and you went chasing her, a person with powers far greater than anyone else's. I went chasing after you to save you from that desire, because I knew it was impossible, and that you would chase after it until you destroyed yourself." Estelle wept. "I now blame myself for not going with you then, I blame myself for not accompanying you. But…I've always wanted the best. And after what I saw of Ishna, now I know she's real, I know what to do.

"I'd like to just run away. Break orders, and flee to some corner of the galaxy with you. I'd force you into staying there with me if I had to. I wish I could just throw away everything else, and do that." Estelle took a deep breath, her eyes tearing up. "But Adrianne, I want the best for you. And if you won't be happy until Ishna is dead, then I'll follow you wherever you go, even if it's the end of the world itself, just so I do whatever I can to help you."

Adrianne fell apart in Estelle's arms. She relaxed into her, just sitting there as she cried. "Thank you…" Adrianne whispered, "Thank you for everything you ever did." She choked on her tears, taking a few seconds to speak again, "Even…even for chasing after me, you did it just because you care so much."

"It wasn't a problem at all." Estelle said, "It made my happy, and if I hadn't, I wouldn't be here for you now." She smiled, "We'll find her, we'll find her together. We'll make her pay."

Adrianne could only smile.

* * *

Ayelen found herself confronting an intimidating figure. The girl stared her down, arms crossed, expressionless. Ayelen sat uncomfortably in her chair, looking around the room, wishing for a way out that didn't involve talking.

Eventually, Alcee broke the quiet. "So, Ayelen, what's your opinion on Laelia, at the moment?"

"She was torn between her loyalty to Adrianne, and her compassion for me. She was forced to compromise. I hate her for what she did, but I understand why. That understanding only makes things worse, it makes it hard to hate." Ayelen shrugged.

"Must you hate, though?" Alcee wondered. "Have you tried letting it go, letting something else take its place?"

"I don't know what else would," Ayelen explained, "I…I was happy for so long. Really, I want to be happy again, but I don't really know what happiness is at this point. The happiness I had was just brought about by my mind being manipulated. Perhaps it was genuine…but…I just don't feel like I can trust my own mind anymore."

"Do you want to take a look at it for you?" Alcee wondered, "I can ensure there are no further mental blocks. If there are any, it shouldn't be hard to safely remove them. I don't expect it to be a perfect solution, but I think it will help alleviate some of your fears. You may not realize it, but there's probably underlying stress from that fear alone."

Ayelen nodded. "Please, do."

"So, the issue here is that you don't really know how to feel happy?"

"A rather melodramatic issue," Ayelen agreed, laughing. "I suppose it's more than I don't trust the world as I see it. I feel like there might just be more secrets, hidden about for me to find."

"I feel that only experience can help you there." Alcee said sadly, "However, I'll do what I can on the mental front. Just relax, and I'll take a look." Ayelen nodded, laying back and closing her eyes.

* * *

Ayelen had some of her fears assuaged. She strode through the halls of the building, moving slowly. _At least there's nothing else left hidden in my mind._ She was aware that not much was actually wrong with her. _Most of this is just my imagination, forcing this distrust onto me. I should be fine, right now. _

Ayelen came to a ruined side of the building, holes running through the walls. She stepped up to one of them, then leapt out. The brown-haired girl landed on a nearby building. She'd seen something there.

A dark-haired girl stood there, staring out at the city. She flinched at the sound of Ayelen landing. "Justini-huh?" Sanae wondered, seeing Ayelen standing there. "Ah, Ayelen, correct." She nodded her head, "Nice to meet you."

Ayelen slowly walked towards her. "Hello," she said.

"Do you want to speak about something?" Sanae asked. Ayelen stopped, a few from the girl.

"Well…" she said, "What are you doing out here, all alone?"

"Just thinking," Sanae politely replied. "Is there a problem? Why did you come out here?"

"I don't know," Ayelen said. Then she shook her ehad. "Well, I suppose I saw you out here. Wanted to talk to you, for some reason."

"Why's that?" Sanae asked.

"You never seem happy. You never really seem to make light of anything in the world. Why's that?" Ayelen wondered.

"You've only seen me a few times," Sanae pointed out, "And not too much, but I'll answer. It's merely because I don't have much happiness to think about."

"Neither do I." Ayelen chuckled. She shrugged, "Maybe we have something in common?" Sanae glared at her. Ayelen nodded. "I get it, I'll go."

"I never said go. Apologies for my impoliteness. But, Ayelen," Sanae narrowed her eyes, "What is your goal?"

"I don't have one." Ayelen sighed, "The therapist I just spoke to told me I should experience the world, to prove to myself that everything will be alright. I figured I should try to listen to her."

"Prove everything will be alright?"

"I don't trust the world, perhaps you've heard of what happened to me." Sanae nodded, Estelle had told her.

"Well, I think I'm a trustworthy person. Talk to me." Sanae practically ordered her.

* * *

Staring down from a window in the building Ayelen just left, Justinia watched the two girls speak. She sat in a chair beside the window, head turned to the side. Sechylia sat in her lap, looking to the side as well. "So why'd you set those two up again?" she asked the red-haired girl.

"Nothing big. Just want to make sure those two are happy." Justinia said. "And they will be, I'm sure of it.

* * *

Laelia took a deep breath, already tired of the Psychatus girl. She didn't dare directly think too much, lest the girl already be reading her mind. She sat in the chair, hoping to move quickly. She didn't want to be cheered up.

"So, from what your friend Celestine told me," _Celestine is talking to them?! _"You're suffering from a case of depression. Related to the guilt you feel because of what you did to Ayelen, correct?" Laelia nodded, grudgingly. "Why is it you feel depressed?"

"I wouldn't call it depression. I just don't want to be happy. For years, I took Ayelen's real happiness from her, replacing it with a facsimile. I don't deserve happiness."

"So, depression," Andrea said. "Any reason why you can't just let it go? The girl seems to be doing fine."

"It's the fact that I did it." Laelia said. "And…really, I'm not sure where my loyalties lie. I care about Ayelen, but I also want to help Adrianne. I was faced with the same dilemma years ago, and I choose my loyalty over my compassion."

"But ultimately, what action led to you feeling this way?" the therapist wondered.

"Ayelen. Seeing Ayelen devastated by what I did." Laelia took a deep breath, "It's not a pretty sight."

"But you have things worth living for, right?"

"Yes. I intend to continue helping Ayelen and Adrianne as best I can." Laelia explained, "To help anyone who needs it, hopefully without sacrificing what little morals I have left."

"You're fit for combat?" Laelia nodded. "Certain?" Laelia nodded again.

"Well then, I don't think there's much more for me to do besides give you a telepathic check. If you could wait a moment, and I'll get started." Laelia leaned back.

* * *

"More than anything else, find someone who will cheer you up. Or anything, maybe not a person. Just find a reason to feel happy, try smiling." That is what Laelia had been sent out with.

She fully expected Celestine to be waiting there. The blonde glared at the girl with purple hair, "What do you want me to do, now that you're basically in charge of me?" Laelia asked.

"Come with me." Celestine grabbed her hand. Laelia sighed, letting herself get dragged along by the girl. "I'm tired of letting you run away. Estelle was able to handle chasing after Adrianne, but you're just denying your own feelings."

Laelia almost laughed at the idea. "Don't laugh at me." The girl in purple spat. This shut Laelia up. They came to a room, which Celestine opened. She yanked Laelia inside, before locking the door behind them.

It was actually a rather fancy bedroom suite. "Juno considers you to be valuable, so she's given me time and space to handle you." Celestine explained. She walked towards the girl, grabbing her by the collar. They stared each other down.

Celestine tightened her grip, curling her hand slowly. Then she pushed Laelia backwards suddenly, before raising her right leg and planting her foot in the girl's stomach. She flew across the room, landing on the bed hard enough to send her bouncing against the wall, before she tumbled back onto the mattress.

Celestine stormed across the room, leapt on the bed, grabbing Laelia's arm as she tried to raise it. Before the girl could react any further, she suddenly pressed her lips against Laelia's. Slowly, she grabbed the girl's collar again, pulling her close. "What exactly is your intention?" Laelia said, face glowing red.

"Guess," Celestine said, pushing her down, "I told, I'm done with this. It's been years and years of us flirting with each other, both afraid to make a move. Adrianne and Estelle have made up, so there's no point in us opposing each other anymore."

Laelia blushed profusely, squirming uncomfortably. "Don't tell me you don't want this, Laelia." Celestine grinned, holding her down.

It was certainly a good thing that Juno had given her time and space.

* * *

The sun was setting. It was dark in the room, only a few lamps on the circular table illuminating the space. Juno sat back in one chair, Arietta and Reitia in others. Two other chairs held Alcee and Andrea. "So," Juno asked, "Are they all capable?"

Andrea nodded. "Erwine and Laelia are. Erwine is worse off, suffering from a large number of issues, but I think she should work through it once Ishna is dead. Laelia is being handled by Celestine, from what I understand." Juno nodded.

"Yes, Celestine did tell me she'd take care of it." Juno chuckled. "Should have put cameras in that room, probably quite the sight." The other girls laughed. "Anyways, Alcee, what about Ayelen and Adrianne?"

"Ayelen will be fine. She just needs a bit of time to overcome her problems, just reconnecting with the world. Adrianne, however, fully intends to die once Ishna is dead. I've gotten word from Estelle that she intends to do everything in her power to change that, and I hope it'll work." Juno nodded once more.

"Thank you for that, you two are dismissed." It would have been easy for them to report telepathically, and the full reports would be in that form, but Juno preferred to hear things through natural mouths. The two girls left the room.

The lord inquisitor took a deep breath. "Good. Tomorrow morning, we'll call them all in. Try to pool our knowledge on Ishna, find out where she's going. If we manage to find out where, then I and the SEO will join them."

"You certain of that?" Arietta asked.

"Certain," Juno confirmed. Then, she looked around, clearly contemplating a difficult topic. "We need to figure out what to do with Hadiens."

The other girls agreed. "Crime rates are already picking up across the planet. The warp is having an influence. The Arbites is also reporting rumors of cults forming, even possible possessions. We might have lost this one."

Juno nodded. She felt a bit strange, hands coming to her eyes. "At the moment, our best option…" She paused, giving herself time to breath, to calm herself. "With this world's population, and the weakened barriers between the warp and the materium, conversion to a grief farm would be the most efficient option."

"From here," She continued, "The population will only keep dropping. The output of the world will only continue to decrease. Eventually, it'll be useless, a detriment. If we kill it now, then it'll be massively beneficial."

There was silence for a few seconds. "Should I send the papers to MSOC?" Arietta wondered. Juno shook her head.

"I already did."

Reitia sighed, "For the best, right?"

Juno confirmed that. "It's the best choice we have. Besides, things are picking up in Cadia once again. I fully expect the Grand Council to put out a call for a few more farms to meet the demand of another Black Crusade. If we sacrifice this world, we should have the output of two for a while, enough to save another planet out there."

The others agreed. "I hate doing this," Juno said, brushing away tears. No one said anything more. They all knew the same pain of having to give up on those one had to protect.

"The Goddess Protects," Juno whispered. She was echoed by the other two.

* * *

The sun had risen once again over the city. The windows let in the faint rays, as they fell over those gathered in the room. A large group was present, Estelle and her girls, Adrianne, and those who had once served her. Juno and Arietta were both there as well.

"Immediately after Ishna left, we started scanning as best we could for any warp jumps out of the system. Astroclairvoyants were able to pick something up later in the day. A single ship left the system, against the quarantine orders enforced by Juno." Arietta explained. She was telepathically communicating to them all, given the lack of any other way with the limited resources they had, showing them the coordinates, the exact point of departure.

"They calculated her trajectory, and we've found a set of possible coordinates. Based on the most recent starcharts, there are ten possible systems that she could be headed towards. Three of those systems are inhabited, the rest are not." Arietta began displaying the information for each of the planets in their minds.

She paused for a few moments. "Our current objective is to figure out where Ishna could have gone. In about two weeks, the sector is going to be crawling with Inquisitors, Mage Knights, even Grey Knight detachments. We have to at least get an idea of where Ishna might be going, so that she can be caught."

Estelle nudged Adrianne, a little. The girl flinched, but stepped forwards, taking a deep breath. She sent out the message Ishna had given her. "I received this from Ishna, two days ago. That voice is certainly that of Nadine's."

The other girls all looked surprised. Arietta quickly went over the message. "Fires set now…" Arietta thought. She ran a search for anything related to fire, checking it with the possible coordinates. "Vasillica!" she cried, "Over twenty years ago, the planet suffered a catastrophic series of volcanic eruptions, scorching life from the surface. That's where she's headed!"

The room went silent, Arietta looked around. Her eyes fell on Juno. "But you won't let the others get her, will you?" She asked. The lord inquisitor nodded.

"She doomed this planet, she killed girls under my command. I'm not giving up till she's gone." Juno explained. She looked at the gathered girls, including the four from her own group. "We will set out immediately for Vasillica." Her eyes went to Adrianne. "We can only get one ship at a time out of the system, the warp is still unsteady. We'll take your ship."

"Be ready in thirty minutes," Juno called, "We are leaving as soon as possible. I will take command." She looked at Arietta. "You have command here while I'm gone. Bunker down, try to organize defenses."

She walked for the door. "Adrianne, I understand things must have been hard for you. But you have my help, we won't let her escape."

Most of the group was already in the hangar. And by hangar, the true meaning is that it was a large room with a tall wall, which had been knocked down to allow craft to conveniently land there.

The starscraper had been converted into a sort of command center for the Inquisition, due to the witch teleporting almost on top of the building it had previously occupied. The large room, previously a banquet hall, was filled with girls and ships, as well as humans from the Administratum, Arbites, Ecclesiarchy, Guard, and Navy, and any other major group that felt it needed to be represented.

Little time was given to them, as larger problems were on hand than the housing of all the high-ranking officials. The magical girls were more focused on dealing with the millions displaced down in the city below, despite the overall focus on the problem of Ishna and what might be coming next.

Celestine walked out from the group of eleven, which also contained the Special Elemental Operations squad, as it was so called. Erwine had actually wondered if it was the real name of the four, but apparently it was. Antoinette was walking out of the group with Celestine, and the two approached the four.

Antoinette possibly stood out the most of the SEO, with strangely pale hair tied in two long tails to either side of her head. It was not like Ayelen's twin tails, as the hair was only tied at top, rather than braided throughout the length. It was strange seeing her with such hair, but it could be chalked down to personal modification of her hair coloring via magic. It was not likely that she had pale hair from birth, as she was not albino. Not even close.

She had bright blue eyes, with somewhat tanned skin, which seemed like something of a fashion choice as well. Over this skin, she wore a dark violet scarf, while a single piece dark blue dress went down to her knees. The dress was lined with blue ribbons down the middle, with frills at the edges of the dress as well as the wider sleeves. The sleeves were strangely wide, keeping the make and appearance of the rest of the dress, but taking on a different influence in their width and looseness. The girl's legs were covered by white stockings going up past her knees, while high-heels adorned her feet.

"I'm coming with now," Juno explained, before looking behind herself, "We should have our final member coming soon."

"Final member?" Adrianne had been ready to walk onto the waiting craft and leave.

"Yes," Juno said, "Melody, a navigator. I've called in another one."

"We're going to run double navigators?" Antoinette asked, interested.

"I told you, we have Ishna. We just need to get there before she can get ready for us or leave. So we're taking the risk, and pushing the ships through the warp as fast as possible," Juno explained.

"She should be here any minute," Juno said, still with her head turned.

Antoinette nodded, before she turned around to look at the other members of her own unit. "Get over here," she called, "You all should at least know each other's names,"

The three girls approached. The pyromancer led the way, a tan china dress covering her body while detached sleeves of the same hue covering her forearms. She wore pants under the dress, with a traditional Chinese coat over her torso. Her dark hair went down to the middle of her back, and was not done in any way. "Ming Hwan-Mei," she said, holding out her hand. It was shaken, and she stepped back to allow her comrades to move forwards.

The electromancer was next. Her blonde hair went down to the backs of her knees, while a long navy blue cape went down just as far. She wore dark blue leggings under a short white skirt. A blue coat covered her torso, with golden buttons running up and down it. The high collar of the coat covered much of her neck, while her hands were covered by gloves at the moment, which she seemingly took off while in battle. "Skelia Ingskris," she said, shaking the hands of the two inquisitors. Her accent was somewhat Fenrisian, and Adrianne would not be surprised if the girl was somehow connected to the planet and its inhabitants, possibly related by at least one or two generations.

Then the cryomancer came. Her scarlet fur coat reached down almost to her ankles, while a short red dress, completely unornamented, covered halfway down her thighs. It had a high collar, covering her neck and chest, but there was a small opening in the chest area, which Adrianne truly did wonder about the purpose of. The coat's sleeves covered her arms, and she wore black leggings under a pair of dark boots. "Rozenn Anna," she said, her High Gothic perfect and in the accent of a high noble.

The three then organized themselves behind Antoinette as the navigator walked in, escorted by a pair of other magical girls. They were waved aside as they approached, and they scurried off to complete the other tasks they had to fulfill.

Melody approached. She was short, like Victoria, but had a smile on her face, unlike the astrotelepath's grim demeanor. There was something strange about her eyes, but Adrianne had gotten used to seeing that look in the eyes of people like Melody. Their job was one of the hardest in the Imperium.

"Ready?" Juno asked as the girl approached. The eyes of Melody visibly brightened up as she saw Juno, as if she was meeting an old friend.

"Yes," she said, "I'm ready,"

Juno nodded, before waving towards the shuttle, "Shall we go?" she asked Adrianne.

The inquisitor took a moment to reply, forgetting she was in charge, she said as such, then said, "Yes, let's go,"

The fifteen magical girls then all got into the single shuttle craft, which could accommodate them all, before it took off towards the sky above.

Bolton had been sitting in his command chair, wondering when he would finally get a clear picture of what had occurred on the planet below. He knew that there had been a grand witch, but everything else was quite obscure. No one was telling him anything, despite his continued efforts to contact someone on the surface who knew something.

Then he had received a message from the ground. The message was actually telepathic and directed to Victoria, who relayed its contents to Bolton. The message told the rogue trader to prepare to receive a shuttle craft that would be carrying a force that he would have to convey.

"How many?!" Bolton shouted at the little girl who stood next to his chair.

"Fifteen," Victoria repeated, "but one's a navigator, so you don't need to worry much about her."

"A navigator?!" Bolton shouted, "Are they trying to replace Aria?"

_Wait, I'm being replaced?! _A voice screamed in Victoria's head, _what did I do wrong?! I'm not that old! Don't retire me! _

Victoria sighed, "We're going to use two navigators. They've tracked Ishna down, and are bringing along a strong force to finish this. We need to move fast, so two navigators will be used."

"That's highly dangerous," Bolton replied, worry obvious on his face. Navigators stared into the warp. That was dangerous. Despite the protective force of their containment capsules they traveled in while navigating, the danger was there. Have two navigators, and the speed would generally be doubled. Have two navigators, and the chance of a navigator getting possessed was twice as high.

"Ishna killed Airi," Victoria said. She was about to say more, but she held herself back, only sending a message to Aria.

_When do we leave?! _The navigator cried back.

Bolton's worry disappeared from his face, replaced by anger, "When do we leave?"

* * *

Adrianne stepped into the room. The two hadn't seen each other since the girl was an inquisitor. Bolton sat in his usual spot in his room. Estelle waited outside. The two were entirely alone. Adrianne had a melancholy expression, trapped between hope and despair.

Bolton gasped as he saw her. "A-Adrianne…" he said, amazed. "By the Goddess, what happened?!" He stood up from his chair, reaching out for her. She stopped in her tracks, not changing the look on her face.

Her tone perfectly reflected that look. "The truth happened to me, Bolton." Tears trickled down her cheeks, "And…I'm sorry."

Estelle was waiting expectantly for the girl to emerge. She stopped her right as she came out, the door already closed. "Listen, are you going to be alright?" She asked immediately. Adrianne nodded.

"I'll be fine, Estelle. Don't worry about me." Adrianne turned, walking down the hallway. Estelle walked alongside her, not going to let her go. "Are you really going to follow me everywhere?"

"I just…want to be with you. Call it paranoia, call it distrust." The inquisitor sighed, "But Adrianne, all those years ago, you disappeared in the space of a night. While I found you quickly, it scared me enough so that I don't want to let you go again."

Adrianne stopped. Her hands came up to her face, quickly brushing away the moisture she suddenly found there. "You…" She couldn't even complete a sentence. Estelle laid a hand on her shoulder, looking into Adrianne's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I want to die when this is all over…but…I keep being shown reasons to live." Adrianne muttered, collapsing into Estelle's grip.

"Sorry for what?" Bolton had asked, as Adrianne fell into her usual chair.

"Sorry for dragging you along on this whole pointless endeavor of mine." Adrianne explained, "Sorry for making you watch as I destroyed myself and those around me, all for the sake of revenge against someone you never really believed in." She looked up at Bolton. "You never did believe me about her, did you?"

The trader opened his mouth, about to speak. "Don't deny it. I won't blame you. I did sound pretty crazy," Adrianne laughed. "But…but you stayed, and that's what matters. Why did you spend so much time, waste so much of the short life of a human being on me?"

The man rocked back and forth on his feet, before he turned around. "I saw a little girl," he said, unable to face Adrianne. "I saw a little girl who was lost and lonely. She have me a helping hand, rescuing me from an unfair fate. I was in your debt, but even then, I wouldn't have kept helping you if it weren't for the fact that…that I just felt bad for you."

He turned around again, standing straight. "I thought I had a hard life, but then I looked at you, and I saw that you'd lost everything, but you were better off than I was. The least I could do was try to help you, do everything I could to make your life as easy as possible."

Adrianne nodded. She didn't like crying. _But the past few days, I've cried more than any other time in the past twenty years. _She looked around, that same melancholic expression still there. "Bolton…I don't think I can describe how much I thank you."

Shakily, she stood up. "Please, help me this one last time. If you never do anything for me ever again, just help me finish this." She looked the man in the eyes, letting the tears out. "I promise you, I'll end it soon. It'll be all over."

"Even when it's over," Bolton swore, "I won't just pack up and leave." He didn't have time to say anything more before Adrianne had run out the door, wiping the tears from her eyes.

* * *

Estelle took a deep breath, placing the girl in her bed. She pulled the sheets up over Adrianne's body, whispering, "Sleep well, I'll be back soon." The girl nodded, mumbling a similar reply.

The inquisitor strode away, waiting for a few moments, before she exited the dark room. Laelia and Celestine were waiting for her, as she had requested. She nodded to both of them. "Is she alright?" Laelia asked.

"She is," Estelle explained, "A bit sad, but she'll sleep well, I imagine."

"You wanted to speak to us?" Celestine asked, eager to steer the conversation away from Adrianne.

"Yes, just walk with me." Estelle said. "We need to talk." Laelia and Celestine followed, one girl to either side of her. "About what to do once this is done."

"Adrianne's been stripped of her rank, and since you're in charge of her, and everyone she used to command is here, I imagine we just transfer to you." Laelia then asked, "What might be wrong with that?"

"The possibility that Adrianne's entire personality might be stripped away," Celestine answered, "If she's found guilty as Juno said." Estelle shook her head.

"That'll be an uphill battle, so unless the council investigating her has someone who really doesn't like her on there, it should be alright. Erwine will have convinced herself by then that everything that happened was entirely consensual or Ishna's fault, and that she wasn't damaged at all. That drops the biggest charge there." Estelle explained.

"I've already taken responsibility for Ayelen, so all that leaves is Lilith." Laelia said. "We can't lie about her, they can look into our heads. However, it was a long time ago, and if Adrianne can plead insane, then she should get away."

"Indeed," Estelle said, "I won't be able to defend her, due to conflict of interest, but I can act as a witness. I won't let them hurt her."

"So assuming that's good," Celestine said, "Will we just merge together officially once this is done?"

"Yes. Juno will easily approve it, and I'll take command of you," She looked at Laelia, "Ayelen, Erwine, and Adrianne."

"Assuming that girl lives long enough," Laelia said.

"That's the problem." Estelle agreed, "At this point, she's on track to giving up on that idea, but I hope that she does before this ends, or she will let herself die, and if that fails…she'll end herself." The inquisitor sounded sad, stopping in her tracks.

"Well, that's worked out. The two of you are doing fine?" The girls nodded.

"Yes, we resolved things," Celestine chuckled. Laelia blushed at that, but said nothing. Estelle just didn't ask.

"Alright. Keep an eye on Ayelen, make sure she's doing fine. I should get back to Adriane." Estelle began to retrace her steps. "And Celestine, where's Justinia?"

"I'm not sure, I think she was going to talk to Sanae." Celestine replied, watching the inquisitor walk away.

"You ought to just tell her," Justinia shrugged. "Hiding the truth from Ayelen won't make it any easier to talk to her."

"But she's the type to pester people." Sanae muttered, "If I do something, then I might have to shut her up. I don't want us to get into a fight, thus disrupting the entire dynamic of this group, just so that I can get feelings off my back."

The red-haired girl sighed. "You won't open up to anyone. I think you need someone new. Besides, Ayelen seems to have really struck a chord."

Sanae glared at her, but didn't disagree. "Fine, I'll try to do it, but when it fails, you better not be making any excuses."

"Ultimately, you're the one who has the choice on how to react," Justinia explained, as the girl strode away from her, down the hall, "Don't blame anyone but yourself when you get angry."

Ayelen sat alone in the small observation deck. There was a small bench in there, amongst other furnishings. It was barely an entire deck, just a tiny space at the top of the ship. She, like Laelia, liked being alone here. Laelia liked it because she as guaranteed privacy.

Ayelen liked it because she loved the stars. Yet a great metal barrier now sat between her and the vast speckled canvas that she so greatly desired. Of course, that canvas was replaced at the moment by something more sinister, yet somehow more wonderful.

The doors opened, and Ayelen wondered who was coming to see her. The bench faced away from the doors, and the young girl did not feel like turning.

The person who had recently entered came up next to her. She turned her head, almost certain that it was indeed Laelia. Yet it was not. Sanae stood there, a question gently slipping off her lips as Ayelen turned her head. "May I sit here?"

Her voice was strangely soothing. It was enough to make Ayelen shiver, but not in a bad way. It was not disturbing or creepy. It was like a person talking at the tone of a whisper, but loud enough for it to be heard.

Ayelen nodded, moving aside a little to allow the girl to sit. Sanae occupied the area on the bench to the right of Ayelen. She sat with her legs crossed, and her head titled up like Ayelen's was. She had two swords at her belt. She took the scabbards off and placed them on her crossed legs.

"Why do you come here?" she asked.

"I like looking at the stars," Ayelen said, as if the metal covering over the place was not there.

"Then why are you here now?"

"Because I wanted some quiet," Ayelen replied.

"I know you did want to talk more," Sanae said, a neutral expression on her face as her soothing tone enticed Ayelen to answering every question and listening to every word, "I did enjoy our conversation on Hadiens, but why sit here, staring up at the wall that exists only to save you?"

"I like looking up and imagining what it's like out there," Ayelen admitted, "Thinking about what lies beyond that metal wall, what kinds of things can truly drive a mind insane."

"I think that is a question you do not want the answer to." Ayelen had thought the girl would laugh at her, but there was no hint of Sanae taking pleasure from Ayelen's foolish curiosity.

"I just like to wonder what it really looks like, wonder if I could just see it for a single second," Ayelen said, the edges of her lips spreading out as she brightly smiled. "I guess it's just natural human curiosity…"

"Would you call it foolish?" Sanae wondered.

"I don't know," Ayelen replied. She was beginning to be afraid. Her tone had not been a positive one. And for an observant girl like Sanae, that could only indicate the presence of a hidden secret.

"The warp interests me…because it's so different, an entire other universe. One that is traversed thousands of times every day across the galaxy. And yet none ever see what it truly looks like," Ayelen's tone was dropping lower and lower, into more negative territory.

Ayelen looked at the swords on Sanae's lap. "Do you like those swords a lot?" she wondered.

"They're single summon, based off of the ones I still have from my father as a parting gift, so yes, I do take a liking to them." Sanae explained.

"Are you particularly attached to them?"

Sanae hesitated. She did not seem to want to really reply. But she did so anyways, if only out of courtesy, "I think that they do keep me calm, having them with me at all times. But I don't obsess over them. Although…they mean a lot to me."

Ayelen did not pry any further, seeing that she was only disturbing Sanae. That knowledge did not make her any happier, even though the lines of questioning had been only intended to distract her from her other thoughts.

"May I ask you a question?" Ayelen wondered.

Ayelen nodded. She did not think it could be too bad. Sanae knew nothing about the deeper events which had been going on. There was no way she could specifically aim for such things and hit them right on target.

"Is something wrong? If you don't mind me asking, that is? You're always quiet, sometimes I get the feeling you're hiding something." Ayelen said. She was concerned for Sanae.

Sanae froze. Right in front of her eyes, the dagger had been removed from a hidden pocket, and unsheathed slowly. The blade had been made sure to be sharp, before it had been slid so effortlessly and silently in between her ribs.

The dagger was still there, the blade preventing much from flowing out. There was only pain. Pain could be dealt with. Pain could be hidden below layers of well-trained defenses. Yet the blade was about to be removed from her body.

Then the blood would truly flow.

"Yes, you could say that something is wrong with me." No longer did Ayelen look up at the ceiling. She now looked down at the ground desperately wishing that she could just run away. That would not look good. That would not make her happy.

"I'm sorry," Ayelen said. Shame was clear in her voice. She had embarrassed herself. "I didn't mean to intrude." Sanae had hidden the pain, beneath defenses that not even one like Laelia could penetrate. Yet Ayelen had penetrated them like they were simple flesh, cut apart by her blades.

Ayelen looked at the girl, "Do you need me to just listen?"

Sanae shook her head, "I could tell you. In fact, I think I ought to." She thought, mind racing, "Can you keep a secret?"

"I can," Ayelen confirmed.

"Then let me talk about my life first, it'd be better if you knew everything about me."

"My name is Sanae Tanaka, born in M31.027 on the planet of Edoshiro to the noble family Tanaka. My father is a general in the 243rd Edoshiro Swordsman of the Imperial Guard. I was intended to become a magical girl since birth, and even though he was on campaign when I left, he had left me his blades to take with me. I had an older brother who looked down upon and was jealous of me, an older sister who I was good friends with, and a younger brother who was quite a fan. He was only nine when I left, and was quite sad to see me go. My mother was not happy, but she understood that it was my duty, and was proud of me for making my wish so quickly. I am a fan of literature, and have read quite a few plays. Not gotten a chance to see many, but I am a particular fan of operas. I sometimes enjoy writing poetry. Literature is an interesting case. I enjoy older novels more than newer ones, specifically those that have been recovered from older times. I love art, any kind really, but I can be very, incredibly picky. There are many types of music I enjoy, but some do tend to upset me greatly. I see myself as a calm, respectful person who follows orders to the letter and manages to maintain a cool head in almost any situation."

Sanae sighed, "I'm no stranger anymore."

"You don't have to do that," Ayelen said with a shake of her head." But please, tell me everything you wish to tell me," she said, "I swear on my life that I shall tell no one else, ever."

"I did not make my contract with the wish I had originally thought of." Sanae started softly. "I made it to bring that older sister back to life." She took a deep breath, obviously remembering some painful things, "You may think that is honorable and just, but…life isn't something a wish should be spent on, especially not another's."

"You're scared of the repercussion?" Ayelen asked. Sanae nodded.

"There's that. The worst part is that she wouldn't have died if…" Sanae sat up straight, turning her head towards Ayelen. "If I hadn't killed her." Ayelen gasped.

The two sat frozen in silence for a few moments, before Sanae forced out more words. "I loved someone back home. Neither of us knew it, but my sister loved that same person. Jealousy has a strong effect on the heart. When I saw them together, I killed her."

"I ran, wishing her back soon afterwards." Sanae cried, "But…but I know that no matter how much I do in this world, ultimately the universe will retaliate for my crime."

"Sanae…" Ayelen whispered, suddenly feeling just as sad as the girl. The dark-haired girl stood up.

"I don't want to talk to you anymore?"

"Why not?"

"I don't want to hurt you," Sanae explained. "I'm afraid that I just might."

"W-what?!" Ayelen cried, leaping up and running after her, the girl halfway to the elevator.

"Don't follow me." Sanae snapped.

"You're going to forget everything we did on Hadiens? You're just going to throw it away?!" The girl in green cried, "Don't be like this!"

"I've already hurt people close to me-"

"You wished her back!"

"I have no more miracles to spare!" Sanae retorted, "In our lives, we've only one miracle. If we waste that, then we've nothing else."

"You didn't get what you wanted?" Ayelen realized, "You wasted the wish on your sister, but you wanted something else, didn't you?" Sanae gritted her teeth.

"It's true," She admitted.

"Then why deny it?! Why run away?"

"You know what would happen if I were to turn back on my wish." Sanae said. "You know full well." Ayelen was forced to admit she did.

"What would you have wished for?"

Sanae didn't know how to reply at first. She took a deep breath, thinking for a few seconds. "I'd have wished for my mother to recover. She was terminally ill, it was devastating all of us." She looked at Ayelen, obviously sad, "I know you want to help me fulfill that wish, but she's already dead. There's nothing we can do. If my selfishness hadn't killed my sister, my mother would be alive right now."

"Don't give up because you feel guilty," Ayelen insisted, "Laelia…Laelia feels so guilty, but she won't stop trying to make the world a better place."

"I'm not Laelia." Sanae said.

"Then be better than her. Overcome that guilt, become better than it." Ayelen didn't know where her words came from. But they were there.

Sanae paused. She thought for a few moments. "I'll try." She finished walking to the elevator. "Just leave me alone right now.' She exited.

Ayelen was left standing alone. _I'll make her happy, _Ayelen thought, _maybe even find out what it means to be happy in the process._

* * *

Wei was sitting in the cafeteria of the ship. Specifically, it was the officer's mess. Which meant that she could enter, being a magical girl. The small space was quite fancy, but she paid it little mind. She just ate the food she had, not really thinking about much.

She was still feeling the effects of the humiliation she had received back on Hadiens. She had no clue why Justinia had to be so cruel to her of all people. She had not been treated that way before. She had just been ignored.

Then the door opened, and as she looked up, she knew immediately that she was not being ignored anymore. Justinia was purposefully striding forwards, directly towards Wei's table. Before Wei could stand, Justinia shouted, "Sit down!" Wei did not want to mess with the girl.

The red-haired woman sat down opposite Wei, clasping her hands together as she placed them on the table. She gave Wei something of a death glare, burrowing her eyes into the soft heart across from her.

"What is it?" Wei asked, trembling in fright.

"I just want to talk," Justinia answered.

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Wei asked, body shaking harder and harder.

Justinia looked down, a hint of shame displaying itself on her face for a split second. "I wanted to apologize," she said, lips creasing as they spread out, "I really should not have been so cruel to you, back there on Hadiens. You're only six months old. I guess…I hate to say this, but Erwine just changed my view about what it was like to be so young."

"You compare me to Erwine?" Wei asked, more shocked than pleased by the apology and following words.

"She's younger than you, but she's been through far more. My judgment was clouded, and I would like to apologize for that."

Wei almost lashed out in anger, but she knew that would not get her anywhere with one such as Wei. "I suppose I looked a bit angry when I came in here because I knew I would have to tell the truth, and that I would get this reaction."

Wei had shown little sign of anger. Only her creased eyebrows and slightly shifted posture gave any indication that she cared. "You're angry because I judged you against Erwine. I can at least feel the jealousy, the anger. In a few seconds, you might truly lash out. I was just angry at myself, I knew that I never should have started this whole issue."

"You're referring to me as an issue," Wei pointed out, staring with wide eyes at Justinia, "You apologized, only to insult me again. Do you not care? Should I never have joined?!"

"You should not have," Justinia said with a shake of her head, "You had a dream of getting off the planet you had grown up on. And apparently, the Inquisition was the only way to satisfy that dream. You could have just stayed, joined the mage knights, or left to go to some other place in the galaxy if you stayed in the local guard long enough."

"You had a foolish kind of ambition, not truly understanding what it means to fight," Justinia explained, before she went silent waiting for Wei's angered reply.

"You don't care about me!" Wei shouted, standing up with anger on her face. Her expression was one of pure rage as she leapt across the table swinging with mighty force at the target of her anger.

Justinia was already standing and stepped to the right. She grabbed Wei's right fist, pulling her forwards, right into the solid strike of her curled left fist. Wei was stopped on the table, falling onto the surface of the furnishing as Justinia turned her onto her back. The right hand of the suited girl came round to hit her stomach.

The left hand wrapped around her throat as Justinia put her left leg on the side of the table and moved her right leg across Wei's body, pinning her down. Wei froze as Justinia held her by the throat, straddling her body. "You are a fool," Justinia said, "You were a fool. You are just a typical teenage girl, so incredibly full of herself to care about anyone else."

That's when Justinia leaned down, lips making contact with Wei's. The younger girl screamed, shoving Justinia away with a frantic flurry of blows. "What?!" Wei shouted with fear and astonishment.

"I don't even like you," Justinia said, staring into Wei's eyes, "But you needed to be shocked into listening." Wei had been struggling before the out of the blue move, and now she was indeed listening entirely to Justinia. "You know what?" the redhead asked, tightening her legs around Wei, "I think you have a chance. I do like you, but you need to listen to me if you want to get anywhere in the world."

She sighed softly, "You have potential, as a magic programmer, and as an inquisitor. I can see it, and there is a place for more benevolent people like you in this organization, but you can't do this alone."

Wei nodded softly, "Just…get off of me please?" she asked.

Justinia shook her head, "I need a solid answer before I'm going anywhere," she said. Wei frantically looked around, knowing that anyone might walk in at any second.

She looked up at Justinia. The girl's face was unreadable for one as inexperienced as Wei, but she could at least try to figure things out. Wei knew that Justinia had never really cared much…but this might be different now. She could only wish that Justinia was telling the truth.

"Yes," Wei said, "I'll listen,"

Justinia nodded, before quickly getting off the table. Wei slowly sat up as Justinia stood next to the table. "I feel like this is a bad idea," she said aloud.

"Why?"

"What are you getting out of this?" Wei asked.

Justinia shrugged, "I'm a good person. I've gotten plenty out of many things. I'm not seeking anything from you."

Somehow, as Wei got off the table to stand up fully, she felt that was a lie.

Yet she no way of confirming it. And besides, this was her chance to truly become someone that was worth something.

She smiled, knowing that while the path ahead was still going to be hard, she at least now had a light of hope guiding her.

* * *

Erwine lay under the covers of her bed. She was all alone in her room. The lights were off. Absolute darkness obscured everything. But she'd been in the room enough times over the past week to know where everything was.

She used to have a mild fear of the dark. Too many horror stories told to her by friends, or some frightful book she read. That fear had not been in her head for a long time now. _Becoming a magical girl instantly destroyed so many fears, yet awakened a whole host of new ones. _

Erwine rolled over, restless. A part of herself warned against sleep. She had slept before in the warp, and had not suffered much for it. Her anxiety rose every minute she stayed awake, and that only made it harder for her to sleep.

Maybe it was the memory of recent events that kept her awake at night. She'd barely slept the night before, even though she tried for hours. The last day of reading more books in the library had led to her sporadically napping, even though she was truly interested in what she was reading.

Erwine rolled onto her back, staring straight up at the ceiling. She realized that she knew what everything looked like. Just like she had back home. _I can't ever really escape from the monotony, can I? _She tried to quench this line of thought, wipe it out before it could go any further.

Yet the flame kept burning on, and she found a tear coming to her eye as she started to just think, with nothing else to do. Her body was tired, and she could not sleep. _Will my wish ever come true? _She wondered, _what Adrianne said…I have the ambition, but I don't think what I asked for can ever be made a reality. _

Erwine shut her eyes, taking deep breaths in an effort to stem her panic. She knew that she could run on for a long time when alone. Sleep would resolve her doubts and fears. It had to.

And despite the fear in her breast, despite the doubt in her mind, she was able to hold her own, fighting through all that came at her. Her slow and deep breaths led her away, away from the land of reality, and into that of sleep.

* * *

The world was hot. Blistering hot winds blew across the flat plains. Rolling hills were not in sight, nor were even the smallest dunes formed from the hot sand. The air was dry, devoid of any life-giving moisture. The burning hot rocks on the ground drove Erwine away as she found herself face first in the mixture.

She got to her knees, taking a deep breath as she looked around. Her hands cried out for release as the hundreds of grains hurt them. She had not the energy to stand. Not yet.

The world was flat. There was only sand, as far as the eye could see. All of it was on the same plane. No variation, despite the wind. The sand was picked up, hurled through the air by the rushing currents only to land right back on the ground, as more sand was picked up. It looked like a complex, yet endless, cycle of give and take.

Erwine shakily got to her feet, gazing up towards the light in the sky. The air was warm, but not humid. She looked above her. She had not seen the sun anywhere else in the sky. It had to be high noon.

There was no sun. Yet there was light. It was in fact high noon. But there was no sun. Erwine took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. The world she found herself on was impossible. An unchanging ball of sand without a star. She took another breath, even as her anxiety surged up, threatening to hit her harder than before.

She looked around desperately, trying to find some clue as to her location. Her feet sunk a bit into the sand as she took a few steps in every direction, having no direction to go in. That was when Erwine realized she was not herself.

She tried to look down, feeling that her body was different. Yet that same body did not reply to her commands. She realized that she was looking out of the eyes of herself, but there was another. It was not even that she was in her body. She was an observer, torn from her own time and taken forwards.

Yet nothing Erwine had ever dreamed had come true as of yet. She knew that she could assure herself that no matter what this dream was of, it would never come true. It would be a warning of something she needed to go, maybe, but not the truth.

"Lost?" A voice asked. It was a motherly voice, sweet and caring. Erwine almost thought it was her own mother until the body she was in turned to face it.

Adrianne stood there, a smile on her face. Her hands were behind her back, as she stood with her feet only a few inches apart. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, her wide hat on her head. "Hello Erwine," she said, "It's been a while. You could say a long time, but long time has such a different meaning for us magical girls."

"What are you doing here?" Erwine, the Erwine that was truly in control here, asked, her voice wary. She sounded suspicious, but also shocked. As if she was seeing a ghost.

"I'm here to help you," Adrianne said. It could not possibly be Adrianne. Even as the dreaming Erwine looked out the eyes of the real Erwine, she could tell that the Adrianne was not really Adrianne. It was her gut telling her this, and she had little reason to doubt it. Of course, she had little reason to doubt Adrianne.

"Who are you really?" Erwine said. She did talk as if she was speaking to a…a dead person. _No, she can't be serious…Adrianne can't be dead, can she? _Erwine knew that her dreams did not come true, but that did not mean that they could not foreshadow future events.

"I only want to help you," Adrianne said, taking a step forwards. "You do realize that you've come very, very far for such a little girl like yourself?" She did sound like Adrianne. Erwine could hear it.

"I don't want your help," Erwine said, her voice determined. Now she sounded like she was facing down a daemon. "I've made it this far without you, and I will make it to the end without you."

"That's just mean," Adrianne said, turning around, "Not even polite in your declination of my efforts."

"Don't move," Erwine ordered, "You will stay here." Her magic was carried in that command. It did affect the Adrianne. _The _Adrianne. Erwine knew that she was seeing Adrianne, but it could not be Adrianne. So it was just some version of her, created by a shapeshifter's magic or something of the sort.

"Why should I?" the Adrianne asked, eyebrows raised, a questioning look on her face. "I extended my hand, you turned it down. You don't care for me anymore…I guess times do change, after all."

Erwine was struck hard by this. The voice was so sincerely Adrianne. The dreaming Erwine, still looking out through eyes that did not truly belong to her, changed her mind. _This cannot be anything but Adrianne. _And the real Erwine thought the same thing, but something held her back.

Something made her hold her ground, and prevent herself from running to Adrianne like a child finding her lost mother. She stood her ground. The dreamer could not tell why. "You are a daemon…or some monster, here to only torment me!" she held her hand out towards Adrianne, "I shall destroy you!" Her voice was frantic, like she didn't trust herself, but went ahead with her course of action anyways.

Adrianne laughed a little. "Erwine, please trust me…it's me, Adrianne. Don't you remember?" She stepped closer, even as Erwine kept her arm outstretched. The inquisitor lowered the girl's arm, coming within a few inches of Erwine. A smile was on her face.

"You've become so obsessed with finishing your journey. You think that it will somehow bring you happiness…" she shook her head solemnly, "It won't. You're close to the end right now, and if you go forwards, you will only find disappointment."

"Disappointment?" Erwine asked.

"The end of a journey is always the worse part, for then you have nothing left in your life." Adrianne explained, "Just go back now. Turn away and you will find that you will have nothing to worry about."

"You are serious?" Erwine asked, looking back into Adrianne's eyes.

"Yes, the end of the journey will come at the end of your life. But moving forwards will only bring pain and suffering to all. You know what Ishna destined you to do, so long ago. No good can come of your actions now. Just turn back, continue doing your duty."

Erwine shook her head, "I swore to you," she whispered, "I swore that I would finish it all, no matter what."

"Sometimes we make promises that we can't keep," Adrianne said. "Just listen to me, please." Her eyes flicked in the bright light, and Erwine could tell that she was telling the truth.

Yet she was not. She was only telling what she knew. What she, as a fake being knew. The dreaming Erwine could not tell if she was no longer isolated, but she felt the thoughts and emotions of the other Erwine rush inwards.

"You're not Adrianne," she said, pushing the false being back. The not-Adrianne shook her head as she regained a solid footing on the flat sand.

She laughed maniacally, head tipping backwards as she cackled, "You're damn right," She said, "I'm not Adrianne,"

She did not show her true form. The not-Adrianne just kept smiling where she stood, lips creased in a sickening grin. "Then who are you?" Erwine demanded. She put her magic into the demand, but it seemed to have little effect.

"I am a thing that you really cannot understand," Adrianne said, "All I request is that you do not move forwards. You and so many others will continue to live peaceful, fulfilling lives if you leave this place this very instant."

The tone the not-Adrianne started to take on…it reminded Erwine of Ishna.

"And if I do not?" Erwine asked.

"Then I shall stop you," the not-Adrianne shrugged, seeming disappointed that her attempt did not work. Erwine trembled. The dreamer within Erwine knew that there were few people who had the slightest chance against Ishna. Erwine may be able to, but she would not be able to do much after winning.

"But first, I think you should wish yourself farewell, it's about time for her to go…" the not-Adrianne waved her hand goodbye. The Erwine frowned, and the dreamer within her felt herself being pulled away.

Then all went black. Erwine was floating in darkness for a few seconds, tumbling through what was an endless void as her mind ran wild with fear and suspicion.

A billion questions were in her mind, all surging towards the top in an attempt to be answered, but answers would not come now. Before she fully lost consciousness, she realized that they would never come.

* * *

Erwine shot up in her bed. She breathed hard, looking wildly around the room. It took a few seconds to confirm that it wasn't real. So the girl took a deep breath, lying back down. As she stared at the ceiling, she silently promised to herself, "No matter how long it takes. No matter how far I have to go."

"I'll find an answer."

* * *

The operation was completed successfully. I managed to take one of the rogue girls alive, and I am currently attempting to obtain the whereabouts of her comrades. I shall bring her back immediately to the nearest sect for more proper holding and questioning, but if I am able to get something out of her before then, I will most probably act on that information. Unless I am instructed otherwise, I will continue to pursue this investigation. Sincerely, Ishna Kleimar.

Standard weekly report from Ishna Kleimar to Derivel Sect, M40.968


	30. Liveliness on a Dead World

On many worlds throughout the Imperium, there are relics of the Golden Age. This Golden Age was a time in which magic and technology were one and the same. A supposedly wondrous, but also terrifying time. When this reign came crashing down, many things were left behind, from mere ruins, to entire vaults filled with valuable technologies.

It is the job of the Ordo Sagittarius to hunt down these vaults, and reclaim the secrets within them. We request to be tied to the Deathwatch, as experience has shown these vaults may contain dangerous defensive systems. We submit to being closely monitored, to ensure we do not misuse what we find. Everything found shall be sent immediately back to the proper parties for research. We merely hunt, we do not partake in what we catch.

-Statement announcing the establishment of the Ordo Sagittarius, circa M34.

* * *

Erwine looked at the viewscreen in the bridge of the ship. The blackened husk of the planet Vasillica sat in space before her. It was spinning slowly, but revealed no new features.

There was only blackness everywhere. Not even fires or lava broke the monotonous texture of the planet. It truly was dead. It reminded Erwine of a sight she had seen. That sight seemed like it had been a year ago. As a matter of fact, it was not.

It had only been weeks since she had last seen the image of that planet, her planet, being destroyed. But that had been a false future of some kind. Erwine did her best to forget about it.

"We're about to slip into orbit," Bolton said, "Get moving, we're in range to deploy right now."

Adrianne turned towards the doors of the bridge, "Come on everyone," she called. They started to rumble open, and Adrianne was the first to leave.

Bolton shifted in his chair, "Adrianne," he called, "Good luck,"

"Thanks," Adrianne said, and the words were genuine and heartfelt.

Erwine was the next to follow Adrianne out, before Juno put a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on," she said, "Let's make this easier." And with a blink, she, Adrianne, Erwine, Estelle, and Antoinette were all in the hangar bay.

"I'll go get the others," Juno said before blinking away again.

"I'll get the shuttle," Antoinette declared as she went towards the craft in the hangar.

Erwine looked at Adrianne. The inquisitor seemed to have tears in her eyes. "Does this really end here?" she wondered, "Or is this just the start of yet another chapter?"

Erwine shook her head, "We've found nothing in the system. If Ishna was here, she's long gone. All we can hope to do is find some trace of her presence. Some clue that will lead us to our next destination."

"She'll leave something," Adrianne said with absolute certainty. "If she's not here anymore, she'll lead us along to wherever she is now, or wherever she's going." It was with heavy reluctance that Adrianne actually admitted this, but she knew it to be the truth.

"There's no point in denying the power she wields," Juno said, "No point at all. All we can do is hope to outmaneuver her at some point. She cannot run forever."

"You say that…" Erwine sighed. She shook her head. "No…we'll win. We have to."

"Magical girls make miracles happen," Juno said, speaking as if she really did believe the words. And from Erwine could see of her face, she doubted that Juno didn't believe them.

_Older than me by over a hundred years…so what do I know? _Erwine wondered.

"We're ready if you are," Bolton called, "Orbit achieved, scanning the planet more closely now."

"Alright," Juno said at the head of the group, "We are ready to move. Everyone in the shuttle, we must move as fast as possible."

The fourteen girls got in the shuttle. The ride down to the surface was short, and the fifteen total piled out onto the cold surface of the planet. Ming stood in the center of the group, and cast out a ring of heat around them. It was simple use of her pyromancy to warm the particles in the air, but the dim glow made it seem somehow strangely special.

"Justinia," Estelle said, and the girl was already on the job. She had a one hundred and thirty kilometer search radius, and the party had set down near some mountains, knowing that if they could eliminate the outer wilderness first, then they would not have to waste hours on the city and find nothing.

"Searching…we've got something!" she shouted, "A small encampment, one hundred and three klicks north by northwest. Images going to Juno now!"

"I have them," the lord inquisitor replied. "Shield up, cloaking up," Adrianne ordered, and the party blinked away.

They appeared, completely invisible, twenty feet from the encampment occupied by Ishna. It was deserted, with seemingly no one there. "Slowly," Adrianne ordered, and she moved at the head of the formation, knives taking shape in her hands.

Erwine had her blade, Estelle had halberd, Juno her rifle, Celestine her rapier, Laelia her guns, Ayelen her spears. The list went on. The party had the firepower to slaughter a company of tanks. In fact, one of the members of the party had done such a thing in the past.

And perhaps it was that extensive combat experience that allowed her to see an ambush when it was there. She pulled the trigger multiple times, firing into the empty tents.

Multiple shouts were heard as explosions rose from the structures. Disparate lasfire returned at the group, but given that they could not be seen and were shielded, there was no way they could be defeated by a small group of humans.

Then Laelia was knocked out. Not because she was personally hit. The shield went down. She fell to the ground, unconscious. Something had fired something that had broken the shield in one hit.

_A loop, _Estelle thought, sending the information to the others, _it fired a rapidly accelerating projectile at the shield. The energy bleeding off the pressured shield would empower the projectile more. More power would to that spot. It's a common method of weakening shields, allowing them to be pierced in other areas, and due to the ability of magical girls to control projectiles they fire with great precision, it's possible for stronger girls to do so, the hard part is sucking the energy from the shield. Normally, some kind of energy flow-controller girl would have to assist if the shooter was not one._

_Breaking it instantly like that normally takes girls with incredible experience, precision, and cooperation. I'm not detecting any minds at all. Not even a possible shroud. No magical girls are firing at us._

"No tech can do that!" Adrianne shouted, as she leapt to the side, throwing knives in all directions, "What are we fighting!"

"Golden Age tech can," Juno replied, "I've seen this before." She teleported away with the whole group, moving all back about a hundred meters from the camp. "We cracked open some kind of storage unit, some bots came out. They pierced our shields like wet paper bags, saw through invisibility, can even track teleportation movements. They're magitech, so they have invisibility, shields, possibly even teleportation."

"The only way we took them down was by outthinking them. There was some kind of central intelligence in the vault we went into, but it was a basic cogitator program. It was easy to outmaneuver the things, but we have to figure out where they are first."

A storm of missiles came flying across the ground at the group of girls. Juno cursed and teleported again. Just after they blinked away, Erwine turned her head to see the missiles impact. Multiple explosions, each one a hundred meters in diameter, rose from the impact points.

"These things are incredibly nasty," Juno said, firing as fast as she could in their general direction. "I don't even know how they were built in the first place."

"What in the Goddess's name are those guns?" Adrianne asked, astonished.

"Those are railguns, far more advanced than anything even the Tau have. Half-magic, we think. Other weapons include lasers, those missiles, and probably some kind of plasma weaponry, or at least that's what we encountered," Juno said.

At that moment, there were a series of bright flashes around the camp. They were not muzzle flashes. They were the bright bolts of plasma ripping through the air at massive speeds.

Once again, Juno fell back, teleporting everyone away once more. Erwine watched to see what must have been over a hundred plasma bolts rip into the mountainside that the party had just occupied. Boiling spheres of gaseous matter erupted from the impact points, scalding the mountain side, melting even the hardened rock that had once been molten itself.

"The last barrages were all one unit, by the way," Juno said, before switching to the faster telepathy. _Sechylia, got anything?_

_There's so much scrambling…I can barely see anything. They're equipped to counter girls like me as well. I could try for days and get nowhere. _

_Keep trying, _Juno ordered, _Celestine, you're going to split off with me and the SEO. _She teleported away. Spears of light cut through the air right afterwards. _You can stealth. If they think that we think we can't be seen due to invisibility, they fire at us as they can tell we are stronger. That gives the others a chance to do some damage to them. _

_They're programming is quite simple, trust me, _Juno explained, _and they seem even dumber than before. They aren't actually sentient, but the reason for this I cannot explain. Just do what I say and we'll get through this alive. _She teleported everyone but herself, Celestine, and the SEO away.

Erwine could not see them due to the invisibility, but the fire started to go after the force that was meant to be a diversion. Hundreds of missiles came flying up from the camp, spreading out to blanket the entire area.

The projectiles, small silver darts with bright tails of fire, streaked across Erwine's vision. They were about to impact before a bolt of lightning shot out from the ground. With any other missile storm like this, the lightning would arc through the cloud and detonate them all in midair, the white hot bolts ripping through the thin casings.

The lightning flickered through the air in the blink of an eye. It bounced right off the first missile. Tinier and tinier bolts shot off into the sky harmlessly. Then hundreds of meters of space disappeared in flames. _She's safe, _Estelle replied, calming Erwine as her eyes went wide as Laelia was roused from her unconsciousness.

She brought the shield back up, and summoned in two dozen of her machine guns. Justinia was focusing silently with Sechylia, both trying to locate the exact positions of the enemy. Estelle was tending to Laelia, as there was little she could do from this distance. Adrianne tested a theory, as Wei started to craft a massive barrier around the group, to support the shield already raised by Laelia.

Sanae prepared to do what she could to defend from any projectiles, and Ayelen helped Laelia up as well. Erwine raised her sword, setting her sights on the small collection of tents which contained the enemy.

"Damn," Justinia whispered, "I can't get through. They're somehow telepathically jamming me, Estelle, Adrianne, you can affect them."

"That's why they can't see us at the moment," Adrianne said, focusing her own magic around the group. "It works even on machines. The only way to counter it is with telepathic observation. Estelle, start to jam them. We can stop them from seeing us entirely."

Estelle reached out with her mind, raising a mental shield around the group, which would prevent them from any kind of telepathic observation. Justinia brought thirty of her rocket launchers around herself. The weapons glowed brightly, illuminating the barren landscape with red light.

"Firing in three, two, one." All the weapons fired at once, and the bright streaks of the rockets were followed by thousands and thousands of bullets from the guns of the Laelia.

The encampment was one hundred meters away. A trivial distance for either of the girl's weapons. The first of Laelia's bullets were tearing up the place before the storm of rockets hit. Erwine watched as the fifty or so square meters of campground disappeared in a bright series of detonations. Flames bloomed high into the air, and the air was ripped up by the ensuing shockwave.

And then another volley was fired. Laelia kept on firing. Those who had melee weapons could do little to assist, forced to wait until an opening was made by those more effective at the moment.

Estelle gritted her teeth, trying to scan the area. A huge detonation raised up around them, a volley of missiles crashing into the hillside.

The inquisitor ordered, _make sure the shield is absolutely secure, we are about to take an incredible pounding. _Right as this was said, the shield collapsed. Laelia's shield had been expanded to encompass Wei's field. The first barrier was down, torn apart by the railgun. Erwine charged her blade, getting ready to deflect some kind of ranged assault if it was necessary.

Laelia went down again. It was clear that she would not be getting up for longer this time. Then a salvo of lasers was cast towards the group. Erwine's instinct told her to dodge to the left. She went towards Adrianne, who was beside her younger interrogator.

Erwine flung out her bladestraight in front of herself. The long greatsword flew through the air towards the laser beam coming right at Erwine's outstretched right arm. Silver particles trailed from the magically charged weapon as it went to deflect the laser.

It was a magical sword against a laser weapon. A conventional laser weapon at that. Which one would win?

Wei's shield was pierced by the beam. Due to the fact that she had crafted the shield and placed it there, she suffered no feedback damage. The hole in the shield was torn wider by the massive amount of energy bleeding off the laser beam

Then it hit the sword. In less than a nanosecond, the bladedisappeared. It turned to molten fragments, and swept away by the cold winds of Vasillica. Erwine could almost see the molten little bits of metal floating away into the sky. She may have been able to, but that memory of a piece of her being extinguished was erased, wiped over by the pain of an actual piece of her being extinguished.

The net thing to be turned into a collection of molten particles was Erwine's outstretched right arm. Her palm open, her fingers were the first thing to feel the pain of the heat around the laser beam. They melted in a split second, before vaporizing in the next.

Her eyes rolled back into her head as she felt nothing but pain. She fell back onto the ground, shock cancelling the effect her brain had on controlling her body. She felt her left arm hit the ground beside her. Perhaps it was normal human instinct, and natural awareness of how one's body worked that caused her to be surprised when she did not feel anything hit the ground to her right.

That was a question that controlled her mind. So she tilted her head to the right, and observed the smoldering, charred skin that covered her elbow. Even her chest was scorched by the energy, the clothing burnt away by the force of the beam.

Erwine wondered if she should be crying, and was interested to find that she could not cry. Then the pain hit her. Perhaps it was just shock, or her magic, that prevented her from feeling it at first. It hit her like the force of a thermonuclear weapon.

She screamed, only to find that she could not feel the right side of her face as she widened her mouth to cry out in pain. That only made her scream more. She was held down by Adrianne as Ayelen was rushed over to assist.

Ayelen laid her hands on the girl, and there was no more pain. But Erwine's right arm was gone, and her right torso and face were scorched. They had no dedicated healer. _Handle her, Ayelen, _Adrianne ordered, before put a hand on Erwine's other shoulder.

"It's alright," she promised, "Erwine, please, listen to me. It's alright." She leaned down and gave the girl a loving kiss on the forehead, before she repeated, "Everything's going to be alright, just relax, relax." Tears came to her eyes as she watched the horror on Erwine's face.

It was the girl's first major injury. Adrianne could only imagine the pain she was feeling at the moment. No, Adrianne knew. She had suffered such pain in the past._ Will I die? _Erwine asked, eyes looking desperately up into Adrianne's.

_You may, _Adrianne said, not wanting to lie to Erwine. _But even if you do, I'll always be there for you. _There was another flash of light. Ayelen reacted quickly and pushed Adrianne down to the ground. The young healer's left arm was severed at the elbow, the effects stretching up and down the arm.

The charred hand hit Erwine's body, resulting in her trying to squirm away, bringing only more pain. Ayelen yelped, negating her own pain, before she went back to healing Erwine. Erwine was amazed at the stoicism with which Ayelen dealt with the loss of her arm.

Adrianne looked out at the enemy, only for a massive plume of fire to bloom once more. It was the third volley from Justinia that had landed amidst the enemy. Yet she seemed to be having no effect whatsoever on their opponents.

_We need to get her out of here, _Ayelen said, _I can't do anything with this suppressing fire. Let me take her, Adrianne, you can fight, I can't. _

Adrianne was horrified at this prospect, and that was displayed on her face as she looked at Ayelen from where she lay on the ground. _I can't leave Erwine! _She declared, _not after I just said I would be with her. _

_Go, _Erwine said, trying to manage a smile, _go and fight, please, Adrianne. Think of what you've come here to do. _Ayelen heard this, and then picked Erwine up, throwing her over her shoulder before leaping away.

Adrianne spent only a split second watching Ayelen take a jump over a nearby rise to find some cover. She drew up her knives, _Sanae, with me, _she called, _we're going to move in. _

_This kind of firepower can't be used as effectively at close range, _Adrianne said, _and we function much better there anyways. _She leapt forwards, with Sanae running behind.

Then the camp disappeared once again. Not in flames, but in a massive surge of water which came from seemingly nowhere. Then it froze around everything there, highlighting the shapes of four large figures.

A massive ball of fire struck next. It came from the sky, as if the Goddess herself was smiting the enemy machines. Adrianne hit the ground for cover as the flames came out even some seventy-five meters from the impact point. Then she barely saw a huge storm of lightning arcing around the ruins, transferred by the water and steam.

Then it was all blown away. Four huge holes were torn in the storm of elements, made by shells from immensely powerful guns. There were four huge detonations. Right afterwards, a figure shot through the firestorm, landing blows on each of the four machines before flying away.

It took a full minutes for the flames to clear, but when they did, there was seemingly nothing left anymore. There was an even wider crater in the mountainside, but even the tiniest pieces of the camp had been annihilated.

Then something appeared. It was a large machine, clearly one of the opponents. It fell to the ground, sparks flying from its smashed frame. Adrianne brightened as she stood up, before there was nothing else, save for new volleys of lasers. They all went towards the girls who had fired the last barrage, who had just teleported away.

Adrianne started moving again, feeling that the fight was close to its conclusion. Then she got a bad feeling. She tried to dismiss it.

But as Adrianne approached the camp, she realized something horrific. _They observed our approach, they know where we came from, _she realized, her head whipping around to look at the rise. _Missiles can be shot down, lasers can't get through all that, even plasma would give time to escape. _

The air boomed with twin thunderclaps. The rise disappeared with two massive bangs. One louder than the second. Rocks flew everywhere raining down on the group who had stayed behind. Adrianne saw only one body flying through the air, and she knew not who it was. A shockwave of both bangs hit her, and she was knocked down.

She stood up quickly, and blocked Sanae. She grabbed the girl by the throat and tossed her back. The armored girl spun on her feet, hands going to her weapons. "Get out of here," Adrianne said, her voice emotionless, "Take everyone else, and get out of here, right now."

"Adriann-"

"Do it!" Adrianne shouted, her eyes expressing the rage, no, hatred she felt. She laughed loudly, remembering what Ishna had said about Erwine. There was a chance the girl could die, so it was likely that the only person who had managed to touch Adrianne's heart in over twenty years was now dead.

Adrianne leapt into the air, throwing her six puny knives out around herself. They turned into longer and larger sword. Then, dozens of such weapons spread out around herself. She raised her arms up from her side, drawing lines upon which swords formed.

Two curves around her body contained sixteen each. They floated in the air around her back, before she moved her arms downwards. She was floating at this point, held in the air by the force of her magic. Tears came from her eyes as two massive wing-shaped rows of blades formed behind herself. Each one contained some thirty-six weapons.

Then she crossed her arms and shot herself downwards towards the camp. Three volleys of lasers came at her. The world slowed down somehow. She knew not how it did, but she seemed to see everything moving just a bit slower. She could not dodge the lasers, but she could match them beam for blade.

She threw her arms forwards, summoning a hundred more blades around herself, before those ones fired forwards. They were followed by the fifty-two swords around Adrianne.

Heat from the beams scarred her, leaving marks in patches of charred white skin. She landed on the ground in a crouching lunge, one leg sliding out to the side as she balanced on the other.

She could _feel _the three remaining machines around herself. They converged in like dogs on the hunt, magitech blades drawn, with enough power to slice Adrianne in half like she was butter, and they had knives crafted from stars.

Three rings of swords formed around herself as her soul gem glowed brightly. She fired those outwards, and the points where they were deflected marked the approaching enemies. They moved fast, and Adrianne leapt for the first.

She crossed two long blades in front of herself, catching the first swing on the twin blades. They should have been sliced in two. The rage on Adrianne's face was apparent. Were it not for the seeming death of Erwine, the only thing that had made her care so much in so long, she would have been defeated like a god might defeat a child. She struggled against the machine, even as two more blades came in to tear her apart.

She was ready for the end. It was not an end she wanted, but she had ruined Erwine's life. Letting her die and not doing her best to exact revenge would be worse than many things Adrianne could do. So, perhaps it was fitting that the inquisitor not die on this day, saved by that same person.

She found herself being kicked in the face, by someone who was flying through the air. She was knocked back several meters, landing on her back before the one who had kicked her picked her up with one arm and spun around. Adrianne found herself being held against Erwine, the girl holding her tight with the one arm she had.

She had only momentarily saved Adrianne, but just then thirteen figures teleported in front of the girls. Estelle was back up, Ayelen was alive. _We're not stupid, _Erwine quickly said, _Ayelen and I knew we would be fired at by such a weapon, so we decided to go behind such a hill to drive you inwards. It was a perfect distraction, and now they're going to get blasted at close range by everyone here. _

Erwine dropped her telepathic voice's volume, even though the channel was already private, _this really does hurt, my body I mean, but I would wish you not get so obsessed over me. People do care about you, I care about you. Live for yourself, not for the sake of making me happy. _

Adrianne smiled, feeling the same amount of power she had before surge through herself. _So kill them all? _She asked, speaking to Erwine as if that girl was her inquisitor and she was the servant.

_Yes, _Erwine said, and Adrianne leapt forwards. Juno was already firing at point blank range while Wei and Laelia deployed their shields. The air was frozen around the machines, slowing them down, while Guan and Skelia opened fire with their attacks.

Estelle and Adrianne led the other melee fighters forwards. The battle ahead would be hard, but there was a chance that they could win with no one actually dying. Adrianne only hoped that it would end at some point.

Then it did end. There were strange sounds from another direction. Not the sound of nay weapons previously fired by the machines. Sounds that Erwine had never heard before in her life.

Then strange spheres blossomed around the machines, strange energy tearing at the exposed frames of the bots. Their invisibility had held throughout the massive barrage, but the combined firepower of the SEO and Juno had temporarily brought down their shields.

Then bright lances of strange light flew in, impaling the machines. One went down as it was torn into small pieces, and another was made into a pincushion of seemingly magical lances. Then a burst of wind blew up under the third and final, and a figure came streaking in faster than the eye could see, a bright blue flash the only indication of any attack.

But as the seemingly adult, mature figure landed on its feet with great skill and agility, the machine was cut in half. Both halves fell back to the ground, thudding onto the hard rock.

The figure looked up, and pushed the hood it wore back. This revealed an angelic face. It was like that of Ishna's, but different. Ishna's unnatural beauty seemed to exist because she was simply a magical girl. But this women's beauty seemed to be derived from the fact that she was unhuman.

Long silver hair traveled down past her shoulders, while long pointed ears stuck out through the locks of silver. Blue eyes looked out at the assembled magical girls, while a pristine, precious face carried these features. The mouth of the figure opened, "Greetings, magical girls of the Inquisition." The xenos's High Gothic was perfect. Certainly better than Erwine's.

Juno, Estelle and her girls, and the SEO all raised their weapons or fists to strike. Laelia and Ayelen were obviously very surprised, and immediately wary. Adrianne stepped forwards, shock and awe on her face, while Adrianne looked on at the newcomer in wonder.

Footsteps, loud ones, echoed behind the group. Erwine glanced at the source, and saw a troop of a dozen large figures. Each was three meters tall, with alien construction being obvious. They carried large guns, and their tall heads carried no facial features. They looked like armored warriors, but acted more like machines.

"Farseer…" Adrianne whispered in wonder, walking forwards towards the xenos.

Five figures ran up behind the farseer. Their black helmets and dark robes covered their features. They were all male, and one cried out, "Farseer, are you certain this is-"

"I know what I am doing," the farseer replied, as Adrianne walked forwards.

Erwine approached as well, realizing that this was someone Adrianne knew. _She said she was saved by the Eldar…she wasn't lying. _"I'm sorry," Estelle called, her voice expressing total disbelief as she lowered her weapon, "Sorry for ever doubting anything you said to me."

The silver-haired Eldar looked down at Adrianne, taking a step closer as well. "Adrianne," she said, speaking as if the two were good friends, "Could you ask your friends to lower their weapons?"

Adrianne nodded, and turned around, "You've all read my file," she said, "So you know I reported being saved by the Eldar." She nodded her head in the direction of the farseer, "This is the one who saved me,"

Juno lowered her weapon, complying with the demand. A short telepathic message meant the others were doing so as well. Erwine caught on, dissipating her blade as her eyes scanned the xenos before her.

"Adrianne," the Farseer said, "I wish to speak with you, on the matter of Ishna Kleimar."

Adrianne nodded, "Go ahead," she insisted, "The others can hear as well."

"It would be preferred that you are alone for this." The Eldar said. Adrianne glanced back at Erwine, seeing the girl's interest.

"Erwine is at the very center of all of this. She deserves more than anything to know what you have to say to me." Adrianne begged, "More so than even I."

"She will only get in the way," the Farseer said, and while that certainly incensed Adrianne, a sharp shout from Erwine cut the blonde off.

"Just go, I'll wait here. If you can tell me anything, you'll have plenty of time to do it." Erwine called. Her heart was racing, understanding that the Eldar always had ulterior motives.

_They're rarely explicitly hostile against magical girls, but that doesn't mean they don't have longer reaching plans for us…_Erwine reminded herself, recalling the knowledge she'd amassed from the weeks spent in transit.

"It is vital that we speak," the xenos continued, "I bear vital information related to future events, as well as the way this situation must be handled."

Adrianne looked back at Erwine again. The little girl nodded gently. The former inquisitor called out to Estelle. _Should I? _

_I'll keep an eye on you if I can, and they helped us. At least at the moment, they won't be trying anything against us. Talk to them, but get out of there as fast as possible if things go south. _Estelle recommended. She also tied the conversation into Juno.

_In the Deathwatch, I had a few dealings with them. They're not friendly, they have their own agenda, no matter how close they get to you. We're similar in some ways, but ultimately, we're nothing more than tools to them. They'll give you information, but don't take all of it seriously, you'll regret it if you do._

Adrianne nodded. She looked at the Farseer. "Let us go," she said, "No one else will be accompanying me."

"Good, my troops shall pull back, but we need to move a bit farther away…" The Farseer outstretched her hand, her staff glowing. A magic circle formed at chest height, the level of the Farseer's chest was the same as Adrianne's head. Spinning rapidly, the circle shot downwards, then flashed brightly.

The two were gone, leaving behind the warlocks and the wraithguards. The men replaced their helmets, slowly moving backwards. Nothing was said to them, and they said nothing. The xenos force moved back out into the wasteland.

_Antoinette, take Celestine, Laelia, and Justinia. Shadow them for as long as possible, but if they notice you, back off immediately. _Juno ordered, then she sent upwards. _Sechylia, hook up with the ship's systems and start scanning the system, find their ship. _

_A lot of precautions…_Estelle commented.

_You can never take chances when it comes to the Eldar. _Juno sternly replied.

* * *

Erwine sat down on the desolate ground, the rock hard and cold beneath her. Her face was healed, but the scars on her torso would take more time. Her arm was not even close to being fully regenerated. The pain was gone, Ayelen not even being needed anymore for Erwine to ignore the pain. She just pushed it aside, knowing that she was fine.

The sky was still dark. It had been dark for the entire time she had been present on the surface of Vasillica. She had wondered if she was looking at the ground when she saw the planet from orbit, but she just saw the thick layering of clouds.

Erwine wondered if there was ever going to be any light on the surface of the planet. _There will, _she thought to herself, _but not for a long time. _It somehow gave her chills, knowing that billions of people had once occupied this planet before all had perished in the flames of the massive eruption, which had apparently torn apart even the continental plates.

Erwine had gotten a brief explanation of what had occurred, with the issue relating to some use of magic to cause a huge eruption of the lower, more plastic layers of the planet. Such events were naturally occurring, but something, perhaps Ishna, had manually triggered it, resulting in the complete annihilation of the surface.

A smile spread across her face, as she realized just how much she had lost. The planet was like herself, torn apart manually and forcefully, for the sake of unearthing some power that would further the goals of the being who had torn her apart.

She put her left hand, the only hand she had, on the ground, patting the hard surface, as if she and the planet shared a special connection. Footsteps echoed behind her. She did not recognize them, so it could not have been someone who was not Adrianne, Laelia, or Ayelen.

"Wei?" It was just a guess. The girl had no real role, no significance, so it would make sense that it would be her who came to speak to Erwine. She was the only one who'd have a reason to not just use telepathy. _The only one who wouldn't just use telepathy, _Erwine thought to herself.

The girl stood beside Erwine, silent for a couple seconds. "Hello," she spoke softly, eyes staring off into the distance.

Erwine didn't want to speak to her. She was trying to figure her own self out. Wei interfering was the last thing she wanted. Her eyes looked up to the sky, where the layers of ash were piled up high. It was like a perpetual blanket of darkness, shrouding the world in black. As if the entire planet mourned those who had died.

Wei still stood there. Every now and then, Erwine's eyes flicked over, checking her. It was an awkward silence, something that had to be broken. Silently, Erwine wished that someone else would come over and break it.

_Yet they're going to let us talk, that much is obvious. _Erwine opened her mouth, still searching for the right words even as she spoke. "What do you want from me?"

The bluntness of the question made Wei flinch. Erwine saw a shudder run through the girl's body, and immediately realized her mistake. "Wei…" she said quietly, turning her eyes forwards again. "I'm-"

"No, it's my fault." Wei interrupted quietly. "I should just stop annoying you. I…I know you don't want to hold yourself back." Another shudder. The girl's foot slid backwards, and hesitantly her other foot followed.

"Don't," Erwine said. It wasn't a desperate beg. It was an order. Wei paused, looking back over her shoulder. She didn't see Erwine's face. There was a desire to step back, just to see what the girl was feeling.

"Don't feel bad for me," Wei sighed, "If you don't want to talk to me, then just say it."

Erwine said nothing for a few moments, and Wei was tempted to leave. A part of her wanted to stay, a part wanted to go. Ultimately, she couldn't make the decision fast enough. "I don't know what I want anymore."

"Figure it out," Wei demanded, "You treat me like an annoyance, but you refuse to just send me away. Erwine, you told me a week ago on Hadiens that you knew what you felt for me, that you understood the feelings you had."

She took a deep breath. "Were you lying to me when you said you felt friendship, or are you just scared of getting close to anyone, after what happened with Adrianne?"

Erwine shook her head. "It's not about fear. It's about the fact that if I allow myself to have such connections, then I'll be held back. I won't be able to find who I really am."

"That's just like Adrianne."

"She wanted revenge. I want answers."

Wei slammed her foot on the ground, turning towards Erwine's back properly. Her voice was loud, clear, filled with emotion. "You're just using different words!" She took a deep breath, not going to back down now. "You're just like Adrianne! You're going to be just like her!"

Erwine felt like time had frozen. She looked over her shoulder. Wei was standing there, breathing slowly, her fists tightened. "You care?" Erwine asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't know why!" Wei confirmed, "But I care about you! I don't want to see you be hurt! In twenty years, you'll end up just like Adrianne is now!"

Erwine didn't know how to react. _In the past two weeks, two people have really cared. Adrianne, and Ishna. _"Other people care about me…" Erwine said, trying to hide from the feelings.

"Adrianne raped you, and Ishna's insane." Wei said, "They care about you, but do you care about them?"

"I care about Adrianne!" Erwine shouted, looking forwards again.

"Do you sympathize with her, or do you actually trust her?" Wei demanded. Erwine gritted her teeth. A cold wind swept through, the dark sky still not letting down any light. "Stop lying to yourself."

"I sympathize with her," Erwine admitted, "But…But…" She couldn't make herself say she did trust her.

"You hate her," Wei said, "Admit it. Just admit it right now." Erwine's teeth chattered, her eyes going back and forth across the barren ground. She shut her eyes, forcing herself to focus. Wei's voice was raised again, "Say it!"

"I hate her!" Erwine forced it out. She broke down into tears, bringing her knees up to her body. "I hate her, I hate her…" She muttered the words over and over again, as Wei knelt down behind her.

Truthfully, Wei didn't know what to do. She had let her emotions run free, not thinking about the aftermath. She wrapped her arms around Erwine from behind, resting her head on her shoulder. "It'll be alright."

"I don't need anybody." Erwine insisted through her tears, futilely trying to shake Wei off. "I'm strong. I'm a magical girl. I'm not supposed to be scared." Her voice was faint, filled with shame.

"It's alright to be scared. It's alright to have friends." Wei said, "I…I'm scared right now. I don't know what awaits us at the end of all of this. I…I want a friend too, Erwine."

"You just think you can become strong by just being with me. But just being with Adrianne wasn't what made me strong. She hurt me, and Ishna convinced me to stay with her. I tricked myself into thinking they were right." Erwine wept, cradling her head in her hand.

"But I already feel stronger, just from watching you. Really," Wei shifted around, thinking of how to say it. "Really, I just want strength because I'm scared. With a friend, I feel like I won't be scared anymore."

"Really?" Erwine asked. Wei nodded silently. "You really just care about me?"

"Yes," Wei answered "I do."

"I…" Erwine, unsteadily, reached for Wei's arm. Carefully, her fingers wrapped down around it. "I care too."

"Then…can we be friends?" Wei asked.

"Yes," the silver-haired girl answered, "I'd like that." She broke down into another wave of tears, "I'd like that a lot."

* * *

Estelle watched Wei walk towards Erwine, and the resulting conversation play out. She shook her head, Juno coming up beside her. "What is it?" the lord inquisitor and former Deathwatch officer asked.

"Erwine," she said, gesturing as the girl shouted down Wei, "She was so young, so precious and little. Celestine told me about her from what she learned on the first night Erwine was contracted. That night, Erwine had already killed, and was brought along on an interrogation."

"Are you kidding me?" Juno asked, knowing how many standard procedures that violated.

"I'm not," Estelle shook her head sadly, "But look, Erwine's not even a month old, and she's shouting down a girl who's six months older than she is.'

"Adrianne knew what she was doing," Juno said sadly, "However, I feel that all her hard work will come crumbling down at some point…but certainly not soon."

"Why do you say that?"

"Someone, Ishna I presume, is still playing with us," Juno pointed at the wrecks of the defense machines. Behind them was a hole in the mountain side, into which none had entered. The group was a bit afraid of actually going in there, knowing that the machines must have come from within the large entrance, and not wanting to provoke any other defenders or traps.

"The things were stupid," Juno replied, "Dumber than the ones I've encountered before, which means that somebody with access to their systems got in and downgraded their thinking and response times, even messed up firing protocols. These things can easily blaze away with their plasma repeaters and lascannon at the same time, for a long time before needing a recharge. Yet these specific ones fired sporadically and very inaccurately."

"So somebody did something so that we could win?" Estelle asked, "Ishna did say to Adrianne that she needs her and Erwine alive for whatever she's planning."

"Exactly," Juno replied, "And even the power systems of the machines were downgraded. Someone who is better than even a one hundred and fifty year old master Techmage got in and sabotaged the things…that, or they got into the central control system of the vault and changed that around."

"What do you mean?"

"The guardians have a central controller, so one would have to access that, but it can't be accessed externally. There is literally no way to control it, which means the program was incredibly advanced, beyond anything we have at the moment, or anything we could make anytime soon."

Estelle nodded, "So Ishna found some way to access it, or control it. That means she knows far more than we do about this."

"Exactly," Juno said the word once more in the same tone as before. "Which means that they found something very old in there."

"We should go in then, see what we can find," Estelle replied.

"Yes, I doubt we'll even need to be careful. Someone wants us alive," Juno said,

"Are you sure?" Estelle asked, "She may have just been toying with us,"

"From what I have experienced," Juno said, "I would not be surprised if someone was having a tea party this very second in celebration of our victory over the machines that they sabotaged,"

Adrianne immediately looked around as she appeared elsewhere, her quick reaction confirming that they were still on Vasillica. "We aren't far from your companions, just far enough to be out of their range of interference." The Eldar explained.

The two stood on a relatively flat plain of volcanic glass. Their delicate steps didn't damage the brittle material, as the Farseer stepped a few feet from Adrianne, looking all around the area. It was the same as the rest of the planet, devoid of life.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Adrianne asked, steadying herself. Her heart was racing, she understood the importance of this event. _I can't mess this up. _She told herself.

"As I said, the future," the Eldar explained, turning to face Adrianne. Her expression betrayed nothing. It somehow expressed emotion, but at the same time did not. "You are aware of my capabilities?"

Adrianne nodded, knowing Farseers were quite adept at seeing the future. Not as well as some skilled magical girl diviners, but better than most. "Tell me," Adrianne begged, "If it's so important that we have to leave the others for this, then tell me now, don't skirt around it."

"You're going to die." As requested, the statement's bluntness was not lightened in any way, shape, or form. It was delivered in the only way a cold, hard truth can be delivered.

To her credit, Adrianne did not take the statement at face value. "I know that," Adrianne said, "All things must end, that's a fact."

The Farseer grinned. It was a gentle, beautiful expression. Adrianne felt her heart warmed by what she saw. "I appreciate your acceptance of that. However, I fear that you will be dying sooner than you may think." Her tone was sorrowful, serious, now. "You will die against Ishna." The woman said. "I will tell you that much."

"Not where, not when, not how?" Adrianne asked. The Farseer nodded.

"Will I kill her?" The woman made no motion, resting the bottom of her staff on the ground as she kept her gaze level with Adrianne's eyes. The magical girl repeated the question, "Will I kill her first?"

"So you don't know?" Adrianne wondered. Perhaps there was a part of Adrianne that thought she was being lied to, that the woman who had saved her life was also trying to end it. "You really don't know?"

"I do not know." The confirmation was accompanied by a lack of anything Adrianne sought for. So it wasn't joined by anything at all. The lonely words only gave her courage. The more detail there was, the more set in stone the event was. If only the vague concept of the event could be seen, then there was little to worry about.

"But you don't know anything more than that," Adrianne said, "So why come all the way here, bring me out here, just to tell me that?"

"Because we need to speak with you." The blonde gasped, spinning around with a look of surprise on her face. The monotone voice meant only one thing.

The infuriating white creature sat there on the black ground, its brightness a stark contrast to the surrounding world. Its big pink eyes stared unmoving at Adrianne. "Greetings, Ms. Azure. It appears that you were unable to fulfill your duty."

Adrianne looked at the Incubator, then back to the Eldar. Her gaze narrowed. "I didn't expect this interruption," the Eldar said, sending her own hateful stare at the Incubator.

Adrianne breathed a sigh of relief, happy that the Incubator had merely exploited the moment to surprise her, and that the two weren't working together. "What do you want from me?" she demanded to the small white creature.

"Ishna Kleimar is alive. That is a problem. It will continue to be a problem until she is no longer alive. Why didn't you kill her?" The incubator asked.

"I couldn't have," Adrianne said.

"You did not try very hard," the Incubator commented. Its unchanging gaze was starting to truly grind down on Adrianne's nerves.

"Just tell me where she is, if you have all this information about her, then you should at least know that!" Adrianne snapped.

"She is currently in the warp. She entered some time before you reached this system. Her current destination is unknown. She has severed all contact with us and our systems of monitoring, she did so long ago. The best we can do is catch glimpses of her actions." Adrainne wished she could tell whether or not she was hearing the truth.

But the things showed no emotion, they never did. _And besides, they have no reason to lie to us. They're servants of the Goddess, she has to be in charge of their actions, to some extent. _"Well try harder!" Adrianne shouted, "She needs to be found."

"There is only so much we can do. We already struggle to administer the millions of magical girls within the Imperium."

Adrianne sighed, knowing that to be true. "Then just keep trying."

She looked back to the Farseer, fully expecting the creature behind her to just walk away without another word. "Back to my death…" Adrianne said, "What else is there?"

"Your death?" the Incubator asked. "Has the good xenos revealed something?"

"Go away," Adrianne growled.

"Unfortunately, this is something we cannot give up the observation of. Does the Farseer predict your untimely death at Ishna's hands?"

"I'll kill her first. I don't really care what happens after that." Adrianne said.

"Why not?" the Eldar wondered.

"Look at all I've one. Death is the thing I deserve. To be honest, it should be slow, perhaps drawn out and painful. But if it must be quick, then I'll take whatever I can get."

"You're ready to die?" the Farseer asked.

"I am." Adrianne confirmed.

"Good, then we expect that you shall commit yourself fully to the destruction of Ishna Kleimar, upon your next meeting with her." The Incubator said. "If you are not even afraid of becoming a witch, then by all means, expend all your energy."

"I intend to." Adrianne assured them both. "There's not much left worth living for."

"Despite Estelle?" the Farseer asked. Adrianne froze. She didn't want to think of her. _I'll leave her behind…I'll leave them all behind. _But her words felt hollow, even in her own head. "You understand her feelings for you?"

"I do." Adrianne said, "But…but I can't go on living!"

"Really? Why not? You have already cursed the universe plenty, it is time you brought an equal amount of hope into this world." The Eldar said.

"Correct, such hope can only be achieved by destroying Ishna Kleimar. We suspect that if you entirely sacrifice yourself, the casualties against her should be reduced by roughly-" Adrianne spun about, staring into its eyes, "Ten percent."

"Ten percent, huh?" Adrianne laughed. "Ishna won't fight us directly. I already know that."

"Do you truly?"

"You don't seem to understand her emotions." Adrianne observed. "I do."

"So be it." The Incubator said. "It is clear that no further reasoning can convince you to stray from this path. Understand that you are perhaps the only one who can defeat her." The thing scampered away, disappearing into the planet-wide darkness.

Adrianne looked to the Eldar now. "So you say I ought to live?" She asked. Adrianne knew that she would listen to this Eldar. _She saved me. She's the one who started me on this journey. She knows what's best for me. _

The woman nodded. A few seconds of silence passed. "Why did you save me?" Adrianne asked. "Was it so that I would stop Ishna?"

The Eldar nodded. "So you didn't really care about me, it was just about Ishna?"

"My compassion played a part as well. We considered letting Ishna Kleimar go about her plan, letting it play out fully. However, we decided against it. The existence of such a girl poses a threat greater to us than the Imperium will ever be."

Adrianne nodded. She looked down, almost embarrassed to convey her real feelings. "What I'm saying is…do you really feel anything for me?"

"Perhaps something like a mother would for her child." The Eldar admitted, after a long pause. "Disappointment is there too, because of the way you acted, but it's understandable. However, pride is the dominant emotion."

"Pride?" Adrianne repeated. Her legs felt weak.

The Eldar looked into her eyes. "I'm proud of you, Adrianne. Truly, you've done things most people would not be able to do. You may not be willing to listen to me. But you ought to live on."

The magical girl's hands went to her head. Her breathing suddenly rose, her mind running wild. "Live on?" She repeated, amazed.

"Yes. Don't die against Ishna. Don't throw away your life." The Eldar advised.

"But isn't that what you saw, my death?" Adrianne asked. The Eldar nodded.

"Find a way."

Adrianne grinned. "I will." She promised. "I'll find a way, somehow." She took a deep breath, her mind spinning. "That's right, I'm a magical girl. Magical girls makes hopes and dreams into reality. We make miracles real, don't we?"

She steadied herself, breathing slowly and deeply. Something strange awakened in her heart. A feeling she'd never felt before. "If the future says I'll die, then I'll reject it. I'll fight fate itself. It would be a miracle if I won." She smiled, that feeling surging up and spreading to every part of her body. "Again, though, magical girls make miracles happen. I don't think fate has much of a chance against that."

* * *

Juno and Estelle approached the entrance to the side of the mountain. It had been torn up by the battle, blocked partially by rocks and debris. The two girls set about moving aside the rubble for a minute, before they managed to clear the way to enter the cavern beyond.

Juno moved in first, summoning a rifle into her hands as she peered into the room. The space was pitch-black, due to the enclosed nature of the cavern as well as the darkness brought about by the clouds in the sky. Juno looked around, seeing no trace of anything or anyone, save for the clearly artificial entrance in the back of the room.

Her eyes focused on that, but she made sure to scan for any potential traps before she moved forwards. None could be seen, not even the slightest trace of any underhanded tactics. So she moved in, with Estelle following. The lord inquisitor raised her rifle, bending her knees as she took slow, deliberate steps inwards towards the back of the room.

Estelle's weapon was in her hands as she moved as well. "What is this place?" she asked, gesturing towards the metallic corridor beyond.

"Like I said, some kind of Golden Age vault. We found one in the Deathwatch, but it contained only the guardian machines that attacked us out here. We thought that it had been previously looted, but there was no trace of anything else. Months of excavation and observation, both technological and magical, uncovered nothing else. It seemed to be intended as a storage unit for the machines within, but that would not make much sense, unless the things were…mass-produced." It was not that Juno suddenly realized the possibility, it was more that she did not like to court the idea of such powerful weapons in mass use across the galaxy. _Then again, there's a reason it's called the Golden Age. _

"But why would Ishna sic them on us here?" Estelle asked, "She didn't just come here to take those out and try to kill us with them. Did she?"

"I doubt it," Juno said, "She came here looking for something else. If she's really as smart as she seems to be, she would have taken the machines if that's all she wanted. Anyone with common sense would take what they wanted if they could, but Ishna was looking from something else, she just found the machines."

"Of course, that would mean that she got into the mainframe cogitator controlling the vault. That is impossible. It was impossible for a team of some of the greatest techmages in the Imperium. If she did it, then she either has someone _very _good on her side, or…" Her voice trailed off, as she did not want to consider the possibility in her mind. Or at least give voice to it.

"Something opened it from the inside," Estelle answered, "Like the cogitator program?"

"Perhaps, but they'd have to crack it first. There's also a chance that the program was designed to recognize a certain code or trigger that would open the doors. However, I've no idea what such a thing could be. I guess if anyone did, it'd be Ishna."

"What was she? Before she turned, I mean?" Estelle asked.

Juno sighed, "That's the problem, is that she could have access to such information. She was originally part of the Ordo Historium, dedicated to compiling a complete record of the Imperium's history, as well as the entire history of mankind."

"That knowledge, it most likely factors into her plans…" Estelle guessed.

"Certainly," the lord inquisitor replied, "I don't doubt that this all ties back to something she learned about the past."

Juno was about to step into the entrance of the metallic space when the entire room shook. Massive rumbles shook the very rock of the mountain, and Juno and Estelle were gone in an instant. They appeared ten meters from the outside entrance, as cracks spread throughout the mountainside.

Within the room, the ground split open with great force, huge slabs of ancient stone flying upwards into the ceiling, smashing apart the rock above as they broke themselves. The entire darkened chamber collapsed, as fiery wrath from below spilled onto the surface.

Everyone in the vicinity scattered away as lava burst forth from the ground, followed by great boulders detaching and rolling down the side of the mountain. The unearthly landscape was lit up by the fiery light of the molten rock.

All had scattered from the onslaught of fire from below, as the wave spread out for twenty meters around the cavern entrance. There it stopped flowing, due to the large crater that had been made by the massive battle which had occurred. Minutes passed, as the lava began to quickly cool when faced with the chilling air of the planet.

* * *

"Will you really?" The Eldar asked.

"I will." Adrianne said. She did her best to believe her own words. "I will," the repetition was a way of hanging onto the idea, not wanting to lose her belief in her power.

The Eldar grinned. The Incubator was gone. The Farseer walked back towards Adrianne, a smile on her face. "Well then," She said, "Let us get back to your kin."

* * *

From behind, Juno could hear Adrianne running up with the farseer. The distinctive clatter of her boots on the rock was not missed by the sensitive lord inquisitor, not even over the trembling of the very earth itself.

"What happened?" the inquisitor shouted. Estelle and Juno turned to face the two returning individuals. Estelle was already running the moment she heard the girl approach. She slowed down, seeing the way Adrianne looked. It was if she had been through the most strenuous ordeal of her life.

Yet there was a smile on her face. Estelle froze. She'd never seen the girl smile like that. Juno walked slowly ahead, looking at the Farseer. The lord inquisitor stared the xenos down, till the woman turned around. "Good luck, Adrianne. I shall take my leave." She tapped her staff on the ground, and a bright circle spread out. She disappeared in a flash of light.

Erwine came sprinting, Wei right behind her. The silver-haired girl also froze upon seeing Adrianne. Meanwhile, the former inquisitor merely looked about with a question on her face. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"You…you're smiling," Estelle said in awe. "You don't really smile."

Adrianne only smiled more fully. "I…I finally found the will to live. The Farseer..." She took a deep breath, "She warned me I'm going to die against Ishna. But I won't let that happen, not anymore."

* * *

The room was filled with one of the foulest stenches that could be possibly sensed. That stench was of decay. Rotting flesh and organs never smelled good, save to those twisted folk who enjoyed something that was a full-out assault on the nostrils of others.

Unsurprisingly, the smell came from the dozens of dead bodies in the room. They looked as if they had died in pain, yet also like they had not. Their faces were twisted in grimaces of suffering and pain, yet their bodies sat as if they had not moved.

Those bodies…were too terrible to be truly described. It was enough to say that the organs of those bodies were no longer inside their fragile shells. Blood ran down from all the orifices on their faces, while their eyes were popped from their sockets.

It wasn't a pleasant sight, at least for one of the two people in the room. The cloaked girl sat upon the command throne, the room in particular being the central sanctum of the starship. She was entirely shrouded by the dark green covering, only a few bits of her face showing.

On the left arm of the chair sat another girl. Her legs kicked back and forth as she leaned backwards, grinning at the one in the chair. The girl in the dark blue's arms held her up as her beautiful smile stared into the shadows created by the hood.

Ishna hummed softly, her tune filling the otherwise silent space. "You look a bit sad," she commented, raising her left arm to flick away the girl's hood. This revealed a stoic face with a dark green ponytail, cold brown eyes staring daggers at Ishna.

"What's wrong, hmmm?" Ishna cooed, leaning in close to the girl.

"The smell…" the girl sighed, "The sight, the fact that this happened. Pick one." The girl hadn't been planning on sitting in the same room as such a mess, but Ishna just had to intervene.

"Oh come on, Lyndia, we don't need those silly _humans _anymore, we've much more useful toys at our disposal!" Ishna explained, running a finger along her cheek as she playfully grinned. "Besides, their screams were fun, weren't they?"

"For you," Lyndia muttered. "I'm not a psychopath."

"Yet you willingly travel in the company of one." Ishna reminded her, putting on a mischievous smile. "So by association, you at least find it enjoyable."

"Does it get your blood running?" Ishna wondered, "Did it? Watching them all writhe in pain as their guts exploded all over themselves." She giggled with glee, clapping her hands together twice as she slid from the arm of the throne.

She pirouetted about, leaping from foot to foot as she circled around the throne. Lyndia sighed, as alarm klaxons sounded in the ship, indicating warp entry. "We're pulling things a bit close here…" She reminded Ishna, "We'll arrive only twelve or so hours ahead of them, assuming the best case."

"Not likely!" Ishna cried, coming to a stop in front of the chair. "We'll get there first, you know why." She cocked her head to the side, grinning. The klaxons died out, the sensation of the warp approaching. Then she spun on her heel, gracefully leaping into the row of consoles in front of the throne platform.

She paused, glancing to the side at the body there. She looked down, poking at this face, very specifically picking a single spot where there wasn't any blood. "You like seeing people die like that, yet touching blood isn't allowed?" Lyndia chuckled.

"It would ruin my appearance," Ishna explained, looking back at Lyndia. Her right finger poked at the man's neck. Right as a shudder passed through the whole ship, and a strange sensation poked at both their minds, Ishna pressed forwards.

Fresh blood spurted out from the gash she tore in the man's throat, splattering up onto her face, torso, and arm. Ishna grinned, her tongue going out to lick at the blood on her form. She shrugged, "Or improve it, not sure?" She chuckled.

"Well…" Ishna sighed, looking all around the room. "I'll have to get a more professional opinion, if you won't reply…"

"I suppose you've asked your little friend already?" Lyndia surmised.

"Of course," Ishna said, her head tilting at an unnatural angle as she looked back at Lyndia. "She's not so sure, but I'll tell you she looks better covered in red."

Ishna lowered her head back its normal position as she raised her finger, coated in blood, to her lips. Slowly licking the fluid from the appendage, she grinned. "Ah yes, I'm sure Erwine ought to know…I forgot to ask her back on Hadiens." The girl shrugged, "Well, I still have some time left."

Grinning sadly, she whispered, "Though, I wonder if she'll like it?"

* * *

I was able to locate the enemy on the planet known as Merhete. It is a rather desolate world, with a few mining outposts, but nothing substantial. I shall immediately proceed there, with the captive in tow, in order to investigate further. She is proving rather cooperative, so I shall keep her around for the time being. Merhete may prove a pressing challenge, I understand that there are a large number of ruins on the planet, dating from the Golden Age, and even older. Hopefully I shall find where the enemy is hiding.

-Standard weekly report from Ishna Kleimar to Derivel Sect. M40.968.


	31. Secrets on a Dead World

Unless there is some way to confirm that what happened on Vasillica was done by the direct influence of an external force, I don't want to support an expedition to find out. This sector just took a big hit, and I'm trying to get things back together. Spreading our forces thin is the last thing we need. So until further notice, all investigation into Vasillica is to be postponed indefinitely, and all those working on it, shall be reassigned.

-Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel, M41.019

* * *

All but Erwine wished for the answers. Only one could understand that Adrianne simply could not say. Erwine could understand her, simply because she was a neat copy of that inquisitor. "Let us go," Adrianne said, "Justinia, spot the city. We don't know where we are going, but only something underground could have survived all this, so look for a lower entrance. Juno get ready to take us there."

The lord inquisitor nodded, ready and waiting. Justinia searched for a minute. Eventually, she spoke. "Found something, directing the search a bit more…yes, an entrance of some kind. In the Underhive, area's highly dangerous from structural failures, but some kind of entrance to an underground tunnel system. It's obviously public, probably trams, but it could easily hide another complex within. The best spot because of the damage to the above area from the volcanic events."

In the blink of an eye, the group was gone.

* * *

And ten minutes later, they were still walking through the tunnels. Justinia could not see anything. The entire place was under the effect of telepathic jamming, the normal sort a telepath could put out. It was weak, however, but there was no attempt to actually push back for that exact reason. It was the signature of a weak and injured girl trying to hide, pushing back against the jamming would probably result in further damage to her mind. Estelle couldn't locate the source, so Justinia couldn't see anything.

Adrianne and Estelle were side by side, with Juno and the SEO close behind. Justinia, Wei, and Sechylia were all in a small group. Laelia and Celestine were with one another. Ayelen and Sanae walked side by side in the rear. The last two girls had formed something of a solid friendship, despite their limited experience with each other.

The former subway tunnels were highly unsafe. There were common rumbles, creaks, and moans from the infrastructure or more visible parts of the underground. However, few resulted in anything more than just a piece of debris shifting a bit. Lava had not touched this area, which was interesting. The above city had been scorched, and torn apart, but the network of tunnels, which was the closest to the threat, was untouched.

Lava had obviously run down over the city, and shockwaves from other quakes had hit, but it seemed that none had their origin within at least seventy kilometers of the city. And that was concerning. Such a huge explosion should not act like that. Yet it did.

Every time the ground shook, Adrianne shuddered a little, looking as if she was going to jump out of her skin. Estelle held her hand tightly, but Erwine was several feet ahead of her, rather aloof. That girl was in the lead of the entire group, though she didn't seem to realize it.

Estelle glanced regularly at the girl beside her, concerned for Adrianne more than anything else. The girl's eyes were downcast, tracking the floor. She'd recovered from her previous sadness, but she was in a sort of emotional chaos at the moment.

It didn't make Estelle happy, but the best she could do was just hold Adrianne's hand. _I don't even know how I could start trying to make her feel better, or sort out her emotions. _The girl lamented, not even knowing exactly what had transpired.

All she knew was that Adrianne was told she would die, and that Adrianne had refused them. Yet even then, the fear of it had gotten to her. That at least, was something Estelle could take solace in. _If she's so scared of dying that she struggles to be brave in the face of it, then at least I don't have to worry about her wanting to die._

Another series of shakes passed through the floor. It was a low rumble that came quickly and left instantly. Nothing to really take notice of.

"How much longer do you think this will go on for?" Ayelen whispered, hoping to make some kind of conversation.

Sanae was clearly annoyed as well, but she was able to deal with the girl somewhat better. The answer to whether it was because they were truly very good friends or because she was raised to be respectful was quite obvious. "I do not know," Sanae replied, her hands by her waist as she calmly stepped through the tunnels, "But it is not that bad, certainly better than the previous battle."

"Sure," Ayelen said sarcastically, "You may say that, but this is incredibly boring," She was just trying to make the girl smile.

Sanae glared at Ayelen. She didn't laugh. Didn't even crack a smile. "Come on, stop hiding from this." Ayelen insisted, "You're acting like a little kid."

"I already told you I don't want to think about the issue," Sanae said, walking ahead of her. "Get away from me."

The party, tired after their endeavors, came to a stop. Justinia had been the first one to pause, and this had alerted the others. "What is it?" Adrianne asked.

"I'm getting something…it's close by…" She pointed to the wall. It was perfectly ordinary, but Justinia insisted, "There's something behind there, I don't know why, but I can see for a limited radius again. And that wall is where we need to go."

"Someone's letting us in," Estelle confirmed, noticing that she too could use her telepathy with ease once again. "This does not bode well, most likely a trap."

"Ishna's not here," Adrianne said, confident in her words, "She wouldn't stick around just to bait us in. She's too full of herself for that. There's probably someone else here…" Yet she sounded unsure of her own words.

"Shields up," Juno ordered, "Switch to telepathy as soon as its possible." There was a series of flashes as weapons appeared. The three girls raised the protective fields that each could raise. The group went invisible before it was shielded by Laelia, while Estelle started piecing together a network of telepathic defenses against incoming attacks.

They walked towards the wall, Justinia approaching. "Just a corridor behind it," she said, "Very well hidden, not recent." Rozenn approached the wall, hand outstretched. From her fingers spread a wave of ice, washing over the wall.

Antoinette was behind her. She put both her hands on the wall as Rozenn stepped away, before she closed her fists. The ice, having frozen to the other side, crumbled and cracked under the pressure of her telekinetic force. The section of wall guarding the hidden pathway was brought down. It was an exact destruction, with the corridor now completely exposed, but no other parts of the wall were damaged.

Antoinette stepped back, gesturing to the open corridor. Adrianne stepped forth, closely followed by Erwine, then Estelle and Juno. Skelia and Guan circled round the leading inquisitors and interrogator, leaving the other girls to follow in their footsteps. Antoinette and Rozenn stayed near the hole in the wall.

Going into the low tunnel, the cryomancer turned around, holding her arms out before dramatically swinging them across her body. In the blink of an eye, a wall of ice formed where the wall had previously been. The cryomancer walked backwards, weaving a protective wall as she went.

Erwine, meanwhile, stood near the head of the column, in the two meter wide tunnel, which gave little room for her head with the height being just over two meters. It was clear that the space was artificial, with metal supports lining the ceiling. It was pitch-black, but a straight shot forwards.

Roughly ten meters stretched out before there was an opening into a larger cavern space. Light emanated from this entryway, and weapons were summoned by those who had them. Justinia could not look ahead anymore, as Estelle's shield worked both ways. The telepath could not look outside the vicinity of the field just as no one could look in, at least not without forcing their way in.

The group walked into the space beyond. The tunnel exited into the back of a room. The wall continued to the right for five meters before stopping. To the left it ran down the length of the room, for ten meters. The space was a rectangle, carved perfectly from the rock of the planet. The walls were lined with metal, and it was clear that much effort had been put into hiding and constructing this place.

In the middle of the room was a two meter wide circular table, with multiple seats around it. The table was thick, with a hologram projector clearly mounted in it. There was someone sitting in one of the seats. It was in the middle of the chairs that faced away from the wall that the party was entering on. They could only see the back of whoever sat in it.

But Erwine's eyes then went to the back of the room, where observed multiple bunk beds, while the side of the room she was on had multiple containers, looking like generic supplies. _Spread out, _Adrianne ordered, as all came in and saw the girl in the chair. _Five go right, Five in the center, five go left. Do not attack until we identify the target. _

Adrianne moved directly towards the chair, with Erwine, Estelle, Juno, and Wei following. Laelia and Celestine led Justinia and Sechylia to the right, followed quickly by Antoinette. Meanwhile, Sanae, Ayelen, as well as Rozenn, Guan, and Skelia, went left. Their movements were slow, as Celestine only protected her group now.

The tension in the air could have been sliced upon, letting loose built up suspicion, anger, and pain upon the lonely girl, sitting in the chair all by herself. Estelle saw something, frantically shouting, "She's harmless! Look at her! Listen!"

The girl was breathing slowly, but the rate of breathing was not correct for a normal rate. Some fluid dripped from her body, onto the pile of grief cubes she was surrounded by. None had noticed the details, such was the air of tension and fear put on by the environment, past events, and the significance of the situation.

Erwine moved forwards quickly, immediately concerned for the figure in the chair. Her jaw dropped in horror as she looked upon the form of the magical girl who sat in the chair.

Large nails held the girl's legs to the legs of the chair. Her palms were flat against her thighs held there by nails. Nails in her upper arms held them tight into her torso. Scars of cuts were present all over her arms and legs, and the wounds from the nails were not even fully healed, dripping blood slowly, yet surely.

The rest of her was even worse. Erwine looked more closely at her extremities, seeing the peeled back fingernails, the bloody messes of flesh her fingers were, the horrendous collections of scar tissue that her arms and legs had become. The magical girl's feet were bending in a very wrong way.

Her torso was even more of a horror story. Her gut was open, intestines spilling out over her lap. Fresh blood poured from the wound even now. She was completely naked in the chair, her exposed breasts featuring just as many cuts as the rest of her. The only thing on her chest, besides the cuts and bruises, was her soul gem, held by crossed chains, the hooks of which were embedded into her skin.

Her face was fixed in a state of horror and pain, but not because she wanted it like that. Her bloody, toothless mouth was being pulled open by large hooks, the straps of which ran around her head. She had no eyes, empty sockets looking out at Erwine, and her nose had dried blood clogging it up. Her ears had been cut off, bandages wrapped around the bloody messes.

Her hair was covered with blood, and was the only thing remaining on her body that was remotely recognizable as a standard feature. Two crimson tails came down from the back of her head, while shorter braids were beside her face. Her gem was glowing dark black, and was seemingly only saved by the huge pile of grief cubes around her.

The system was cleverly set up so that the girl would never truly die, and the cubes would never change to wraiths. There were so many that she could have sat there for another ten years in this state and survived, but there were so many so that she could never use up all of one due to the number sucking the grief away from her.

"She's alive…" Erwine muttered, realizing the horror she saw was something that Ishna had most likely done. She wanted to vomit, she wanted to empty her guts at the sight. She was the youngest person there, it would only make sense that she would. It was the most terrible thing she'd seen.

It repulsed her, it made her uncomfortable, but Erwine didn't give any time to the thought of her disgust going any further.

Everyone came round to see the girl. Adrianne froze, hand going to her stomach as she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. Her eyes went wide as she felt herself ready to vomit. Estelle clamped down tightly, and Adrianne managed to fight the sensation back down. The inquisitor herself was horrified, but she couldn't show that to Adrianne. Juno saw it as if she had seen similar sights a hundred times. She truly had.

Antoinette sadly shook her head, feeling pity for the trapped girl. Guan and Skelia both flared up with rage at whoever had done this, while Rozenn immediately recoiled in shock. Justinia jumped quickly to cover Wei's eyes, the action distracting the clairvoyant from having to look. Sechylia averted her eyes, feeling her stomach turn. Ayelen was paralyzed by the horrible sight, feeling vomit swell up in her stomach, only for her hand to be gently grasped by her new friend.

Laelia and Celestine stood silently, the hand of the former gently moving to grab onto the latter's hand. At first, the gesture was not returned, but then Celestine clamped down just as hard.

"She's been here for a long time," Adrianne noticed the fact that there were hundreds of grief cubes there, mixed in with many seeds as well.

Juno stepped forwards, analytical eyes running over the ruined form before her. "She was brought to the event horizon, past the point of no return from turning into a witch, but Ishna perfectly planned her actions and set this up so the girl would be trapped. She's been using her magic to hide this place, but let us in as she saw who we are. She's not been able to heal, kept on the very edge of death. This is near impossible…Ishna's a monster, but I can't help but call this a work of art."

"She's the center of the disruption," Estelle said, "Still aware, as she let us in. She can sense us, and I'd bet she's around ninety."

A voice, faint and distant, like a girl shouting from far away, echoed in Adrianne's mind. It was not that the communication was private. The inquisitor could tell that the girl was too weak to send to anyone else. _Please, are you of the Inquisition? A loyal servant? _

_Yes, _Adrianne replied.

_Then take the tape sitting on the table in front of you. Put it into the hologram…it will tell you what you need to know about this world. _

_And you? _Adrianne wondered softly.

_I don't care, as long as you know the importance of what we found here..._the girl's voice faded away.

"What did she say?" Estelle saw the communication.

Adrianne turned, looking at the tape, "She gave us the information we need, or at least she pointed us in the right direction." The inquisitor picked up the blocky object, and inserted it into the open slot.

Before pressing play, the question was asked by Erwine, "What about the telepath?" She was still clearly disturbed by the sight she saw. Erwine was ready for the challenge of moving forward against all odds, but she had never seen such a terrible sight as this one before her.

Estelle stepped forward, raising her spear to strike down at the soul gem. "She needs to be freed," the inquisitor declared.

"No!" Adrianne shouted, spinning quickly, "We need her!"

"Why?" Estelle was shocked at the mere suggestion.

"She knows what happened here, she's clearly met Ishna, we need her alive," Adrianne was harsh and frank, as she ordered, "Ayelen, ease her pain, everyone else, start to heal her. Erwine, you might be able to use your magic to reduce her pain, try to send commands. Estelle, use your telepathy to do the same. We can heal her body, and use as many grief cubes as you can to get the grief out, we may be able to prevent her turning. Start healing her, we can get her back up to the _Rosie _and finish there!"

Estelle did not like this, but she knew it was logical. Juno also understood this, as well as the SEO. Erwine nodded, but did not move for several seconds as she had to overcome the rising anxiety she felt.

Wei, meanwhile, had caught a glimpse of the body. Her vomit splattered onto the cold floor. Justinia had a hand on her head, offering a napkin when the girl finished. Wei looked at Justinia, knowing the girl would be disappointed in her. "No," the clairvoyant said neutrally, she admitted, "I'd rather not look either," Sechylia stumbled over, fear on her face. Justinia smiled, putting a hand on the girl's head, comforting her somewhat.

Ayelen and Sanae looked away mutually, both preferring to simply stare at the wall then face the harsh truths. Both wished they could be as strong as people like Erwine. But they were only little girls. Ayelen slipped away from Sanae, going to do her duty. Her hand left the hand of Sanae, but the girl held on. A thin smile spread on the face of the previously emotionless girl, before she and Ayelen went towards the center together.

Laelia and Celestine stood a couple meters away. "Sorry," Laelia said, "About all that before…"

"Do you love me?" Celestine asked, "Like I do you?"

"I can't say," Laelia said, "But perhaps, as I've said before, we should not rush into this. Maybe I do love you, but declaring right now won't result in either of us realizing that."

"This really isn't much of a romantic scene, either," Celestine said with a smile, before yanking the girl forwards, "Come on, we need to help as well,"

Erwine realized that Adrianne had spoken too soon, so she turned and stood next to the inquisitor, who now realized that Erwine's magic would not work on a girl who could not hear anything she said. Estelle was already using her telepathy to disable pain centers in the girl's brain, while Ayelen shut down her nerves. Rozenn slowly began to freeze the more heavily afflicted parts of her body, knowing that it would have the same effect, and that the limbs could not be recovered anyways.

Meanwhile, Juno, Antoinette, Guan, and Skelia stood by as Adrianne put the tape in. The pedestal flickered for a few seconds, before the light flashed to life. The image of a girl, clearly the normal look of the girl in the chair beside them, was present now. A date flashed up near the bottom of the projection. It showed that this was recorded over twenty years ago.

"If you have found this cavern, then I sincerely hope that you are a loyal servant of Her Holy Majesty, preferably of the Inquisition. If you are not, well," the girl shrugged, "Then there is nothing I can do. Compiled within this mostly audio recording are the personal accounts written by I, Theodora Magnissia, Secretary of the Committee for the Study of the Vasillica Artifact. The full records are not present at first, as the first part of this tape runs over the more important accounts necessary to understand the events which occurred on the planet of Vasillica. At the end, you shall hear the final report, which shall be recorded right…now. Please, listen carefully."

The five girls looked at Juno, who shook her head as the recordings began, "This was not any kind of committee present in the sector as far as I know. The date is before I was assigned here, but I went thoroughly through the records, my predecessor didn't record any knowledge about this, if they had any."

The recording cut out for a few seconds, before it resumed playing. The girl's voice now sounded a bit younger, as if the events which had led to the creation of this archive had changed her so incredibly as to alter the way she sounded. "M31.015, 32 days pre-discovery," This part seemed added in later, at least the days before discovery, as it would be impossible to know before hand when the vault would be found. "Reports sent by Inquisitor Leao of the Ultima Segmentum were received today. She and Inquisitor Vovis, my master, have had no previous contact, but Leao states that these records bear some significance for us, and being an independent operator in this sector, we should follow the leads given."

"The documents in particular were a set of records, retrieved from a vault hailing back to the Golden Age of Magic. Apparently, full retrieval of the contents of the vault's cogitator systems is impossible, as they entirely burned out the systems simply gathering this data. However, it points to another vault being present, on a planet formerly known in the vault's records as Potenvis. Incomplete celestial coordinates are given, but we have identified four possible candidates. Vasillica, Jungis, Rejyav, and Iscille. Leao insists that the Sect cannot be informed of this discovery, but for what reason she cannot say. Vovis has decided to trust her, and investigation of all four candidates shall commence immediately."

The record cut out, and as it transitioned, Juno explained quickly, "Vovis was an inquisitor in the sector, but she did disappear with the Vasillica incident. It was always assumed that she perished on planet, but other evidence exists to say that she defected."

"M31.015, 2 days pre-discovery. Surveillance of the planet Vasillica through deep scanning of the planet's crust via magical and technological means has uncovered absolutely nothing. We are fairly certain that either Leao lied to us, or the records were misleading. Further interpretation of the coordinates has proved fruitless, and we've been scouring all sorts of archives and ancient texts for any evidence that would lead us to the planet formerly named Potenvis. Nothing has come up so far, and Vovis is preparing to submit a report about Leao to the lord inquisitor, as well as investigate the girl on her own. Further reports shall be interesting, as we may have run into an interesting and successful attempt at misleading us."

"Leao…" Juno muttered, then her face brightened with a realization, "She was one of the investigators called into the vault my team opened! I had no idea they managed to get anything from the place. It apparently took them ten years, as we uncovered it in 004."

"M31.015, date of discovery. A young girl under Vovis's command, Koya, by pure chance, found a book in an old bookstore on Hadiens Prime. This tomb was seemingly a fictional novel, written in an ancient script. Linguists found it to be from the Golden Age. It had a description of the planet Potenvis, which matched up more closely with Vasillica than the other possibilities. Further and closer investigation of the planet revealed an anomaly beneath Mt. Iiska. The accusations against Leao have been dropped, and we have descended upon Vasillica. Vovis is calling in other inquisitors to aid in the investigation. We are not, at this point, informing the Sect of the discovery. This will be as clandestine as possible, and it must be if we wish to succeed. I am now agreeing with what Leao said, I do get the feeling that if this gets out, things will somehow get ruined."

"M31.015, 30 days post-discovery. We have dug out a small space in the mountain, and as the next year approaches, I feel that we will have little success. The door, if it can be called such, is sealed tight to magic and technology. We cannot teleport past it by any means, nor even see past it. Leao has gone silent, so we don't know if we can expect assistance from her. She did make it sound like in her report that opening her vault was easy, so we can assume that it was previously damaged, as this appears to be a completely untouched structure. Two other inquisitors and their teams have gathered, and we've done little but bang our heads against a wall for a month. A bad feeling is in my heart, about this entire thing, but we all feel like this. There's nothing we can do to change this. We all feel that this is a secret which must be uncovered."

"M31.016, 194 days post-discovery. We have not made any progress. Five inquisitors are now present, with full teams. We have every possible major category of girl at our disposal, and we cannot get anywhere. We are considering abandoning the investigation, but there is hope that we can move forwards. The defenses of the door have been weakening, and six months of research have turned up a lot about such structures as this one. The mere existence of the place confirms that many such vaults exist across the entire Imperium, which could either be a blessing or a curse. I expect major results within the next two months, but I fear that we are running out of time. The sectors we all hail from miss us at times, and we must return. At least one or two have always been able to stay while the others go, but as it is, the efforts would be much easier if this were not the case. I'm not going to lie, I'm scared, but I feel that we are on the cusp of one of the greatest discoveries in the past ten thousand years."

"M31.016, 240 days post-discovery. We've breached almost all the defense lines on the door. We could finish within the next month, and enter the structure proper. But a Chaos fleet has swung in from the fringes, seemingly a remnant from the Gothic War, lost in the warp for some time. Vasillica, being near the edge, is a ripe target. We will bury the site once more, and wait for liberation. There is a fair chance that it will be years before we can return, but we will wait as long as it takes."

"M31.016, 377 days post-discovery. Today is the first day we've gotten back since the liberation. A nearby force of Hearth Knights was able to move in quickly and work with another local company to root out the disorganized and over-extending invaders. The campaign took roughly three months, and still continues, but Vasillica is back in our hands. We've unearthed the site, but it seems that the door somehow repaired itself. Such technology is incredible, but also infuriating. The damage we did still remains for the most part, but we lost roughly two weeks' worth of slow work, making sure that we do not trigger any defense mechanisms. We'll continue once again, and we should have the door open within five months, assuming that there are no more major disruptions."

"M31.017 409 days post-discovery. We're retraced our steps, and are ahead of schedule. But something…strange is happening. We've been detecting highly unusual geological activity. Mt. Iisia is dormant, and has been for centuries, but it seems that it is becoming active once again. It's moving fast, and we may see an eruption in the next year. We've calculated that even if the vault is opened, as long as we hide it well, the eruption will not touch it. Chances are this is not a result of the vault, and simply an anomaly, but one can never tell when dealing with this level of technology."

"M31.017, 431 days post-discovery. We're almost in…but the world seems to be rejecting our efforts. Even worse signs have been found, of a full mantle eruption ready to occur. Such a thing is impossible for an old planet like Vasillica, she can't summon the strength to do such a thing. But it's happening, and the timetable is changing by the day. We have about a month, but by tomorrow, we'll probably have only one week. The government has noticed, and small evacuation has begun, with magical girls and other officials leaving even now, but the general people will most likely perish."

"M31.014, 436 days post-discovery. The eruption is almost upon us. Vovis and the others…are gone. Everyone is gone but the humans of the world. We sealed up the vault to the best of our ability, and we are sure that the explosion will damage the seal, enough so that anyone coming after us will have an easy time breaking down at least the exterior door. I'm now waiting beneath the capital city, keeping this information safe. This is no geological anomaly. This is planned genocide. The vault did not do this. We detected magic signals from the moon of Vasillica, they only became clear in the past week. The signals were investigated clandestinely, but there was no trace of anything but a growing warp rift, undetectable to anyone but us. None of the local girls, nor even the inquisitors in the system, could tell. It's almost as if some great god is choosing to wipe all trace of this planet from the galaxy, burying the vault's secrets with it. I'm staying behind, so that I may light the way for those who-ahhh!" She was cut off by her own scream of pain.

"No, please," a whispering voice said. "Go on," Ishna spoke softly and knowingly, as if she knew exactly who would be hearing this recording in the future. There was silence, and the entire room's attention was turned to the recording. "Hello Adrianne," Ishna said softly, "How it's going?"

Adrianne jaw dropped open as she flinched back from the table. Erwine grabbed her shoulder, keeping her there. Another grunt of pain emanated from the recording of Theodora, before Ishna insisted, "Please, tell our friends the rest of the story, we still need to finish the game."

Theodora's voice was strained with pain as it returned. "If you are listening to this…then the vault on this planet clearly…" Her voice slipped away in pain, but a sharp strike was heard,

"Keep going…"

"Clearly is incredibly important. Whatever is within must be found. Don't let whatever's inside fall into enemy hands…please…" Her voice faded away, replaced by sobbing, as more strikes could be heard.

"Well…" Ishna said, her voice soft. "It seems that our mutual friend is going to leave us soon…should I leave this on? No, I think not. No need to sort through years and years of audio, despite how fun it would be to hear it all."

"Say goodbye now," Ishna said, clearly speaking to Theodora.

"Goodbye…" the girl said, sounding lifeless, before the recording cut off completely. The girls stood there for a few seconds, before Adrianne turned around. She looked at the girl in the chair. "Twenty years…" she muttered, "Is she even sane?"

"She's suffered massive mental scarring," Estelle confirmed, "Chances are even if we can save her, she'll be nothing but an empty shell."

"Save her anyways," Adrianne ordered, "We'll get what we can." To the questioning looks, she replied, "This is no place for mercy or feelings. We need everything we can, seeing as how Ishna has seen all this coming for a long time now."

"What do we do now?" Estelle asked, "Now that we know this, and now that we have the girl. We now what happened here, but we still have no idea where Ishna went, or what she wants."

The recording flickered back to life, the tape not having ended. Adrianne was about to shut it off, thinking that the later, less vital diaries would be played next, but she was wrong. A loud warning klaxon filled the room, shocking all into listening carefully.

"Please be aware, for the purposes of ensuring the safety of this knowledge, a two hundred megaton nuclear weapon shall detonate in approximately three minutes. Please recover what you can, then leave immediately-" The tape was pulled out violently by Adrianne as she gestured for Theodora to be lifted out of the chair, while the group huddled around Juno.

"Anything else?" the lord inquisitor shouted to Justinia.

"Nothing of value, we can get out of here,"

The party disappeared from the hidden chamber below the earth, to flicker back into existence on the _Rosie. _It was a risky teleportation due to the distance, but it was not too hard for Juno, being the age she was.

Minutes later, a bright star would bloom into existence on the surface of the pitch black sphere. The low clouds were momentarily split apart by the rising force, light shining outwards, eerily illuminating the nearby landscape of darkness.

The city the explosive had been detonated in was no more. Ruins still dotted the landscape, but the great towers were fully brought down, and the former blackened hulk was converted into a pile of charred remains.

For the second time in twenty years, Vasillica was scorched in flame.

The girl slammed her fist down on the table, anger shaking the surface of the table, locked away in one of Adrianne's meeting rooms hidden across the entirety of the _Rosie. _Only she, Estelle, Erwine, and Juno were present. The others were all resting, but the leaders had to figure out where to go next.

"We have no leads, no indication of where to go. We've found nothing in this system that suggests any presence of Ishna. We've not even detected the slightest trace of some kind of vessel. For all we know, she's all already carrying out the last part of her plan!" Her frustration was finally releasing.

"She can't be," Juno countered, "Not without us there. If she really wanted to win, then she would have done so already. She did not need to lead us to Vasillica, yet she did. She'll wait as long as she needs to before she does anything more."

"But then where will she lead us next?" Erwine asked, remaining calm, "The only other location we have is the moon of Vasillica, unless the other planets mentioned are supposed to be clues."

"They aren't," Juno confirmed, "At least not the other planets."

"But the moon…" Erwine realized, nodding her head in agreement, "She said some kind of energy came from there, but no one noticed. That's a sign of something on the moon that's important, and chances are that it will give us some clues, at least to Ishna's past."

"So we go to the moon of Vasillica?" Estelle asked, "What is it like?"

"Habitable, but it was abandoned for the most part following the destruction of Vasillica. There's an atmosphere, but the industry on the moon left with the eruptions, and the jungles overtook most of the infrastructure present." Juno was the one with this knowledge.

"Any enemies we need to be aware of?"

"There may be some remnants of the chaos invasion from over twenty years ago, but I can't imagine any have stuck around. Other xenos raiders may have taken up residence on the place, given that the system has not been consistently monitored by anything besides the main astroclairvoyancy team every once in a while." Juno explained.

"Let's prepare ourselves," Erwine said, "It should only be a few hours flight to within launching distance." The girl was fully healed, but she needed some time to recover her magic.

"Especially if we can slingshot around Vasillica," Estelle said, "We're in position to perform the maneuver."

The four girls agreed on the plan, before they all left the room one by one. The plan was made, and the next step on the path to finding the demon that had plagued all of them, in some way, for so long was ready to be taken.

In the sickbay of the _Rosie _sat only one figure. It was quite easy to keep a ship's crew in good condition when one had magical girls onboard, but this case was different. Theodora was healing slowly, having been brought back from the event horizon, but only barely. It was as if Ishna had planned it so that she could be brought back.

Her body was covered by a blanket. She was naked, her clothes not having frown back, and it was easier for her to heal when completely unobstructed. She was slowly regaining consciousness. Ayelen had been beside her, helping with the pain.

That girl was gone now. Standing beside the bed to one side was Erwine. To the other was Adrianne. The two looked down at the patient, face still barely able to be recognized as her own. Her head had been prioritized, so she could talk normally with all her teeth back, and her regrown eyes and ears gave back those functions.

Her head had been cleaned up in general, but she was still suffering terribly. She could barely speak, only producing gibberish despite the fact that she was fully capable of saying anything she wanted. She did not seem to know where she was. Estelle had tried to communicate mentally, using her skills to the best of her ability. However, it seemed that the few words said to Adrianne on Vasillica had taken all of the girl's available willpower. She truly was an empty shell, a healing body with a mind that could not be restored.

"Estelle could put her back together," Adrianne said softly, almost ashamed of her unwillingness to end the girl's suffering. "Her personality would still exist for the most part as it does now, but we would lose all the information we could gain."

"Gain by keeping her here, safe, which I agree with," Erwine explained, "She knows things we can't find out on our own. If we can get anything out of her at all, even if there is just a chance of it happening, then we keep her alive and well."

"The others won't like it," Adrianne said.

"You made me so that morals and emotions won't hold me back," Erwine reminded the inquisitor, "So don't try to push morals and emotions on me. It won't work. This girl stays here, safe and alive."

"And what if the others do complain?"

"Let them, we can handle the issues that arise. But we need to think about the greater good here. There is no argument, and there should not be any. I won't become involved in pointless bickering with anyone who tries to apply normal human values to a completely unhuman situation."

The girl turned around, aiming for the door with her long, fast strides. Adrianne was going to call after her, but ended up looking back down at the girl below her, wondering what secrets were hidden in her mind.

* * *

The shuttle ride out towards the moon was a short one. Erwine stood in the cockpit doorway, her eyes scanning over the small green orb. Larger than some other moons, it had an atmosphere, sheltering an ecosystem teeming with plants and animals unique to the surface of the small orb.

It was a sharp contrast to the burnt ruin that was its mother. While both had a certain beauty to them, it was certain that the moon, called by the name of Vasillica Minor, was the more natural beauty of the two.

The front end of the shuttle heated with bright red light, and Erwine rode out the reentry turbulence that had once scared her greatly. They were not teleporting in. They had scanned the surface via Justinia's magic, and while multiple sites for an easy teleportation had been discovered, they were worried about the warp signature reported by Theodora. Even if there was none, there was the chance that it was hidden from them by similar means as Theodora reported, and such energy could easily destroy the party if they did try to teleport.

The largest city on Vasillica Minor paled in comparison to the smallest on Vasillica, but it was still a large complex. The spaceport was breaking down, plant life invading the ferrocrete and metal of the once bustling port area.

A barren spot was found, and the craft touched down softly, with the SEO unloading first. The inquisitors went next, followed by Erwine and the others. They observed the area they found themselves in. vines and small foliage covered the flat expanse of the landing fields, and the buildings themselves were not so heavily overgrown, but in obvious disrepair after some twenty years of jungle weather and growth had taken their toll.

"Be careful," Juno warned, "We don't know what we could find, Justinia, start more detailed scans of the city, try to find some kind of warp signature."

Justinia went to work, as the party stayed near the shuttle, waiting patiently. "The jungle," she said, turning towards the wall behind them all. It was tall, reaching tall enough to obscure the smaller trees, but, due to the encroachment, it was collapsing slowly, exposing more and more of the thick growth beyond.

"Something's out there. Warp energy, and xenos lifeforms, I didn't look closer, as the energy is obvious. It'll shut down telepathy and clairvoyancy when we get within twenty kilometers, and we are at thirty right now."

"Then let us approach closer," Adrianne said, "Laelia, Celestine, in the center. Estelle, Justinia, keep watch for as long as you can, find anything you can."

The party walked towards the jungle, in the set formation that had been adopted after the only few hours spent walking on the planet that they now circled around. Ahead of them, the jungle was brightly illuminated by the sun, yet still somehow held a foreboding presence as they approached.

It had been ten minutes since entering the jungle, and the walk through the uneven terrain crawling with alien insects and avian creatures had been slow, mainly out of fear of stumbling into something unfriendly. For the most part, it had been slow and boring, with little excitement gained from anything.

Erwine stood in the center of the group, her blade drawn and held over her shoulder. The unsharpened extension from the hilt rested on her shoulder, and the light weight of the magical weapon made the journey easy. She swung it down to quickly hack down anything that might obstruct her path, but that was all she had to cut for a time.

Despite the density of the jungle, sunlight was still allowed through the thick canopy, and there were multiple places were a large swathe of the surface was shone down upon from above. The party was approaching one of those places when Estelle ordered all to pause.

She raised her spear, before pointing it forwards at the bushes at the opposite edge of the clearing. Suddenly, without any visible attack, three bodies fell out of the bushes. The green masses indicated the presence of orks on Vasillica Minor.

Laelia intensified her shield as the jungle came alive with gunfire. Celestine perfectly hid the group except for one fact. She could not remedy the fact that they stepped on brush as they went, leaving a visible trail. The orks could not tell exactly where they were, but streams of bullets and wildly corkscrewing rockets tore up the world around the firm group of magical girls.

_How many? _Juno asked, calmly raising her rifle up as the sound of bullets pinging off the powerful field around them echoed hollowly.

_About one hundred in various areas around us. We should be dead were it not for the shield and invisibility. _True, the girls had been carefree, but the intention was to draw the enemy out. Searching for them slowly and surely would take time that they did not have. So they used their powers to their advantage.

Juno cocked her gun, before opening fire. Massive thumps were accompanied by louds flashes, visible to the girls inside the invisibility field. Primal shouts and screams echoed throughout the sun-dappled trees as Juno fired towards the sources of the gunfire.

Laelia raised two guns of her own, and began loosing tight, focused bursts of fire at what seemed to be the centers of fire. After only ten seconds of counter fire, which was aided by Skelia and Guan, whose fires scorched the woods only to be put out by Rozenn, the orks had panicked and were fleeing.

_Don't waste any more magic unless necessary, _Juno said, tossing her weapon aside and letting it fade away in midair. She cracked her knuckles together, a bright grin spreading across her face as memories of battles long in the past came to the forefront of her mind.

Then she was leaping forwards. The other split up as well, carrying weapons with them or not at all. Erwine went to her left, bursting through a wall of bushes to find a trio of orks panicking, their camouflage rustling wildly as they ran with their bulky weapons away from the magical girls.

Seeing Erwine alone gave the foolhardy creatures a scrap of hope. She simply charged forwards, swinging the glowing silver crescent of her blade out to incinerate the multitude of crudely made projectiles flying towards her.

The wave of energy destroyed those she did not duck under as she bended forwards. She skidded to a stop, lancing out with her blade. The tip penetrated the chest of one ork, barely reaching out the back. He was already leaping forwards, thinking to batter Erwine with his crude yet sturdy machine gun.

Seemingly unbeknownst to him, however, he was only impaling himself on the blade. The brute cried out in pain as the long shard of metal emerged only more and more from his back.

Then his comrade in arms was on the attack, leaping in for a stab with his bayonet. His intelligence seemed to be higher, as the sharp tool went for her stomach, an area easy to hit with the speed and strength of an ork.

Erwine started reversing her motion, lifting her left leg up and over the ork entirely. Her right left had been forwards, with her left one a bit behind that. Her skirt flaring out as she came to a landing, she used the momentum she gained to grab the ork's rifle with her left hand and add his own momentum to hers. This flung the creature forwards, off his feet. Her right hand still held her blade, which still had the ork impaled on it.

She struggled to hold the creature up, her blade slipping from her hands as she jumped into the air a little, driving her left knee into the ork. The rising strike drove into its stomach, landing the creature roughly on its side. The third ork, the one that was to Erwine, rightmost, was also charging in for a chop with his crude axe.

Her sword was a meter from her, and the ork was right there. She raised her right arm as she slid her feet inwards. The ork's axe was behind her, but its arm was pressing down into her crossed block. She was losing ground quickly, till she opened her mouth. "Freeze!" she hoped her words would work on the xenos.

Somehow, they did, showing that her magic was a sort of universal thing. The ork paused for a moment, giving Erwine time to grab her blade. A silver flash preceded a tide of red from the ork's stomach. Two more cuts sent the creature toppling.

At the same time, the last remaining ork was rising from the wounds Erwine had given him. They hadn't had much effect, and only a brief sound from behind gave Erwine time to spin around.

A large knife was in his hands, the crude blade swinging in towards Erwine. Metal screeched as Erwine swung out, her weapon slicing clean through that of the ork's. Her blade scratched a trail of red across the beast's face, causing it to recoil.

Erwine's wings pushed her backwards, before she wound up and lunged in again. This time, her long weapon went straight through the creature's body, impaling its heart. Still, it refused to die, grabbing at her. Erwine grounded herself, pushing the blade in to the hilt, flapping her wings with all her might.

The xenos stumbled, already off balance from its movements. Erwine once again went backwards, before raising the blade over her head and slicing down. Now, a long line of cut flesh went from its neck to its groin. It wasn't cut in half, but the thing was bleeding profusely now.

The ork raged as it fell backwards, desperately trying to get at Erwine. The girl backed away quickly, given pause by the ork's ferocity. The screams of the beast echoed through the forest as it's hand finally fell to the ground and its body went limp.

Catching her breath, Erwine checked that the others were dead before scanning for more targets. A guttural battle cry tore through the eerie silence of her private battleground as the brush straight ahead of her was torn up by a monstrous beast, taller than even the seven foot normal orks she had just slain, crashed through the woods.

Torn vines and shattered branches trailing from its body and armor, the ork nob hefted a huge chainaxe with its fat fingers. The roaring of the ferociously spinning blades would daunt most humans, but Erwine stood strong, waiting for the creature to complete its charge right at her.

Swinging its blade in a massive horizontal arc, at the height of Erwine's head, the fool would have caught anyone who had not gotten out of the way. A dexterous, quick human might be able to crouch in time, only to be run down by the bulk moving with the force of a train engine.

As it was, Erwine leapt upwards, striking down with her long blade. The thick helmet served as good covering for the even thicker skull of the monster, but the eye was not as well defended. She slid her blade in between the bony plates which did protrude down around the eye.

The creature instantly roared in pain as it shook Erwine away. She was tossed aside as she decided to keep a good grasp on her blade, but landed on her feet with ease. Then the nob turned, reassuring his grasp on his mighty weapon before charging once again. This time, Erwine decided to humor him, knowing that it was also the best way to fight at the moment, all alone like she was.

He lunged forwards, a cry escaping his lips as an overhead swung came down. The ork was clearly surprised, as Erwine did not get out of the way, but instead of being reduced to a pulp, she held her weapon pointed downwards as she slightly turned to the side.

The ork pushed down with even more force, and Erwine was about to break, when she turned the blade. Previously, the flat of the bladehad been exposed to the attacker. Yet now, the edge was facing the chainaxe. And it was now charged with Erwine's magic.

The axe did indeed drive forwards, only for tearing metal and chains to be the only result. A messy metallic mess was made of the huge weapon, and the nob was visibly shaken as he drove himself against the cutting edge of Erwine's weapon.

Then Erwine actually swung it, stepping outwards to a standard stance. Bringing the blade back down over her head, Erwine stepped back as blood burst from the split torso of the ork. It was still all one piece, but a large line had been cut down the middle.

It clutched at the massive wound, eyes showing disbelief as its brain refused to recognize that it was over. It went to its knees as Erwine stepped back even further, before all cries from the beast were silenced as it slipped into death. Erwine shook her head at the way he went, crying in pain and outrage at his killer.

She paused to observe the body for a couple seconds, before she was about to move onwards. Then a high-pitched whine filled the air, still rife with the sounds of gunfire and detonations, but Erwine's enhanced ears managed to locate the sound. She was not the only one.

_Artillery incoming, _Justinia said, _we're looking at another wave as well, much larger. There are a lot more orks than previously estimated. _

Erwine moved away from the fallen orks, spreading her wings out and wrapping them around herself, having noticed previously that they had a protective effect. The whining grew louder for a couple seconds, before there was a loud blast several meters from Erwine.

She had already braced for the explosion, but one hit from behind right afterwards. It was not as far away, and she was struck by a wave of force and heat, knocking her down. Her wings protected most of her back, but she could feel that she had been both bruised and burnt.

_Plenty are coming your way Erwine, _Justinia said, and it seemed as if she said things to others, as there was roughly a half second pause before she spoke to everyone, _the interference is too thick to get anything besides that. Guan and Rozenn are assisting Erwine. Adrianne and Estelle, stay where you are, Ayelen and Sanae are pulling back in your direction. _

_This was a trap of some kind, _Adrianne said, _the ones we first killed were only the vanguard or scouts, the main force is incoming now. We can mop them up easily, provided that we can move on after that quickly. We have to get to the center of this disturbance. _

Erwine got up slowly, adopting a crouching posture instead of standing straight. She hid in the brush, looking in the direction her original set of opponents had come from. Now crashing through the forest was a troop of roughly fifty creatures, led by a unit of ten lumbering nobs.

The girl started to feel pressure in her skull. It was a strange feeling, out of place. It was not a telepathic attack, but instead completely different. Erwine felt that it was more an aura in the air rather than a direct assault, and that was when she heard the iconic battle cry of the foul xenos she faced.

Their long, drawn-out shouts cried out over the battlefield, and that was when Erwine remembered what she had read. Magical girls were telepathically sensitive, even if they weren't specifically a telepath. The energy generated by the battle spirit of the orks resonated strongly with the creatures, but did not synch well with magical girls. In larger gatherings of the beasts, the pressure could become enough to actually effect combat performance. As it was, Erwine could easily shrug the sensation off, given the scattered and unfocused nature of the attack.

Wild shots were fired off into the woods, only skimming Erwine as she folded her wings in front of her. She could fight, but she was waiting for the backup. It came within seconds.

_Move, _Guan ordered, as a massive fireball streaked down from above. It detonated in the rear of the ork force. Screams echoed out over the forest, as the white hot flames seared all those caught in the massive blast. Within seconds, the smaller ones were mostly gone, leaving only the larger leaders.

While the few other survivors scattered, the nobs remained fierce, and charged in towards the girl now standing in the same clearing that Erwine had previously found herself in the middle of. Guan's first action was a jumping crescent kick, rising in a curve to strike at one nob's face.

Erwine was already charging forwards, propelled by her wings, but it seemed that Guan would have little trouble even by herself. Surrounding her kicking foot was a thing sheet of white hot fire. It just barely hovered off the boot itself, not touching it, and the heat did nothing either.

But when the foot impacted the ork's face, the green skin melted. As Guan spun around, carried by her kick, the oozing remains of the creature's head splattered onto the ground. Guan now had her back to the dead body, and kicked out with the leg that she had not used to kick at first, which was her left.

A large blast of flame erupted from her foot as hit the dead body's chest. This not only knocked the ork back, but Guan let herself get pushed forwards by the explosion. She hit the ground with her right foot and spun around as she crouched, arms spreading out to release a wave of flame towards the lower legs of the nobs.

The crescent wave of fire scalded the creatures, causing all to at least stumble, if not fall down outright as their legs were burned down to the bone. Erwine was stopped by Guan, holding her hand out as the nob's attempted to assault once more. _Hate to glory hog, but Rozenn wants to show off. _

The next second, a rain of ice fell from the sky. Meter long shards landed all around the nobs, not a single piece actually touching one of the xenos. They looked around in confusion, before the cryomancer in red landed in their midst. She turned around to face Erwine and Guan, and smiled sweetly before the ice shards all melted at once.

Water swept around the nobs, only coming up to their waists. But then the water froze into series of individual spears of ice, all trapping the orks as their arms and legs were pinned. Before they had a chance to break from the admittedly flimsy bonds, long lances of ice came up from the ground and impaled each one.

Blood spurted into the air as the bodies were run through. Rozenn walked forwards with a smile as she looked around, admiring her handiwork. "Very impressive," Guan said, standing up straight with a slight shake of the head. "But there's still more,"

_No, not really, _Estelle said. She was telepathically monitoring everyone, which did mean she was keeping track of everything that was said. _We've cleaned up this group. We can move on, quickly. _

Rozenn smiled victoriously, and leaped away, quickly followed by an annoyed Guan. Erwine was not to be left behind, and soared through the air faster than either girl could leap.

The next encounter with any kind of trouble would occur a short time later. The group was now moving down into a small valley. Justinia could effectively no longer see, and Estelle was just as restricted. The group was still shielded from attack and sight, but there was only so much that could be done now that their presence was known.

A steady artillery bombardment had been raining down for the past ten minutes, tearing craters into the earth and felling trees. Fires were started by incendiary projectiles, and little could be done to stop all of them. Luckily, Laelia's shield was strong, and the magical girls had passed through every group of orks looking for them with ease, so the enemy had no clue where they were.

The valley was obviously the source of the energy signature, as it was strangely circular, and contained some kind of large tree in the center, which was out of place. It towered above the landscape, reaching up dozens and dozens of meters, and was much wider than any other.

All had gotten a strange feeling when eyes had first been laid upon the plant, and it was easy to understand that somehow it had been the source of all the strange energy detected in the system.

Girl-to-girl telepathy was almost impossible, or at least very dangerous, as well, so communication had to be voice based. The worst part was that they were blind. The enhanced eyes of the older members could easily see for miles, but compared to normal visibility when a clairvoyant was around, it was nothing.

"Erwine?" Adrianne called. The younger girl was near the front of the group, with Adrianne in the middle. "Do you think you can get up into the air, try to see anything?"

"Should I?" Erwine asked, "I'll be exposed?"

"And you can get up high enough so that they shouldn't be able to hit you." Juno said, "So do it, we need the eyes, try to get close to that tree." The party was only two kilometers away from the tree at the farthest, but it was best to have as much as possible to work with.

Erwine nodded, spreading her bright blue wings. With a couple experimental flaps, she pushed herself up over the others, feeling a bit strange as she lifted into the air. She had never gone higher than a few feet on her own power, and she got a strange sensation as she lifted over twenty feet up. As she started to break the low canopy, however, the air was filled with gunfire, aimed at her.

She shot forwards, leaves rustling as she brushed past them. Braking, she started to spiral upwards, slowing her descent but also throwing off all attempts to shoot her down. She had sheathed her blade for the moment, choosing to use the term sheath in her mind, despite the fact that she just dissipated it whenever she did not use it.

Continuing upwards, Erwine found herself roughly fifty meters above the ground. She beat her wings a couple more times, feeling the wind beat against her body hard. But the magical projections were unaffected by the earthly force, and she moved in towards the tree, her speed too great for the ineffective ork gunners below.

They were also not ready for Erwine's presence in general, so they had nothing aimed skywards. The young girl looked around as she moved through the air, angling herself so that her descent began. She realized just how beautiful such nature looked when observed from the air, and it also hit her how she had never encountered such a sight before.

Her dedication to her duty had abolished all thoughts of being surprised at the fact that she was walking through a forest, a vibrant bed of colors she had never encountered, for the first time in her life. So Erwine took the few seconds she had to be amazed, until she heard a primal roar erupt from the canopy near the large tree.

She stopped in midair, hovering there. She found that she could use her own magic to support herself, not even needing the wings. At least she did not need to flap them. Just having them out and moving once in a while gave her all the power she needed to move through the air.

She observed as the forest was torn apart by something which was charging though them. She caught a glimpse of a large green beast lumbering through the woods. The words came to her mind from her brief study of warfare. _Squiggoth, a gargantuan one at that, _Erwine thought, seeing the huge metal structure mounted atop the mighty beast's back.

It was moving in towards the main party, and Erwine shot back over there. Gunfire obstructed her path, as it seemed that the orks had mobilized smaller versions of the same creature, but she managed to remain untouched. A split second decloaking by Celestine allowed Erwine to see her comrades, and she made her landing quickly.

"I can't teleport out," Juno said calmly, as the squiggoth approached, now in the distance. It was accompanied by over a hundred orks, and a pack of its lesser brethren. Heavy weapons fire was already traveling the distance towards the girls, as the gunners had managed to track Erwine.

Heavy shells impacted all around, hitting the shield as well. For seconds at a time, the world was obscured by smoke and flame. Juno had already raised her rifle, and was firing back at the ork forces moving up the slope of the valley. Adrianne gestured for all to pull back, and Erwine stayed near the forefront as every long-ranged gun the orks had focused on the magical girls.

"Ten minutes," Laelia said, being the time she could safely hold the shield up.

"Antoinette," Juno said, "If you would please,"

The girl in white nodded, and dashed to the side out of the shield followed by Skelia, while Rozenn and Guan went the same way. The canopy in the area had been torn apart, exposing the sky and the rest of the valley. The squiggoths were slowing as the steepness increased, and Juno's high rate of fire was combining with Justinia's volleys to tear into the approaching enemies as they ran.

Suddenly, there was a faint voice in all their minds. It was like a girl, a powerful telepath, trying to talk through the interference. _Heads down…_That was all that was said. Adrianne leapt forwards and pushed Erwine down. She had no idea why, but Erwine trusted Adrianne enough to stay down, keeping her eyes looking upwards.

In the blink of an eye, five girls in gold and white armor were standing in front of the group. One held an ancient rifle in her hands, another carrying a large, recurve bow. Another held massive shurikens in her hands, while the other two had more mundane weapons, one carrying a lascannon while the other girl hefted a missile launcher on her shoulder.

Without any warning, they were all firing. The bright beams lancing out towards the squiggoth, but doing little damage. The missile was aimed downwards, towards the packs of creatures besides the larger one. Two star-shaped objects were flying towards the smaller squiggoths, only for four dozen more to come into form around them as they flew.

Erwine watched as a single smaller squiggoth took all the shuriken, each one digging halfway in. Its head alone suffered wounds from eleven of the projectiles, and it was soon falling over. The volley was repeated several more times as the other girls opened fire on the gargantuan squiggoth.

The girl with the ancient rifle, a weapon made mostly of wood, with a rusty old scope that was not even electronic, did not fire at first, simply crouching as the very tip of the barrel began to brightly glow. Meanwhile, massive arrows, each one firing as a small projectile but morphing into ammunition that was roughly three meters long in the air, buried themselves in the squiggoth's hide.

These five girls could have annihilated the entire attacking force on their own, but that was before the rest opened fire. Five more were behind the prone members of the inquisition. What sounded and looked like fire from a gatling gun flew in towards the squiggoth, while a hundred flintlock rifles all discharged at once. Then fire from three separate bolters joined the more impressive displays of fire, with these smaller weapons aiming towards the smaller creatures.

Then gunfire from ten other girls, five to each side of the ork forces, came in. Within a minute, the gargantuan beast was swaying, while the smaller ones were all dying or dead on the ground. Then the girl just in front of Erwine, with the old rifle, was done charging.

There was a bright flash of light, and without the slightest sound, the squiggoth was pierced all the way through. A brilliant lance of light blasted a hole a meter in diameter through the entirety of the beast.

It fell to the ground with a massive crash, brain blown apart and organs failing everywhere. It was not yet dead, but that was when the attacks of the SEO descended upon it. A fireball, with lightning swirling around the sphere while lances of ice orbited at a distance, hit the command structure on top of the beast.

The ammunition was touched off as the mage knights finished the job, and the squiggoth truly died. What would have been a long and trying battle for the Inquisitorial forces was over in a couple minutes with the presence of twenty mage knights.

The seeming leader of the force, the girl with the shuriken, turned around. The air was still rife with screams and cries of pain and fright from the defeated orks, but her voice was clear. "Inquisitor Azure?" the girl asked.

Adrianne stood shakily, getting off of where she held Erwine down. She nodded to the mage knight, who saluted in turn. She used the standard salute used by the mage knights, but more sparingly amongst inquisitors. It was simple. She placed her right hand on her chest, before closing it into a fist and extending the arm straight out. The meaning was that one's soul was the other's, intended to signify the camaraderie all magical girls had with each other.

Adrianne flinched as she realized the title that had been used. She looked around hesitantly, then said, "Not anymore, just Adrianne." The mage knight nodded. Erwine took a second to look at her armor. It was interesting. The boots of each girl were shaped differently, seemingly in accordance to what their uniform had them wear.

The legs looked like normal armor, perhaps inspired by the armor of a stereotypical knight. Then the knees were reached, or some place on the leg, as that was were an armored skirt protruded from the waist and went downwards. Once again, it was fit to the costume of each knight. The leg armor continued onwards, as the skirt looked mostly detached from the armor. Then the torso and arms resembled the armor of a knight once again, while the helmet was mostly flat, with a small opening in front of the eyes, covered by glass. The armor was colored gold, with white highlights and accents. Overall, the girl was a little less than six feet tall, but most of that was due to the armor. Each girl seemed to be around that height, give or take a few inches based on their actual body height.

She extended her hand to be shaken by the inquisitor, "Sergeant Yukie Cochis," she said, "Hearth Knights 8th Company, 6th Squad," With a chuckle, she remarked, "I heard you needed a hand."

Adrianne shrugged, gesturing to the surrounding area with a grin, saying, "I guess you could say we were having some trouble." Erwine stood as well, looking over the mage knights who were coming from all sides now. The groups deployed to the left and right leaped back in, their jumps taking them high into the air before coming back down.

A girl from the right unit, carrying a bolter modified for sniping in her hands, approached. She saluted to Adrianne, "Sergeant Loren Amil, Hearth Knights 8th Company, 7th Squad. Adrianne?"

Adrianne nodded in reply, before she looked over her shoulder at the other magical girls. The SEO had returned as well, so that they were not thirty-five magical girls in one place. Adrianne almost laughed, knowing that entire worlds had fallen to fewer.

"Any idea why there were so many orks?" Yukie asked, "They weren't going anywhere. We couldn't locate any of their ships anywhere in the system. We picked up a weird blip in the asteroid belt, and one of the strike cruisers is headed out now for a distant flyby, but it's more likely Imperial in origin."

"I have no idea," Juno replied, "I feel as if this strange signature in the valley had something to do with it, but otherwise I can find no reason. Guessing won't help us at all. If anything, the reason will be found in there."

Meanwhile, several people coming from behind, and then glanced over her shoulder. "Yukie, Loren," Adrianne said, looking as Estelle and Juno came up beside her, "Meet Erwine, Juno, and Estelle."

"Lord inquisitor," the words came from both sergeants, who nodded slightly to hear.

Juno shook her head, "One day we'll just use names in the first place always." Then she grinned, as the mage knights chuckled.

Erwine was confused, "Go on," Adrianne insisted Erwine, as Estelle returned the greeting she received, "Say hello, it's polite." She spoke as if it was weeks ago, back when Erwine still knew nothing.

"Hello, sirs…or ma'am's," Erwine said, not sure which title to use.

"First names work too," Yukie said, as she looked over her shoulder at the girl with the rifle.

"Area clear," the girl's voice was emotionless. It sounded as if she just always had that sound to her voice, not that she was not in any specific mood. "Ready to move on your command, Yukie,"

Erwine took notice of how the subordinate used her superior's first name. She'd read something about that somewhere..."You all use each other's first names?" Erwine asked with surprise.

Yukie chuckled, glancing at Adrianne, "Is she not the brightest or is she just new?"

"New," Adrianne replied, "Not even a month yet."

"Oh," the sergeant said, then looked back at Erwine. _Her knowledge shows that, but the way she carries herself…_

"If there are no humans around and the occasion is not formal, then yes, a trainee could call her chapter master by her first name," Yukie said, "We're all in this together, we all have the same issues, having strict ranks and structure is bad for magical girls, we rely on friendship and bonds, and counting on the fact that everyone will be there for you. Makes it a lot easier to ask a commander for some help when they're like a friend to you, rather than a title."

Erwine knew that there was much more to the idea, and she nodded in reply. She had noticed the lack of formality throughout the entire Inquisition, and supposed that both organizations used the same theories.

"We just got here," Loren said, "Came into the system via the closest possible jump point about the same time you all landed on the moon. Couldn't get through due to interference, so we teleported in while we were in transit. We had two teleporters, so they combined powers, and the navigator and astropath helped us land exactly. The interference was massive, but they managed to find a solid course through."

"How far away were you?" Juno asked.

Yukie sighed, her helmet fading away. Erwine was amazed. The girl did not take off her helmet. It just disappeared as a magical girl might dissipate her weapon. She gestured behind her, where both teleporters were lying on the ground, completely unconscious. They had managed to retain consciousness for a small time, but had now lost all energy.

"Nav saw you all were in serious trouble, so we jumped from a ways away. They'll be fine, but they had to burn through all built in cubes to do all that. We actually had to blow a couple….ummm?" She gestured to Erwine and Wei, seeing that they were the youngest members.

"They know," Adrianne said.

"A couple seeds on them in order to make the jump. We would have come sooner but they needed to charge. It was an incredibly reckless decision, but most of us are on leave from the 2nd or 3rd companies, so we got bored sitting around this sector." Yukie shrugged. Her hair was a light brown color and her skin fair.

"Then it seems that our dear friend has given you something to do," Adrianne said, gesturing towards the tree. "I assume you know what's going on?"

"Yes," Yukie said, "A crazy girl killed tens of millions…" She looked around, then shrugged, "But not right now,"

"We've no lead on Ishna," Adrianne explained, "But there's a warp energy signature coming from around that large tree up ahead. We're hoping that it can explain where Ishna went, and what happened to cause the events which destroyed Vasillica."

"Sounds good," Loren said, before gesturing for the team to move out. Yukie did the same, and the group moved in once again. While they had been mostly silent before, with little to speak of, the larger party was quite talkative now, given that few had gotten the chance to meet the mage knights.

All the knights had removed their helmets, exposing people who looked just like normal girls. Erwine supposed that the legends, touting them as more than any other magical girl, about them were far-fetched, but then again, the Inquisition didn't exist according to most.

The day was still present, and would be for a long time. The moon was of course tidally locked in place, and each side would be subjected to the rays of the sun for a long time. The atmosphere and ecosystem had evolved, and presumably were originally engineered during the terraforming of the world in the Golden Age, to compensate for this fact, but that did not stop the world from becoming steaming hot during the intensely long days, lasting hundreds of hours.

The tree was ahead. It was over two hundred, and there was an entrance to the wide, hollow base of the tree. The curved archway was stepped through by the combined force, with the mage knights leading the way. Celestine and Laelia were resting their magic, with the knights taking over the shielding for the time being.

Loren held her hand up as they approached, moving ahead on her own with a small force. They entered the structure slowly, and after five minutes of tension passed, Yukie waved them all forwards, having received a quiet vox message.

The interior of the tree was tranquil, covered in vines and other plants. The surface of the tree, hard wood clacking as the armored girls strode across it, was flat and smooth, strange for a natural entity. Yet what lay in the center of the space was the real reason to be interested in this strange tree.

A large shard of metal reached high into the air. It was hundreds of meters long, reaching up to the top of the tree. It was not smooth and even, looking more like a fragment of something even larger. The confused magical girls approached the fragment, beginning to examine the huge piece of metal.

Yukie waved the quiet girl in her squad forwards, saying softly, "Isolde, please check this." The quiet hair with long brown hair moved forwards. Erwine just say her look at the metal for a minute, before she seemed to know everything about it.

"Her eyes," Yukie said, "Just looking at something with her magic on allows her to do an in-depth examination. She can do other things. It's unclassifiable, at least in terms of broad categories, but that doesn't mean it's not amazingly helpful."

The girl staring at the metal looked strange. She was leaning in close, as if to capture every single tiny detail of the ruined fragment. But it was also the way she stood, her posture suddenly disrupted by something. She was stepping back now, shock clear in her movements despite her back being turned to everyone.

"This…" she was deeply disturbed. Erwine was amazed to see her body shaking. "This is a fragment of a ship," she whispered. Isolde spun around, eyes glowing as she looked through the entrance to the interior, out at the valley.

"This is no valley," she shook her head, muscles not seeming to know when to stop, as the motion continued for a bit longer than it should have. "This is an impact crater,"

"From what?" Adrianne asked.

"Whatever embedded this thing here did it," Isolde explained, turning around again. She looked up at the entirety of the piece of metal, "This is a fragment from a starship. I don't know the model, nor can I exactly identify the materials used. I can say it's only a few hundred years old, though, so it's recent."

"You're sure you don't know where it's from?" Juno asked, stepping forwards. There was an additional hint of seriousness on her face. Erwine instantly got a feeling that Juno had been hiding some details from everyone else, given her quick reply.

"I can't tell," Isolde confirmed, "But this thing was…shot into the surface of this moon, by some massive force." Wei stepped forwards after that. Hushed words had been exchanged between her and Justinia.

"A program has been woven around it," she said. Isolde nodded, having noticed.

"I can't tell what it is, but if you can, feel free," Isolde, clearly a girl of great age, gestured for Wei to approach. The quiet girl whose eyes could see what other eyes could not was still shaken by her discovery, but she was not alone. Everyone was showing signs of distress. It meant that Ishna's plan was much more far-reaching than previously thought.

Wei got to one knee, looking up and down the length of the shard. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, seemingly to steel herself rather than help her examination. "This is a work of art," despite her preparation, she was nearly breathless when she did speak. Not from fright, from amazement. "I know little, but it seems that at some point there was a warp rift, incredibly small but very focused, above this point. This shard was used to focus the energy of the rift. This thing is what caused the mantle eruption. The rift is gone now, but at some point in the past, this was used as a focus.""

"Ishna has this level of power?" Yukie sounded scared.

It was Erwine who asked, "How do we even know if this is Ishna?"

The question seemed absurd, but she explained herself. "Ishna was there at the end of the audio logs, yes, but who says she set all this up. Could she not have been capitalizing on someone else trying to hide what was below Vasillica? It's already been established that she's a diviner, and has calculated the future, so why could she not have seen _this_?"

Adrianne nodded. "She wouldn't want to do something like that herself, it would be too much work…" It was an insult, nothing more.

Juno spoke up, "Can we find anything else out from this, as we still need to know where Ishna went?"

Isolde nodded, "No matter who did this, I can clearly see something carved in the side of the shard." She had circled around the object while initially examining it, and now went to the opposite side. As she was followed, she explained, "Letters spelling…" The girl took a breath, then sounded out the letters, "Uk-e-e-st-h-ri is carved into the side here. You can see that it is not in any common language. I've identified the script as something from a long time ago, an earlier version of runic scripts used by servants of Chaos."

"How old?" Yukie wondered.

"Not sure, but it's old," Isolde said, "I could barely read it myself, and there's a fair chance that what I said is wrong. I will say that the script is younger than the fragment itself. I imagine that this ship fragment was taken from a very important vessel, but I can't think of anything from the past few hundred years."

"Doesn't matter," Juno said, "That name, it sounds similar. There's a region of space, what looks like a massive cluster of debris, from what I know. It's called the Oksterri Expanse, named after a system that is there on older star charts."

"How does that lead us anywhere?" Yukie asked.

"Ishna's dropping clues for us," Estelle explained, happy to get a chance to participate in the larger conversation instead of standing in silence. "Leading us along slowly. This has to be a sign of it, especially since she was responsible for it."

"So we go to the Oksterri Expanse?" Loren asked.

"Yes," Juno said, "We can get there in only three days from here, provided the currents are good. The Expanse is close to Vasillica, enough that I'd say that it's no coincidence that these two locations are related."

"What do we do about this?" Erwine gestured to the massive piece of a warship.

"We can't do a full examination now, and the spell program will keep causing trouble if we leave it be," Estelle said, "So we bury it until a full team can get out here and examine it."

"I'll put the call in as soon as possible," Juno said, "But yes, we need to bury this."

"I'll handle it," Loren said, "Or at least my team will." A girl came up from behind her, carrying a small device. It was a grenade. It looked normal, but was clearly magical. She walked towards the object, shortly looking over the fragment. She examined the ground.

"Isolde?" she asked, "How deep?"

"Deep enough so that we'll need a lot of blasting," the girl replied, "The roots go down a long ways, and wrap around the few dozen meters of metal down there."

"Damn," the girl with the grenade muttered, "Alright, this whole valley was caused by this thing, right?"

"Yes," Wei said.

"Then we can just blow this whole tree up, bring it down. I'll try to collapse the tree atop the fragment. The fragment will survive, it was made to take hits from stuff far worse than a few explosives and a falling tree."

She started laying explosives around the base of the object, before she scattered throughout the tree itself. She did not just go around the bottom. She went to the very top, planting bombs throughout the entire tree. When she was finished, the girl, who was apparently named Dia, gestured to the outside, "I'd rather not be here when this all goes down,"

The journey up the slope of the crater was quick, and when they were one hundred meters away, the girl snapped her fingers together. A series of explosions burst out all over the tree. The sound of wood groaning could be heard from the distance, and the fragment of metal toppled to the ground as the tree collapsed over it. A sizable hole was dug in the ground as well.

"If a program is connected to a material object, destroying or seriously disrupting that object will cause the program to be disrupted," Wei explained to Erwine, "This one's program will still be active, but it won't have nearly as much of an effect. It will also prevent any further manipulations of the area."

The interference was mostly gone, and teleportation would work again. Juno looked at the still recuperating teleporters of the knights, and gestured for all to approach her. "Where are we all going?" she wondered.

"Isolde, Loren, and I will all stay with you all for a little bit, take the others back to the other cruiser in orbit." Yukie said. And so, Juno and thirty-four other girls disappeared at once, leaving behind only a burning wreck of a once proud tree.

Yet it was a tree woven around a foul monolith, through which only death and destruction had been wrought.

The job was done quickly, and soon the reduced group was standing beside the shuttlecraft that had taken the Inquisitorial party down in the first place. "We came down in this, our navigator is not nearly as good as the two you have," Adrianne said, "And we had no idea where to go at first."

The door was opened, and the party entered. The shuttle lifted off quickly, the jungle shooting away. Erwine felt a bit satisfied, leaving a planet normally. It was strange losing an entire frame of reference in the space of a single second.

As the craft made its way back up towards the ship from where it had first came, a frantic message came through from someone. It was not clear who it was, but Erwine imagined it was a mage knight. _The _Illyumathia _is gone! _She shouted. The knights looked around in shock, and Erwine got the same feeling as she figured out it was the ship that had been sent to scan the asteroid belt.

_More precisely, _the telepath said, _it's gone from our scanners. Astroclairvoyancy has signs of it, but it's all fuzzy. It seems to have entered some kind of dead zone. Most likely projected by the ship we picked up. Wait! Wait, it's gone…_

_The other ship is gone! It had to have been opening a warp breach, but somehow…they couldn't have blocked clairvoyancy if they were going into the warp. Nevertheless, we have the Illyumathia, contact reestablished, patching the captain through now. _

He had to be talking to the astropath, who sent the messages to Yukie, who would then send the messages to all those listening. _Sorry ma'am. We were about to get in range, Lady Arpeggio was just about to go in for a scan. Speed was roughly one-fourth lightspeed, and we were planning to slingshot around the second planet as you ordered. There was some kind of interference, but we managed to pick up an opening warp tunnel before everything went dark. We were out of everything for ten seconds, and when we were back, the tunnel and the signature were gone. Everything was jammed, even Lady Arpeggio and Lady Maria. They couldn't do anything. I don't know what did that, but I don't think any magical girl save a primarch could pull something off so close to the warp. _

Yukie replied immediately, _understood captain. Stay near the edge, at minimum jump distance. We will be there as soon as we possibly can. We have our next destination, find the fastest route to the Oksterri Expanse. _

_Yes ma'am. _Erwine took note of the reverential tone used with people like Yukie and the astropath and navigator. It was very different from the way the girls referred to each other.

The shuttle was close to the _Rosie _now, and the craft touched down shortly after the conversation ended. "Why come with us?" Juno asked.

"We need to hear everything, and Isolde is probably the smartest person here," Loren explained. Isolde was unfazed by the comment. She had remained quiet and stoic since they had left the moon below.

"Then come with me," Juno said, "I'll fill you in on everything. The bridge will be the best bet to get absolutely everything you need."

The mage knights followed the girl away, and Adrianne went with them, to help in any way she could. Before she fully left, she turned around to see Erwine. The girl was wearing a frown, seemingly disappointed in something. "What is it?" Adrianne asked.

"I'm telling you," Erwine said, "There's more to Ishna than we think. She's not just some kind of maniac. She doesn't like hurting people."

Adrianne was silent for a few seconds. It was if she was contemplating _something. _She gave indication as to what that something was. Then she said, "Erwine, I'm sorry, but she's misguiding you here. You also know she's incredibly manipulative, and that has been proven by evidence. I'd like to remind you she's the one who has killed tens of millions."

With that, Adrianne turned around instantly. Given that she spoke more from this position, it seemed that there was something on her face she wanted to hide. "Ishna just wants to trick us all into thinking she's not as bad as she truly is. Be smart, Erwine. You're better than this." The inquisitor was gone.

Erwine did not feel insulted. She knew that Adrianne was not insulting her, merely criticizing her. All Erwine could do is agree with the girl who was still her master. Slowly, she walked towards the exit. She was almost stumbling. She suppressed her external feelings, keeping her shame to herself.

She didn't understand. The words Ishna had spoken, they had been so true. _That's a sign of her telepathy, _Erwine told herself, knowing that the villain would never tell Erwine something close to the truth. '

A voice in front of her paused her thoughts. Erwine welcomed the call, no matter who it was. Pausing, she glanced up to find Wei standing there. The girl seemed to be proud of herself. It was quite a reversal, Erwine feeling useless while Wei was the strong one.

"I just wanted to…" Wei paused for a couple seconds, then said, "To thank you, sincerely, for getting me off of the path I was on."

Erwine frowned, "What did I do?" She asked.

"I wanted to become just like you," Wei seemed embarrassed to have to speak of the events again, "But you told me that I shouldn't try, so I didn't. I would have kept trying, maybe even destroyed myself trying to be as strong as you are, but I clearly can't be like that." She stepped in, and briefly embraced Erwine. "So thank you for that,"

The understanding that this was the first time since she contracted that someone besides Adrianne had truly thanked her for something she did was not lost. Erwine's face brightened up, and she felt her anguish get swept away for a time, as she was able to smile as Wei stepped back.

Wei clasped her hands behind her back. She looked down, not knowing what to say. Erwine did not know either. The two were magical girls, able to take on almost anything in the world. Yet they could not manage to have a normal conversation.

"So…" Wei asked, voice low, "Can we really be friends?"

Erwine felt herself nodding before she could really control herself. "Yeah," she said, her voice just as low as Wei's. "I think that would be alright,"

Wei clapped her hands together excitedly, "I'm sure we'll be the best of friends!" she declared. Erwine felt a rather warming feeling rise in her chest. Wei was practically skipping by the time she reached the exit to the hangar, and before Erwine followed her, she glanced over her shoulder.

Justinia was standing by the entrance to the shuttle. She was grinning, victoriously, as if she was taking part in a place no one else knew to be going on. Erwine's face furrowed as she saw this. Justinia saw her and shrugged, slowly beginning to step in the same direction as everyone else had gone. Wordlessly, she passed by Erwine, only saying, "Thanks for that," before she left.

* * *

Magical girls are not perfect, invincible creatures. They can still feel pain. They can still feel negative emotions. While pain, if a constant, can be overcome, despair is much harder to. A magical girl's reaction to negative emotions like fear and despair is influenced by how dark her soul is. The darker it is, the more consumed by them her mind will be.

This will make it harder to fight off pain. So, if a girl is filled with such negative emotions, torture of her becomes entirely possible. It's certainly far harder than doing it to a human, but it's definitely more fun. Breaking magical girls is far more of an art than just making people feel pain, and influencing them in the right way.

Magical girls are far more resistant to such efforts, and will try to run into consciousness after consciousness, or find some way to break out. But in the end, it just enhances your experience.

-_A Guide to Interrogation, _By Inquisitor Leonova Tarquis.


	32. Does the End Come?

We have not heard from Ishna Kleimar in some time. She was to investigate the world of Mehete. It is suggested that someone move in to investigate, as she may have been captured or killed by the enemy presence she confirmed to be on that world. Knowledge of the wider situation is unneeded, just discover what happened to her.

-Bulletin put out by Derivel Sect, M40.968.

* * *

Soon after the return of the investigation party, the two ships still around Vasillica Minor would be flying out to meet with the Illyumathia, which was now in position at the closest jump point. The journey took a couple hours, as the strike cruiser and merchant ship traveled close by, at least in space terms.

It was absurd that close meant thousands of kilometers apart, but when such distances were covered in seconds by these craft, there could be no room for error. By the time the point was reached, Yukie, Loren, and Isolde were all briefed and prepared. The two sergeants were set to return, and the 7th Squad returned to the Illyumathia along with Loren, while Isolde would be staying on the _Rosie _to continue to learn as much as possible about the enemy.

The three ships would be mostly disconnected once the warp was reached, despite the fact that a magical girl could easily send telepathic signals thousands of kilometers. The warp was no place to send a link to one's mind into. Not even the astropaths could do so. The only reason navigators could was because they gave up all other ability to see. They had their physical eyes, but they could not use their clairvoyancy on anything but the warp.

The warp was entered as the universe was torn apart by the combined power of the warp drives. The multicolored tunnel, of hues never to be seen by a mortal, appeared in front of the trio, and the intrepid force moved forwards to a place where humans had once been before.

But not for a long time.

* * *

Wei and Sechylia sat in the latter's room. It was at the request of Wei that they meet. Sechylia knew not what she wanted, but seeing as she had nothing else to do, she was happy to oblige her friend.

Sechylia sat on the edge of her bed, legs hanging off. Wei was pacing around, unable to remain in one spot for too long. She seemed nervous, but then again, she always had an air of nervousness around herself.

"Sechylia," she said after some five minutes of pacing. According to the way she walked around, her voice was indeed one of a nervous person. "Do you know much about Justinia?"

"What do you mean by that?" Sechylia asked, "In what way?"

"Every way," the dark-haired girl clarified. "She's told me nothing about herself ever since I met her. She certainly cares about me, but as much as I open up for her, she doesn't do the same for me."

"You think I know more?" Sechylia asked.

"You two are close, right?" Wei asked, "You have to know more about her than I do, seeing as how you two have been friends for much longer."

"I'm sorry," Sechylia said, shoulders moving up just a little in a movement that infuriated Wei for how casual of a dismissal it was, "But it's been ten years since I met the girl, and I still can't tell you the sector she was born in. I wasn't around when she was recruited. She's older than even Celestine, yet that girl has the interrogator spot around here."

"Any ideas, even wild speculation?" Wei demanded.

"I don't think about it. I don't need to know. Why do you want to know?" Sechylia's tone, and her reluctance to entertain Wei's questions, was greatly annoying the younger girl.

"I just want to know!" the girl declared, "She wants to be like a teacher to me, which is fine, but if she's going to be one, then I need to know things about her too!"

"She'll tell you when she wants to," Sechylia assured her, trying to push the topic aside before it went any further.

"She hasn't told you for ten years!" Wei shouted.

Without words, Sechylia swung her legs up onto the bed, as she laid back on top of the sheets. She stared up at the ceiling. Wei was going to demand more from the girl, when she saw the hint of…sadness on her face?

"Sechylia?"

"I wish she would tell something, you know?" Sechylia asked, her head turning a little bit to look at Wei. "She takes such little interest in anything besides the two of us. She hasn't bad intentions, at least none that are even close to the surface, or else she would have shown some sign. But she's hiding something from all of us, maybe even Estelle…"

Wei was surprised by this sudden revelation. She had not expected Sechylia to just let her feelings out as she had just done. "So what you're saying is that we need to find out these secrets?" Wei asked.

"I've already checked everything electronic that belongs to her," Sechylia assured Wei, "There was nothing there. That is the end of my usefulness, but if you can somehow get more, than feel free to do so."

"I'll try," Wei promised.

"Is this something you really want to do?" Sechylia asked, "In a way, it would be betraying the person who has been, and still is, helping you out a lot."

"I want to do this," Wei declared, "Not because…I don't trust Justinia, but because she cares for me. If she's hiding something, and that something causes her pain, I would prefer that she stop hiding whatever she's hiding."

Sechylia burst out laughing. Her lips would first spread into a grin as her body trembled, before she found herself unable to control her mirth anymore. Through her laughs, she managed to simply say, "That is childish."

Wei stepped back, flinching back from the annoyance in Sechylia's voice. No, not annoyance. It was more like disgust. Like she was looking down on Wei. "Secrets are secrets because they would hurt people if they got out. I suppose that you haven't learned that yet." Sechylia swung her legs off the bed.

Despite Wei's superiority in height, she was nothing before the contempt Sechylia held for her. "Find her secrets for a reason better than that, and I _won't _tell her that you're looking for them. Otherwise, she'll be receiving a little tip in the next few days."

Wei was shocked. Horrified, even. "How can you do this?" She asked, "If you really want to know?"

"Because if she is not telling us anything, there is a reason behind it!" Sechylia shouted, "So don't go around acting like a child, thinking that you're going to go on some kind of adventure. This is serious business…"

Sechylia shook her head at Wei. "You deserve to be helped by Justinia, so I think you should accept her guidance. But don't take it lightly."

"You're not making sense," Wei countered, growling her words at Sechylia. "You say I shouldn't, then you say I should!"

"I want to know, but if it is you who is going to uncover them for me, I would gladly never know!" Sechylia declared, "Wei, no matter how much you like to refuse it, you are still a child. You are a child with more power than a child should ever have. It is not your duty to be responsible with that power, it is your duty to be sensible with your desires. If you want to know because you are concerned about Justina's well-being, thinking that uncovering what she has hidden will make her feel better, then you don't deserve to know."

Wei turned around, facing the door as she began to move. "Fine, walk away," Sechylia said, as Wei moved out of the room. She seemed to have given up on trying to convince the girl.

"Are you truly telling me this so I can find out what she knows?" Wei asked, "Or are you just mad at me because you're close to her?" She hadn't turned around. "You two are like a dog and her master, you happily following Justinia around." She chuckled, "Perhaps I should use more common sense, it would have made me realize what you're really doing."

It was now Sechylia's turn to be stepping back on the defensive. Wei knew this occurred, and called back, "What? Did you forget who I was trained by?"

The girl left the room with those words. Sechylia fell back onto her bed, a mixture of pride and anger on her face.

The observation deck was a favored location for many who made their permanent or temporary homes on the _Rosie. _The small space, too small to be a true deck, was often occupied by at least one of the magical girls. Humans had long ago learned to never frequent the place, as they'd usually find some drama going on there.

New crewmembers were told this as one of the first things after signing on, but of course these new ones knew what they were getting into, this being a ship used by an Inquisitor after all.

Two faces, one younger, one older, were here now. Ayelen sat on the small bench, similar to before. Sanae stood a couple meters in front of her, apparently afraid to approach. Afraid? That didn't make sense.

The seated girl had found the standing one up here. Perhaps Ayelen's current sorrow was because Sanae had moved away from her as she approached. Questions ran through both their minds, neither one understanding what the truth was.

Sanae was surprised at Ayelen's anguish, while Ayelen was saddened by Sanae's movement away. It didn't make any sense for either girl. Both had different beliefs about the other.

Ayelen opened her mouth, questioning her words. Her mind was not on autopilot. She had control. "I'm tired of you doing this. It's been a few days now, but you just won't listen to me."

She thought carefully, even as Sanae reacted. "What will you do, force me to concede?"

"I might just." Ayelen whispered, thinking of what she'd been told. By that quiet, red-haired girl. "

Sanae's stubborn. I don't want to get involved myself, but, I think it would be best if you stood up and didn't back down. Use force if necessary. The girl knows you're right, but won't admit it till she's forced to." Justinia had told Ayelen, coming from seemingly nowhere to speak to the girl.

_Damn her, _Ayelen thought, _making me do this. _She knew that she wasn't being _made _to do anything, but she understood that she had to face Sanae down. The girl stood up, a spear flashing into her hand.

It seemed that Sanae understood the threat. Ayelen's widened, watching the weapon fly out of her hand and bounce off the wall. She turned, quickly backing away, summoning a pair of her weapons. Sanae didn't follow the girl, her eyes kept looking ahead. She was sheathing the longer of her two blades, looking at Ayelen. "You…you mean to fight me."

Ayelen merely nodded. She rushed forwards, extending her left arm. The spear was knocked away. _One-trick pony, huh? _Ayelen questioned, swinging the other spear low as she pivoted on one foot. To her surprise, Sanae went into the attack. She crouched, sliding her left leg outwards.

The spear lifted the limb upwards, but Sanae just pushed off her right leg, slamming her side into Ayelen. The girl stumbled a couple feet, before Sanae, having planted her left, stood up and spun to kick her right foot into the side of Ayelen's head.

The girl was sent onto the floor with a thud. Sanae backing away as she sheathed her blade once again. Ayelen got to her feet quickly, staring down her opponent. "Don't make me hurt you, Ayelen. You know I'm better."

Ayelen ignored her, charging forwards. This time, she fired a dozen javelins, forming them around her then releasing. They shot through the air quickly, forcing Sanae to leap over them. Ayelen curved them upwards, the projectiles followed her.

Ayelen saw an opening, leaping upwards, holding her weapon in both hands. Sanae was trapped, Ayelen behind her, the javelins all around her. Ayelen kicked off the wall, moving in. She gasped, watching herself fall to the ground as she clutched at her stomach.

She couldn't move her other arm, and she felt something in her leg, something in her chest. The girl groaned as those things went away. She looked to the side, negating the pain with her magic, and saw that she'd been impaled by her own spears.

"You lost," Sanae commented. "I told you. I don't want to accept that my wish isn't the one I want. Fear has won out against hope. If I admit it, especially because of what my inability to make that wish meant, then I will die." Sanae choked up. "I will become a witch."

"That's not the end I want." The girl walked away. "Though, I'm sure it's the end I'll get."

* * *

Wei walked slowly down a hallway. The dim lighting was normal for the darkened interior of the ship, but seemed to add a secretive air to the stale atmosphere. Wei's quarters were in this hall. As were the quarters of the other girls under Estelle. However, none of them mattered to Wei, save for one. That one was not her own room.

It was the room of Justinia. The girl that Wei had dedicated the last day to spying on consistently. The task seemed silly, given how much time the two spent together, but Wei deemed it quite necessary, and did her best to observe the girl when she was on her own.

And now Wei was attempting to break into the girl's room. She knew for a fact that Justinia was currently elsewhere. The two had been leaving the observation deck, of course, when Justinia had told Wei that she would have to go speak with Estelle.

Now Wei didn't know where Estelle was, but as long as the two weren't in Justinia's room, all was well. Wei had used what limited programming she had to create a program which should be capable of replicating the energies of a key entering the lock of a door, specifically Justinia's.

It took time to work, and it took time to create, but Wei had the time and energy. She hoped that no one was in the room, as her program had finished its work. The magic was almost invisible to the naked eye, certainly not visible to anyone who wasn't specifically searching for such a program.

Simply pushing her finger forwards at the lock would undo the seal. Wei did this, and as the door clicked, she took a look to either side of her. Seeing no one, her entrance of the room was swift yet quiet.

The door was shut, and she locked it from the inside, dissipating her program at the same time. It would look as if no one had ever entered into the room. Justinia's room was Spartan, but it was not as if she had had time to decorate it, given that she had not spent much time on the ship. Wei's room, as well as the room of anyone who recently came aboard, was basically barren of anything besides basics.

But that did not stop Wei from looking around for…something. She didn't quite know what she was going to find, but she was determined to look. Minutes ticked by as she searched in every nook and cranny of the room, eventually locating nothing.

Wei eventually grew impatient. She figured that she would have to observe or listen to the girl when Justinia was entirely alone, preferably in this room, but that would be difficult. Wei stood there, thinking about a way to find out exactly what Justinia was hiding from everyone.

That was when she heard someone outside the door. A curse escaped her lips as she fled into the bathroom. She took cover in there, in the small tub provided. She covered herself with one of the towels. The height of the tub ensured that she could not be seen by a cursory glance, and a towel would hopefully assist in her concealment if a cursory glance was cast in her direction.

The door opened, and was then closed. Footsteps echoed. Wei forced herself to be calm, using the techniques taught to her by the one she was now hiding from. She didn't know how she was going to get out, but she wasn't thinking that far ahead.

She had hoped that she would be able to get out before Justinia returned, but her frustration had gotten hold of her. Her continued searching had revealed nothing, and now she was paying for her foolishness.

Justinia entered the bathroom. The light came on. Wei heard a long sigh as the girl walked forwards. Wei froze, her throat sealing shut to prevent the slightest sound from escaping.

That seal was broken as a heel dug into her stomach without warning. The kick was enough to lift her head off the ground, and she grunted in pain as Justinia held her leg down on top of Wei. "Now this is just sad," the clairvoyant commented, "I thought I taught you better than this,"

Wei was indeed ashamed of herself, especially since she was humiliated before Justinia. The crimson-haired girl continued, "Really Wei, if you're this perverted, then you can just talk to me about that."

Wei tried to complain, but Justinia spun on her other heel, the one not on Wei. This resulted in the foot that was stepping on Wei to spin about and kick Wei in the chin. Now standing outside the tub entirely and with her back to Wei, Justinia spoke more. "But of course, I doubt you were here for _that _purpose…do tell your real intention?"

Wei didn't want to talk, but she knew that the truth would be forced from eventually. She stood up shakily, body still in pain. She stared at Justinia's back. "You have secrets, right?" Wei asked, "You're not telling anyone, not even Sechylia. I want to know them, if you're going to know everything about me,"

Justinia chuckled a little. She turned around slowly. A grin was on her face. "Come on," she suggested, "Let's not spend this entire talk in here." She walked out of the bathroom. The clairvoyant walked out into the main room, hands going to her chest as she removed her outer coat and tie. She placed the pieces of clothing on the table in the center of the room as she sat down on the bed.

Wei looked at her and frowned. "What?" Justinia replied, "I don't like being dressed up all day long. I came here to get some rest, not mess around with you, but we can't all have what we want, can we?"

Wei sat at one of the chairs after Justinia gestured for her to do so. "So you want to know all my secrets?" Justinia asked, seeming to find the whole idea funny. She shook her head, "Sorry, but I don't think you're going to be impressed,"

"Just tell me," Wei said, "I want to know. I…I need to know, if you're going to get everything out of me."

"You're not going to be impressed because there's nothing to be impressed or depressed by," Justinia explained, "I am a perfectly normal magical girl. No, that's a lie. I'm not normal. I don't have some depressing sob story to tell toe everybody."

"What are you talking about?!" Wei shouted, "Then why are you so emotionless, so uncaring?!"

"I care about you, I care about Sechylia, I care about everyone," Justinia said, "It's just that I don't care about the bad things that happen. I wanted to contract, and while I didn't know exactly what I would be getting into, I really, really did want to serve the Goddess. I don't really see why serving as a magical girl has to be this huge tragedy."

"You're not terrified by anything about it?" Wei asked, "Not one bit?"

"Not one bit," Justinia confirmed, "As I said, I wanted this. I was ready to serve the Goddess, so I signed up. Call me a fool for listening to all that propaganda, call me blinded by religion, whatever you want. But I have enjoyed my service, because I know what I am doing is right."

Wei was shaken. "But…but not all of us are like that, right?"

"I'm probably the minority," Justinia agreed, "Estelle was like me, at least before she and Adrianne met each other about twenty years ago."

"So you've really nothing terrible to hide?" Wei asked. Justinia stood up, taking a few steps forwards before laying a hand on Wei's shoulder. Staring into her eyes, Justinia spoke.

"I've nothing terrible hidden in my past, I swear on my soul. That's why I helped Sechylia. It's why I'm helping you. I don't want to see people suffer, so I do my best to help those I can."

"Thank you," Wei would say, only after a minute of staring back into Justinia's eyes. She stood, "I should go then, shouldn't I?"

"I'm fine with company I guess, but you should get some rest," Justinia said.

"Do you really enjoy all this?" Wei asked, wanting to know for sure.

"Of course I do," Justinia said, "I got something out of it by making a wish, and I am destroying enemies of humanity."

"Of course, everything will balance back out to zero in the end," Justinia said, but no sorrow was in her voice, "But I suppose that I will deal with whatever terror I face when I face it."

Wei nodded. She would stare at Justinia, then turn around. The door opened, and the door closed quickly. And so, no secrets were revealed by one who had no secrets to reveal.

* * *

Juno sat staring at the ceiling. She was on the observation deck. Four days had passed since Vasillica was left behind in the great vastness of the cosmos. She sat a small table, a bottle and a glass present. She took small sips from the glass, sometimes refilling it with the bottle.

She just liked being alone. It was rather peaceful here, despite the stains of blood that hadn't been cleaned up. _I won't ask if they won't tell. _The lord inquisitor decided to let Adrianne's girls have their fun. And since no one else was here, she figured that she would be safe for at least a little while. Like others before her, she heard the elevator coming up. She had many guesses as to who it could be. Antoinette was not near the top of that list.

Yet the girl in fine white did emerge from the opening doors, accompanied by the other three girls under her command. They all spread out immediately, save for Antoinette, who located Juno and walked towards her. It was obvious that she had brought the others up here for the purpose of letting them mess around.

The three elemental magic users were quite childish. Juno knew it came from being placed in a fixed squad that was dedicated to fighting in direct combat. Mage knights were just as childish most of the time.

But Antoinette was clearly seeking conversation, so Juno waited for her to sit down near her. She took one of the chairs right beside Juno. "A drink?" the lord inquisitor offered.

Antoinette shook her head, "I'm alright," she said.

"Why'd you come here to talk?" Juno asked. "Wait, let me guess. There's no urgency on your face, so it's casual. You didn't want a drink, so you're not trying to get in my skirt. That means you want me to ramble on about my past in the Deathwatch?"

Antoinette shrugged, "Do you ever really guess?" She joked, "Or do you just know?"

Juno nodded, "I do sometimes, but it's so easy to get to know people after so long."

"Do people always take a drink from you when they want to "get in your skirt', as you say?"

"Depends on whether or not I want them," Juno said, winking suspiciously.

Antoinette flinched a little, before someone, seemingly Skelia from the sound, burst out laughing as she heard the exchange. "Anyways," the telekine in white said, switching to a new topic quickly, "Yes, I did want to ask you about your experiences. If you do want to entertain my curiosity, that is."

Juno shrugged, "I'll accept it," she said, before leaning back in her chair, "What do you want to know?"

"Just anything you feel comfortable telling," Antoinette said, "I'd like to learn about the Deathwatch, always been interested in getting in, seeing as how my position as a special squad leader removes any chance of making it big as an inquisitor."

"I'll see what I can do about that," Juno said, "I still know a few people from my time, or at least those people know people. I'll do what I can to get you recommended. I may even recommend all four of you, but the SEO might just be far too valuable to give up like that."

"Are you serious?" Antoinette asked, her face gleeful.

"Yes," Juno replied, "But hear me out first. The Deathwatch may not be something you really want. Don't question me, just listen to me."

"I joined when I was about ninety-four. Yes, it's mage knights only, but I was assigned due to my teleportation skills. I showed a specific ability to teleport even while being affected by warp energy. Normally, that would kill you and doom you to hell in the warp. But for me, it was no problem."

"I served for a good twenty years, eventually worked my way up to a high rank. I already had the full suite of mage knight bodily modifications, but we all do after a point but they were kind enough to give me some armor as well. I was well-liked, with a promising future. I led multiple missions against the Orks and Tau in the east, called the Nightmare of the East. With my sniping ability and special teleportation, I personally stopped an entire warp breach in a few hours. All other teleporters were useless, only I could do anything. Moved in as the rituals started up, wiped out the summoners before anything truly terrible happened."

"Then a few years later, I took the wound that would change my life forever," Juno said, "There was an enemy telepath, about two hundred, certainly more. If our telepath had not been there, I would not be talking to you right now…"

"Let me guess," Antoinette said, "You regret somehow surviving the mental lance?"

"Oh no," Juno said, "I take this crippled existence over turning into a witch any day. I would prefer to continue serving for as long as I can."

"I was sent into a coma, didn't get out for a good six years. Lost my special ability, mind was in tatters. I survived thanks to the greatest care taken from across the entire Imperium, but I was useless. I've only now regained most of my strength again."

"Do you wish you could go back?" Antoinette asked, a little unsettled. Despite her position and power, she'd never faced anything of the scale Juno had dealt with.

"I didn't really plan to scare you off," Juno said, "I just wanted to let you know that you can be incredibly powerful and well-trained, but luck can still put you down."

Antoinette was a bit disturbed by this, but as the other members of her squad played about with one another in the space of the observation deck, she felt that she could survive.

Of course, she only felt that. Feeling something is different from knowing it.

* * *

It wasn't anger that showed on her face. No, it wasn't as violent as that. It was something else. It couldn't even be said to be sadness. It was something that Estelle couldn't really describe. She couldn't imagine what she herself looked like, but she didn't think that it was something that would've have made anyone happy, were they to lay eyes upon the expression.

Adrianne stood in front of her, eyes pleading the dark-haired girl. Silently, Adrianne stared, her look like that of a starving dog. She thirsted desperately for something Estelle wasn't willing to give. "Your grief levels have been fluctuating wildly ever since we left Hadiens. I can't let you do something like this." The inquisitor said, regretting the fact that this was the truth.

"I have to," Adrianne pleaded, "I have to go talk to them, apologize to them, even if it's for only a few minutes. I can't just give up on them after all I've done, act like none of it ever happened, as if I've no obligation to repay them!"

Estelle shook her head. "I refuse to allow this." She stated, "I understand that you wish to seek forgive-"

"I don't!" Adrianne cried, "I just want to say sorry."

"People who just want to apologize don't act this desperately. It's alright to admit it, though it might seem shameful now. Adrianne, what you're doing now isn't the kind of thing someone who's really sorry would do." Estelle sighed. She turned around. Her voice still had the same tone of sadness to it, but a cold edge was forcing its way in.

"Ever since you forced yourself back into my life, you've been making all the decisions for me…" Adrianne said. It was a growl at first, but quickly dipped away into a lower tone as she took back her anger.

The inquisitor scoffed. She faced away from the girl, wide eyes looking in front of her. "You act as if I'm just some tyrant controlling your life? For my own ends…?" Adrianne had merely let her emotions out, not intending to have an effect.

"You can't be serious." Estelle stated. She was talking to herself now. "No…I'm just trying to help." She raised her foot, slamming the heel down on the floor. "I'm just trying to help!" she repeated. Her coat flung out in the air behind her as she spun around.

A cold gaze pierced Adrianne's heart, the girl shivering as she was faced with the wrath of the inquisitor. "Your best interests have always been at the front of my mind." Estelle's voice had an aggressive edge to it, but Adrianne tried to ignore that fact.

"I understand that," Adrianne nodded, instantly falling into line. She was afraid. Definitely afraid. It wasn't shown, but Estelle knew.

Perhaps that hurt Estelle more than if the girl had actually shown pain. Had she done that, then Estelle could have told her to be strong, to stand up and face the world. Yet she didn't.

_She has the weight of so many lives on her shoulders, she blames herself for all those Ishna has killed, all those she might one day kill. Everything that Ishna has done since they first met…she blames herself for. _Estelle found herself gritting her teeth, trying to restrain her own pain.

"Adrianne…" She whispered, "Why do I care about you so much?" she asked the question, wishing that somebody would have a legitimate answer. She knew that Adrianne didn't.

"If you want to go talk to them, and seek whatever it is you desire from them, then go. It's not in my power to stop you…no, it's in my power, but it's not my right." Estelle said.

She expected Adrianne to walk by her. She fully expected the girl to do just that. It would have been easy for the Adrianne that had existed a month ago.

Now, the Adrianne that existed in the present didn't move. She had tears in her eyes, looking to the side, though she remained right where she was. "I'm sorry I've been such a burden," the girl whispered, as if she was three decades younger than she really was.

"You haven't…been…" The inquisitor didn't want to lie. She didn't want to tell something that was so absolutely false. Adrianne _had _been a burden.

Estelle had spent her whole life trying to find the girl, to save her from anything that might harm her. They'd been bound together a long time before, and Adrianne had only dragged Estelle down with her.

Adrianne kept on crying, her tears running down her face. Her hands failed to stifle them, as Estelle looked on in astonishment. "I'm sorry." She said, wishing that she could say it with some level of sincerity.

"No, this isn't your fault." Adrianne shook her head. "I was a fool…I should have realized…the one person I need to apologize to the most is…is you."

"No it's not," Estelle insisted, stepping forwards. Adrianne flinched, as if Estelle was going to strike her. "What's wrong with you?" the inquisitor begged, "What can I do to help?"

"Go back thirty years, and change the me in the past before she can ever even start to become the me that is now…" Adrianne moaned. She ripped her hands away from her face, facing Estelle. The sound of her voice was so low that she might as well have mouthed the words. "But you can't do that."

It was true. Estelle couldn't go back in time. She couldn't save Adrianne from the fate she was forced into. The inquisitor wished she could. _But I already used up that one wish I had…_she lamented.

"I can't do that," Estelle admitted, "But you can't either. Neither of us have the power to turn back the clock like that." She took a deep breath, reaching out with her hands.

Slowly, she grasped Adrianne's shoulders, pulling the girl tight against herself. "It's alright…I won't hurt you…" she promised, whispering softly, as she embraced her.

Adrianne was reluctant to relax at first, but eventually did. "Even though we can't go back in time and make things right, we still have a chance to do so now. You still have a chance now." Estelle whispered.

Adrianne's arms reached out, locking tightly around the inquisitor. "Thank you," she whispered, "For everything you've done. Now…let me at least try to apologize." Adrianne begged.

"I will…" the words were reluctantly spoken, but Estelle said them nonetheless.

* * *

Ayelen was not in the best of moods. Lying in a pool of your own blood was never a fun thing to do, but at least she'd gotten up and out before anyone could see her. The scene had been cleaned to the best of her ability, so the inevitable next visitors to that deck should have no idea of what transpired there.

The task was now to return to her room without being seen by anyone else. She had made it most of the way. Ninety-nine percent of the way, in fact, when her luck ran out. And it ran out in the absolutely worst way possible.

Knocking softly on her door was Adrianne. The inquisitor turned and saw the girl limping towards her, chest cut open. Adrianne wasted no time as she ran to support the injured girl, knives in her hands as she looked around for whatever had done this.

"It was Sanae," Ayelen grunted, talking difficult at the moment, "Don't go after her, it was my fault."

"It was your fault that she cut you open?" Adrianne asked, merely intending to inquire.

"It was…" Ayelen paused, realizing who she was speaking to. She stiffened, her expression changing now as she looked at the girl. Her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" Adrianne had a strong desire to turn right around, noticing the tones of aggression in Ayelen's words.

_She doesn't want to talk to me, that much is obvious. _Adrianne told herself. _But I have to do this. I didn't stand up against Estelle to run away. _And so, she held her ground against something that wasn't an attack at all.

"I want to talk," Adrianne explained, as if that would answer everything.

Ayelen scoffed at the explanation, walking for her door. She didn't pay any mind to Adrianne at first, only responding when the girl approached. "I don't want to." The brown-haired girl quickly snapped, feet slowly edging backwards.

Though she faced Adrianne, she was reaching backwards for the door. "Ayelen please," Adrianne begged, "I just want to apologize to you, after I was terrible to you for so long…"

Ayelen's fingers found the knob. She pushed the door back, stumbling into her room, uneasiness obvious from her body language. "Just go away." She said, not quite as angrily as before.

The two didn't even realize how similar they were acting right now. At least not at first. Adrianne reached out, only for Ayelen opening her mouth to stop her, the mere threat of the girl's shout enough to silence Adrianne. Then they both froze, staring at each other for a few second.

Ayelen relaxed, stepping back to invite Adrianne inside, gesturing with her hand. The former inquisitor nodded, walking through the door. Ayelen shut the entrance. They were side by side, but faced in opposite directions.

"What happened to you?" Ayelen whispered.

"A lot of things," Adrianne said, "I don't know who to turn to. I need someone who can understand." She took a deep breath, not wanting to admit this. "Estelle is wonderful, and she makes me happy, makes me feel loved. But…she can't fathom my pain. I know Erwine can, I know she feels exactly what I feel, but I can't talk to her."

"Do you have any idea what it is I feel?" Adrianne asked.

"So you didn't come here to apologize?" Ayelen wondered, almost disappointed.

Adrianne whimpered at the perceived threat, shrinking up even as she stood. "I-I-I'm sorry, I let my words wander and-" She never got a chance to say anything else.

Ayelen had stepped in front of her. The girl's hands held either side of Adrianne's face. Firmly, she raised the girl's view to be equal with her own. "You're angry, because you lost five years of your life to someone who you thought loved you?"

Adrianne shook her head. "Our feelings are similar, but not the exact same." She shrugged. "Nevertheless…I'm sorry, Ayelen. What happened to you was ultimately my fault." She paused for a couple seconds.

"Those five years of your life that you lost were ultimately because of my actions. Had I been smarter, had I been more patient, had I been…well, just a better person in general, then everything would have been fine."

Adrianne grabbed Ayelen's wrists, pushing the girl away from her. "Please, leave me be." She requested, "I'll be on my way."

"No," Ayelen said, "I don't want you to go."

"Why not? I've only hurt you." Adrianne said, looking to the side.

Ayelen shook her head. Her tails flopped about her shoulders as she did so, a light grin on her cheeks. "No, Laelia did. Laelia hurt me, and I'm not afraid to blame her for what she did. I forgive her, but it's still hard to figure out who I really am on the inside."

"Am I a happy girl, who loves doing what she does?" Ayelen shrugged, "Am I actually insane? Am I sad and lonely?" She sighed, "The truth is I don't know the answer."

"And like you, I don't think Laelia will help me find it. She wants me to be happy, and while I respect her greatly for that…I'm not sure that her biased view is what I need." Ayelen looked at Adrianne. "You never knew me, did you?"

The blonde froze in shock. She tried to formulate some kind of response, yet couldn't find the right words to do so. "See? You really don't know who Ayelen Nita ever was? She was just a liability to you. And that's exactly why I want you to stay, because you never had an understanding of who I was in the first place."

Ayelen looked around, slowly rotating. "I never really cared about this room. I spent so much time wherever Laelia was that I never really thought about what this place was. I guess I'll have to get used to it, now that we're a bit disconnected."

"That's exactly the problem though," Adrianne said quickly, "That you two are disconnected. You have to find a way to actually…actually get to know her again. Both of you came out of that changed, and while you came to peace, you didn't really become friends."

The brown-haired girl paused, considering what she'd heard. "I hadn't thought of it like that…I really hadn't." Ayelen sighed, "Well…there's always Sanae I guess, if things go wrong with Laelia."

"Why did she stab you?"

"That's a good question," the younger girl replied, "I think I know the answer, but at the same time I doubt I actually do."

"Do you need help?" Adrianne was desperate to make up past crimes.

"I'd rather not get anyone else involved. I feel as if this is something she and I must sort out on our own." Ayelen shook her head, "And to think it was the second time we talked."

"What connects you two?"

"I don't know. Perhaps we're just two messed up people seeking companionship in this cruel world." Ayelen felt tears at the edge of her eyes. "This world…it's not a nice place to live, is it?"

"I don't think so," Adrianne agreed, "Though I wish it was different."

Ayelen looked sadly at the former inquisitor, the girl who was over twice her age. "I doubt it will ever be like that. Really, I don't think this will ever be a world that I can look at and be proud of."

"Yet we still fight, don't we?" Ayelen continued, shutting her eyes in an action to hide her sadness. "We keep believing that we can make that impossibility of a perfect world come true."

She scoffed. "We're all such fools, aren't we?"

"Perhaps. But thinking like that is the road that leads to heresy," Adrianne reminded her, "Don't walk down that path, please."

"You really do want to help me, don't you?" Ayelen asked. She walked quickly towards Adrianne, grabbing her hands. Ayelen tried to put a smile on her face, but it ended up looking more awkward than anything else. "Thank you for being able to do all this for me…really, I'm so glad."

"Really?" Adrianne couldn't stop the tears. She fell to her knees, trembling uncontrollably as she wept. But it wasn't out of sadness. It was out of joy. She couldn't control the tears that flowed down her cheeks, even as Ayelen laid her hands on Adrianne's shoulders, gripping tightly.

"I think you'll be alright in the end, though." Ayelen whispered, "You're strong. Your determination is unmatched, and you'll stick with something to the very end. If nothing else, see that you pass that much down to Erwine."

"She already has that determination. If she didn't, then the girl would have turned into a witch a long time ago." Adrianne shook her head, "Erwine Braune…is something else, something I truly can't comprehend."

"More than I'll ever be…" Adrianne sighed, yet she had a smile on her face. Once again, it wasn't the kind of smile that most would think of. It was that sad sort of smile, that tried to hide sadness, but ultimately couldn't.

"She's determined," The girl concluded, Ayelen helping her to her feet. "And thank you for accepting my apology." Then Adrianne paused, "Or do you?" She had never heard a direct confirmation.

"I do accept it," Ayelen assured her, "It's hard, but I see that you ultimately have the best of intentions in your heart." She smiled. It was a sincere smile.

Adrianne gave her best fake in return, then turned for the door. "Have you seen Laelia yet?" Ayelen asked, "To apologize?"

"I intend to go right now."

"Can you tell her that I'd like to speak to her?" Ayelen asked. "Please?"

"I can," the blonde agreed. "Goodbye," she said.

"Goodbye," Ayelen said back, watching the girl go. Somehow, she felt as if they were really saying goodbye.

The inquisitor paused in the hallway outside, taking a few moments to think. Her thoughts slowly coming back into order, she took slow, deep breaths. Her hands wiped the tears from her face, as she suppressed the emergence of any more. Steadying herself, Adrianne thought of where Laelia could be.

There was someone else in the hallway.

Paranoia had already built up from the strange encounters Erwine reported over the past few weeks. Adrianne spun smoothly, fear showing on her face even as she readied a weapon.

The first thing she saw was black, and she was almost ready to let her blade fly. Till she realized who the bearer of that black hair was. "Adrianne?" Estelle asked, hands raised in front of her, "What's wrong?"

Her dagger disappearing in a flash, Adrianne looked to the side. "Erwine's seen some strange things in this ship, I wanted to be sure."

"Someone else on the ship, in the warp?" Estelle asked. She didn't sound too astounded at the idea. She'd seen plenty of astonishing things over the past weeks.

"That's what Erwine said. She didn't recognize the girl either, so it was most likely not Ishna." Adrianne shook her head, "There's something wrong, and I don't like it."

"Fine," Estelle said, "I'll ask Juno-"

"No!" Adrianne said. For once in the past week, she held by that demand. "You won't. I don't want her knowing. At least for now, please, just let me think on this a little longer."

"Fine." The inquisitor agreed, then asked, "How did it go?"

"Well," Adrianne replied, "She accepted the apology, and we were able to help each other. Do you know where Laelia is?"

"I think the library, let me walk you there." Estelle said.

Laelia had her back to the door. She sat there on the couch, a book open in her hands. She read it, but she didn't pay attention to what the words actually were. Her eyes scanned the old parchment, running over the text printed long ago, yet her brain didn't make the connection to actually understand it all.

Her eyes were empty, glazed over, as if she was somewhere else. Her mind was somewhere else, a different place entirely. Too much was on her mind. First there was the issue of her and Celestine. She couldn't say that she enjoyed the thought of actually resolving her issues with the girl.

It wasn't even that it was an immediate thing. She could wait for years and years before actually moving anywhere. That's what the two of them had done for a long time now. Yet recent events had taught Laelia that deadlines can't just be ignored. Forgotten duties will catch up to one eventually.

Ayelen had caught up to her. So it only made sense that Celestine would catch up to her eventually. _Am I just to be one who lets these things lie till the very last second, then desperately tries to resolve them? _She didn't want to go to her grave with issues unresolved.

_Yet even going through the warp is tempting death. And Ishna could wipe me from existence with a flick of her fingers. _Laelia couldn't just leave the issue unresolved. She couldn't just leave it up to luck to decide what the two would ultimately be.

She stood up, turning for the door. It opened as it came into her view. She was surprised to see Adrianne there.

Yet Adrianne was surprised to see Laelia there. She looked behind herself, and Estelle shut the door as she walked away. Laelia caught a hint of reluctance on that girl's face as she did walk away. Her eyes flicked back over to the blonde.

"Adrianne," she said with a nod. "What is it?"

"I-I-I…" Adrianne stammered, till she shook her head. "I'll just say it straight out. I came to apologize to you, for everything I've done."

"Why apologize to me?" Laelia wondered.

"Well, I…I dumped Ayelen on you after I hurt her. I've made your life unpleasant for so long, and you've been loyal to me…" Adrianne was finding that she had no real answer.

"Ayelen has stuck with you because of me. I have stuck with you because I chose to. I could have shut you down at any point, I had evidence of the misconduct you were committing. It wouldn't have been hard." Laelia explained. She gestured for Adrianne to take a seat on one of the couches.

As the girl walked, Laelia kept speaking. "You see Adrianne, I didn't stick with you because I was bond to you. I felt that your purpose was a just one, but also saw that you needed help." Laelia grinned, "It was Airi, really, who did all the convincing."

Just hearing the name of the girl hurt both of them. They paused for a few moments, her death flashing back through her minds. The scream that emanated from her in her last moments still echoed about in their ears.

"And…" Laelia wasn't sure how to follow that up. "And Ayelen was my fault. You hurt her, and you put her on me, but I could have fixed the problem on my own. It was really my fault, in the end. So while I thank you for trying, I can't say that I can accept any apology, for in my eyes, you've nothing to apologize for."

Adrianne nodded. "T-thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," Laelia said, "Do you need anything else from me?"

"I don't know," Adrianne said.

"What are you feeling?" Laelia wondered, "About what you were told, that you would die, right?" She received a nod as a reply.

"Come on, just say it." Laelia insisted.

"I don't feel scared. I don't feel as if I'll die soon. No, I am scared, but not of death. I mean I am, but it's not present." Adrianne sighed, "What I feel…it's that the Goddess Herself is telling me to go die, even though she's the one who makes wishes come true. The Eldar tell me to die as well."

"I just don't understand," Adrianne said. She looked around, seeing what Laelia had been reading. That book was something Adrianne knew well.

It was something every magical girl in the universe knew well. Levomeia Hastvan's Equality Theorem. The massive paper which established one of the fundamental rules of the universe, that hope and despair brought about through magic will always balance back out to zero.

Laelia noticed her line of sight. "You've brought so much despair to yourself and the world. I say it's about time that you start bringing hope, whether it be to you or those around you." She put on a happy face, as Adrianne nodded in understanding.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Laelia shook her head. "Don't thank me, thank yourself. Thank Estelle, thank Erwine. Thank those whom you truly hurt, yet still find the capacity to forgive you. Me? I've been a dog all along."

As she strode towards the door, she added in, "Not everyone hates such a role. It's fun, really, just doing rather than thinking about it." She paused, hand on the doorknob. She truly smiled.

She remarked, maybe to Adrianne, maybe to just herself. "I think it's about time I started smiling again,"

The inquisitor stood up, sorrow on her face as she went towards the door. It was opened, and Estelle stood there, awaiting Adrianne. Estelle started leading Adrianne through the halls again. "I need some time alone," Adrianne told the girl leading her.

"Are you certain?" Estelle stopped in her tracks, turning around. Concern showed on her face, enough to make Adrianne embarrassed of herself. The girl tried to avert her eyes as Estelle stood there, facing her down.

"I just need to think," Adrianne said with a nod, myriad thoughts running through her mind. "Please, just give me this time. Even if it's just a little."

Estelle was quiet for half a minute. Adrianne counted the seconds by in her head, if only to prevent herself from going insane. "You're not going to die, right?"

"I won't," Adrianne promised.

"It's hard, alright? Leaving you alone like this…every second you're out of my sight I feel as if you might slip away from me again." Estelle's eyes were downcast, her tone low. "You won't, right?"

"I won't," Adrianne said, "I'll try my hardest to not."

Estelle still hesitated for a minute. She breathed slowly and deeply, her face showing rising despair. Yet she stepped aside, allowing the girl to pass. The regret was obvious, though Adrianne was only going into a room that Estelle could easily breach.

Yet it only took one realization to turn a girl into a witch.

* * *

Adrianne stood in the middle of the small room that had been her home for the past twenty years. She had never realized just how boring it was to see this same space day after day. She wished that something would swoop in and make the scenery of the barren metal box more interesting, but it was not as if pretty colors would make her happy.

She was going to lay down on her bed, and possible try to get some sleep. Before she even reached the bed, it was apparent that she was not going to get any sleep. Adrianne looked around the room, wondering what else she could do.

She thought about what she had just experienced. She thought about some old sayings. Adrianne moved to the middle of the room, pushing the chairs and table aside, clearing a space. Kneeling down on the floor, Adrianne straightened her back.

She had not done this in a very long time. Adrianne shut her eyes, hands on her lap. Taking a deep breath, Adrianne would let the air out, before whispering, "Please, your majesty…" She clasped her hands together, and looked up at the ceiling, imagining the incomprehensibility of the warp beyond the metal of the ship, and then the black expanse of the materium beyond that.

"I know that I haven't done this in a very long time," Adrianne whispered, calling up towards the ceiling, "In fact, my faith wavers so much that some might as well call me a heretic. I don't know if I'm a heretic in your eyes, but I sincerely hope that I'm not."

"Nevertheless, I hope that you're at least listening to me. If you really do listen to us. See what I'm saying, I don't really know if you're actually this omnipotent deity that everyone makes you out to be, but you can't really prove it for me all the way out here, can you? If you could, then I would believe the sign, I wouldn't doubt it for a single second."

The inquisitor went silent, hoping somehow that her prayers would be answered. They were not. The room was just as lifeless as it was before. "Can you really protect us? I wonder if you can. Us magical girls just say stuff like that to comfort ourselves, and I hope you spend your time protecting humans, not things like us. We don't need protection, and I don't even ask for it right now. I just want someone to listen to me, someone who I know will forgive me. Ha, _know_. Well, everyone tells me that you forgive everyone, even heretics. So I guess I don't have to worry about being a heretic. At least I hope I don't."

Adrianne chuckled a little, then started whispering again, "I suppose I should get back on track now. I'd like to say hello to Airi, if we really do join you when our time in this world is up. I hope we do, I would like to see her again. The prospect almost makes me want to end my time right now…and why don't I? You wouldn't have a problem, right? Would you understand it? I'd…I'd be leaving people behind. Isn't that right, I can't actually leave with a smile on my face if I'm leaving others behind."

"I can't even leave now. You want us all to die with smiles on our faces, right? That's what everything says, but I…I just don't know how I can possibly go out with a smile at this point. Erwine is the only one showing me any compassion, her and Estelle, but the people who have been with me for longer refuse to forgive? What am I to do about that? I can barely keep moving forwards day by day, but I somehow muster the strength to cry…"

The inquisitor shook her head, "Perhaps this was all pointless. Calling out to you…" A belief started to die in the inquisitor. Belief in the eternal Goddess that they all worshipped. "You're probably very busy…right? I really hope you are, and that you're doing your best to listen to my problems…because aren't…" Adrianne felt tears in her eyes again as she desperately looked for guidance, "Aren't you supposed to protect us? Please…your Holy Majesty…if you're listening, just…do something."

Nothing happened. Adrianne let her hands drop. She fell onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. It provided no sign of divine intervention either. Adrianne was about to break down into tears, until she remembered something. The things the Eldar had told her…they were starting to make sense now.

_The Goddess…she isn't going to reply to me, is she…so that means…all this…_Adrianne stood up, knowing what she had to do. Perhaps she still refused to admit to herself the truth about the Eldar's words, but she had to do something right now, as Adrianne understood her role in the grander scheme of things.

* * *

The inquisitor stepped out of her room. Estelle and she were silent. "I know what I have to do now." Adrianne said, "Just one last thing. I need to talk to Erwine."

"You haven't, not for a while." Estelle warned her, "Is this the best idea?"

"I've already come this far. Please, trust the one that you've spent your whole life running after." Adrianne begged. Estelle conceded. She fiercely grabbed Adrianne's hand, yanking her across the hall. Erwine's room was right ther.

"Come on then," Estelle said, dragging Adrianne along, "I won't let you hesitate anymore." She smiled, "If anything, talking to Erwine will properly resolve things."

Adrianne nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me." Estelle said, "You're the one who has grown so much in these past few days."

Adrianne knocked on the door.

Erwine had a heavy feeling in her heart. She knew that Adrianne would be there. Somehow, before the girl had even knocked. _We're almost to the expanse. Once there…_Erwine knew that there was no guarantee of anything. It could just be another step on the path.

Her gut told her an end would come. _Maybe not _the _end, but an end will be there. _Erwine told herself, as she opened the door. The two girls stared at each other for a few seconds, before Erwine stepped inside, letting Adrianne in. She shut the door without saying another word.

The two girls stood there for a few seconds, not saying a word. "Have you ever thought about regretting your decision to join me?" Adrianne asked, "Not just the contract in and of itself, but your specific decision to join me."

Erwine didn't reply. Adrianne looked at her, wondering why. The girl was surprised, obviously in thought. "I never did think about it," She muttered, "I always thought about the contract."

"Then I guess it's more my fault, that I convinced you." Adrianne shook her head. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry," Erwine said. She didn't have anything to follow it, so she just started talking. "I've grown so much, over the past few weeks. Before, I was just a coward, a scared little girl who could barely do anything for herself. Now…" Erwine came face to face with her new self, "Whether I like it or not, I'm stronger."

"Do you not want that?" Adrianne asked.

"I don't know. That's why I've come along on all of this, to find that out." Erwine was saddened, "I seem to believe that the moment Ishna dies, all the answers will just pop into my head. That'd be a nice ending to this story, wouldn't it?"

Adrianne blinked a few times, trying to determine whether or not the girl before her was actually Erwine Braune. _It has to be. She looks the same, but…but everything else is different. _It wasn't the same girl that she recruited a month ago.

She shut her eyes. "You hate me, right? Please, don't lie."

"I do. But at the same time, I feel sorry for you." Erwine replied, backing up against the door. She leaned against it, staring at the ceiling.

Adrianne opened her eyes. They met Erwine's. The world seemed to slow down. The two were only thinking about the other one. "I'm sorry," Adrianne said, "For ruining your life. Ruining the one chance you had at experiencing this world for the first time." Her eyes widened a little, drifting away from the other girl. "I now realize just how much I hurt you. And the whole time, I told myself it was for your own good."

"I'm here now, aren't I?" Erwine replied, "I'm alive. I'm stronger than I ever was before. I want to be a hero, Adrianne. You've pushed me along farther than anyone else ever could have."

"But you don't want to be pushed into being something you're not." Adrianne observed, "So you're not sure if you like this or you don't. On one hand, you have what you want, on the other hand, you're not sure how you got here."

"Precisely." Erwine answered, her voice heavy with sorrow. "I'm just not sure what's going on anymore."

"Just keep looking for the answer." Adrianne said, "I'm sure you'll find it someday."

The silver-haired girl shrugged. She stepped away from the door, pacing around the room. "This world is a scary place. It doesn't make sense, I get the feeling I'm always lost…yet…" Erwine sighed. "I still maintain hope. Because you keep hoping. And even though I want to tell myself I won't care about you anymore, I still do."

There was a whimpering sound. It increased in volume, till Adrianne's shaking legs collapsed. She clutched at her face, weeping, "Will you let yourself die?" Erwine asked.

"Not anymore." Adrianne said. "Estelle loves me. Laelia respects me still, even Ayelen has forgiven me. I know you'll never forgive me, Erwine, but…you were the one who made me want to run away."

"Don't run away anymore." Erwine knelt down behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You taught me to stop running away. Use that talent on yourself." Adrianne just cried harder.

Erwine knew why. Now, their roles were reversed. Adrianne was the one who cried, and Erwine was the one who comforted her. They had both come a long way from that snowy, dark alleyway on Siothea.

"Don't ever let yourself die," Erwine whispered, "Never ever. Everyone can be redeemed at some point. Like I search for my answers, you search for your redemption."

And both girls knew that what they sought lay with Ishna.

* * *

Adrianne exited Erwine's room. The girl was just behind her. "Come on," Adrianne said. She was different than just a few minutes ago. A new purpose was clear in, a new energy resonating through her body. She marched quickly through the ship, not explaining anything till she reached the bridge.

There she went up to Bolton. "The ship's intercom, please," she requested. The man handed the vox to her, flicking it on.

"Attention please," Adrianne said quietly, politely. Everywhere, except in those places where people could not stop working, everyone froze. Ayelen, relaxing on her bed, Laelia and Celestine, making small talk, Sanae, silently wandering about, Justinia and Sechylia, not entirely surprised by the announcement, Wei, wondering where Erwine was, Juno and the other magical girls. They all listened.

"I'd like to apologize to everyone on this ship for dragging you along on this endeavor. For nineteen years, I have rode around on this thing in my mission for revenge. Not for justice, not for duty, not for The Goddess. Just revenge." Adrianne choked on her words, unable to stop the tears. So she didn't try.

"Yet you're all still here. I don't know why, I don't think it's because you enjoy suffering. Truthfully, I can't actually comprehend the motives that would one need to continue believing in me, no matter how deep I went." The former inquisitor took a deep breath. "What I have learned is that I was blessed to have some of the most loyal people in the entire universe at my side."

"I beg you all, continue being that loyal for just a little bit more. I promise, soon, Ishna will be gone, and this whole thing can end. This whole thing can end, and you can all take a well-deserved break from all this hardship." She paused, seeking to find the right words to end with. "Just a little while longer, and I promise you, I will find that revenge I'm seeking. So please, forgive me, and do this one last thing for me."

"Thank you all," She said, weeping now, "Goodbye." She put the vox down, shutting it off.

She looked at Bolton. The man was trying to hide his own emotions. Adrianne grinned at him, then spun around. "The same applies to both of you. Though I know you'd follow me anywhere."

Erwine smiled at the girl. For the first time in so long, legitimate joy filled her body. It was one of the greatest sensations she'd ever felt.

* * *

The Oksterri Expanse is a massive region of space. It is believed that an event during the Golden Age led to the region becoming the way it is today. It is filled with debris from around a hundred solar systems, everything from stellar gases to massive chunks of planets, all spread out over several light years. The entire thing has yet to be charted to this day, and there is no official intention to do so.

Several independents have sponsored their own expeditions into the area, to try and find any secrets which may lie there. However, the Hadiens sect, at the moment, has no intention into looking into the area. It is best to leave it lie, as the tales of dark things within the Expanse are too many to disregard entirely.

-Report from the Hadiens Sect.


	33. The Dreamer Wakes

Ishna Kleimar has betrayed Her Holy Majesty. She is a traitor and a heretic. By the powers bestowed upon this council by Her Holy Majesty The Goddess, Ishna Kleimar is excommunicated. Hunt her down. She is to be destroyed. Do not apprehend her, do not try and talk to her. Destroy her. She is a monster, and she deserves as such.

-Decree from the Derivel Sect, M40.969.

* * *

The man shifted uncomfortably in his chair, unable to match the unwavering stare of the girl in front of him. "Adrianne…" he muttered, almost as if he regretted things.

"I'm sorry, Bolton, but I've made the choice. I know you're scared, and I know there's a lot of factors riding against me here…" Adrianne took a deep breath, "But I promise you, I'll come back alive."

The man shook his head, "It's not just that. I don't even know who you are anymore."

"I know who I am," the girl explained, "I'm the same person I was before. I'm Adrianne Azure, an insane girl on a quest for revenge. My insanity is reigned in, my rank is gone, and perhaps I'm more rational, but I'm still going out there for the same purpose."

Bolton nodded, "Still, do you really think you can do this?"

The former inquisitor shrugged, grinning. "If I can do it, then I can do it. If I can't, then I can't. I've made the choice, and anything you say right now won't turn my decision around."

Rubbing his hand through his dark hair, he chuckled. "You know, I never really saw you as my superior."

"I never saw you as my subordinate," Adrianne replied, "You were always a friend, of a sort." There wasn't any regret in her voice.

"I just wanted to let you know that I think you have a chance at being a wonderful person, if you live through this. Please, Adrianne, live through this." Bolton begged. Under his breath, he whispered, "Just don't do it at all, is your revenge that important?"

"You've loved me for a long time, Bolton," Adrianne stated with a sly grin, "That much was quite obvious, though I appreciate your restraint."

Bolton shifted uncomfortably in his chair, saying nothing. "So won't you trust the decision of the one you've spent so much time loving?" Adrianne asked.

He nodded gently. "Thank you," Adrianne said, turning around and walking for the door. "See you soon," She called. "Please leave the system as soon as we're gone, I don't want you becoming collateral."

"No," the man behind her replied.

"I figured. Do it anyways," Adrianne ordered.

Bolton grinned himself, "Break a leg," he called.

* * *

There were now ten people on the bridge of the _Illumination_ that were not usually there. Adrianne and those who had previously been under her command, and Estelle with those who were currently under her commands. Juno and her squad was absent.

Those five were on the _Expulsion. _The _Rosie _would not be joining the two strike cruisers as they ventured into the main body of the Expanse. It was a merchant vessel, and despite the upgrades to it, it would still be no much for a full-on warship.

So it was currently retreating towards the edge of the massive debris field that was now visible through the main monitor of the _Illumination. _Theoretically, it would warp out for safety, but Erwine doubted that Bolton would do that.

_He wouldn't leave Adrianne behind, even if she insisted. _

The _Illumination _and her sister were currently slowly moving into the Expanse, a few thousand kilometers apart from each other. The navigators were scanning the area to the best of their ability, joined by the mechanical sensors of the ships.

However, the Expanse was a region almost two light years in radius. It was not just the wreckage of a single system, the smallest estimates put at least three solar systems as having their remains scattered throughout this vast gulf. Countless xenos raiders, lost ships, and space hulks could be floating through the endless clouds of asteroids and gas, and these two vessels were looking for one ship.

And given a three day head start, it would not be difficult for a starship to travel deep into the Expanse, to the point where only days and days of searching would locate it.

Erwine was a little unsettled by what she saw, despite her presence amongst mage knights. A seemingly endless field of rubble, hailing from planets, moons, even stars, long destroyed by some unknown event in the depths of history.

All of it pitch black, only illuminated by forcefully brightening the viewscreen of the bridge. The light from distant stars was minute, and not enough to shed light on even a millimeter of a single floating fragment. It was oddly peaceful, so peaceful that it became disturbing in how peaceful it was.

There was no exciting rush into the action, no exciting battle of starships. Just a slow, careful trek through an ancient graveyard. Erwine was both disappointed, and absolutely amazed.

Fear began to pervade her mind, as it started to wander, thinking about what could have done all of this. The Imperium was not a possibility, as not a single record hailing from the past ten thousand years listed this system as intact. Perhaps it had been done during the Golden Age, for all the power that lost civilization had, certainly annihilating an entire solar system would be trivial.

There was a sense of loss throughout the entire bridge. Even the captain, a non-magical girl woman who showed a strong sense of intelligence and courage despite her normal status, was silenced by the view.

The navigators kept searching. Something great had been lost here. Perhaps everything that had occurred to Adrianne up to this point had all started here. That temporally-displaced fragment of a ship, with text written in an ancient language known by none marking down the name of this very Expanse, when did it come from, and why was it sent to scour life from Vasillica?

Something of incredibly great importance had clearly occurred here at some point in the past. It was why Ishna was here now. Maybe it was why she had done everything she had done. No one had any way to know, but all could tell that this would perhaps be one of the most important things they do in their lives.

"Do we have any leads?" Yukie asked, after almost thirty minutes of silence.

The navigators would reply with nothing. Adrianne said, "At this point, we know that Ishna led us here. We have very reason to believe that she will still be here. She can't have gone too far in either, or she'll have left some kind of guide. If she wants us to find something here, she will ensure that we find it."

Yukie seemed to doubt the inquisitor, but listened to her words nonetheless. "We'll keep looking for a few more hours, but we can't go too deep into the Expanse. I've read one too many reports of something going missing out here."

It was true. For a long time, the Expanse had been haunted by tales both real and imaginary. True reports of xenos and space hulks haunting the gulf, and legends of huge beasts plying through the stars and devouring all that they encounter. Erwine was slowly becoming more and more inclined to believe those legends as she observed the silence before her.

It would be some time before anything else was found. One of the navigators, the one on the _Expulsion, _located what was something of a clue. On a large piece of debris that floated into the view of the ship, the girl observed a series of symbols. She couldn't figure the meaning, but running them by Isolde revealed that they were a more recent runic language of Chaos, and told the ships to turn starboard, then go straight.

After some deliberation, the choice was made to listen to these instructions, and the ships continued onwards towards their destination. "What do we do when we find them?" Adrianne asked, "Ishna's divination is unbeatable, effectively. I did it once, but that was only hiding myself, I can't hide everyone. She…she couldn't see Erwine that one time."

Adrianne looked up at the girl, "Erwine," She said, "You need to make the calls when we fight."

"What?" Erwine was astonished. "I…I can't do that," she said. Steadying herself after the initial shock, she went on, "I mean, though Ishna may not be able to see me, is there no better way? Besides, that happened once."

Yukie sighed, spending a minute consulting with both squads. Eventually, she took a deep breath, speaking slowly. "The diviner have agrees with the idea. If Erwine isn't showing up, then it was for a reason. Generally it has to do with their fate itself being unclear, as they have so many potential paths. Theoretically, one's potential paths increase or exponentially based on the situation. We're bringing the network online now. We'll hook Erwine into it, she'll have command."

Erwine flinched a little, as she felt other minds connecting to her own. "Relax…" Estelle instructed, the telepaths on the _Illumination _and _Expulsion _fully connecting the network of minds.

A million things rushed through Erwine's head in the space of a second. Images, sounds, data, it all flashed into her mind, briefly overloading her capacity to understand it all. She shuddered, her functions temporarily failing. It was like a cogitator restarting itself, having first to shut down before it could work again.

The girl caught herself before she fell down, breathing slowly as she felt her mind expanding greatly. All of a sudden she had the perspectives of twenty other magical girls in her head. Then it was joined by the perspectives of the navigators, currently surveying the Expanse.

The techmages aboard the vessels hooked into Erwine's mind, feeding her information directly from the ship's sensors. As all of this flowed in a huge flood, it was joined by all the other magical girls, not just the knights.

It was chaos for a few seconds, as Erwine's mind made rapid adjustments to itself. Estelle cast a glare at Adrianne, "She needs more training. Can she even split her mind at all?"

Adrianne shook her head, "I know, I'm onto right after this. We don't have time now." Erwine didn't understand what they were saying, partially because she didn't have the mental capacity to do so.

_Reducing load, _a voice echoed through her head, and all of a sudden, information was redistributed. The flow was changed, the rivers of data shifting to a new format. All of a sudden, only six girls flowed directly into Erwine's mind.

_We'll assess the rest, then give you only what you absolutely need to know. _One of them explained. Two were the sergeants, and the others were just other members of the knights. Erwine nodded, almost expecting the girls in her head to know she did nod.

And they did know, though that fact wasn't made clear to Erwine. She took slow, deep breaths, acquainting herself with her new state of being. As she steadied out, she started to observe the world around herself again, taking note that she was still in the same place.

"Are you connected?" Adrianne asked.

Erwine nodded. "I am," She confirmed, speaking quietly. "Is it always like this?"

"Not at all. Once you learn to split your mind, you just create a hundred copies of your consciousness and divide the tasks amongst them." Adrianne shrugged, "Not very hard once you learn how to do it."

"Alright…" the silver-haired girl wasn't so sure, but she believed the words. She looked about, the data still coming into her head. There was still nothing, but Erwine found that if she focused on one particular flow, she could actively see what the navigators were seeing, in real time.

The hundreds of thousands of miles of blackness was seen directly as if her own eyes saw it all. Her mouth formed a small 'o' shape, as she drifted through all of the input.

"Once we go into combat, we'll start suggesting various plans of action," Yukie explained, "However, it's up to you to make the decision. You will have every relevant piece of information you will need, and every suggestion we can provide, but if you don't make the right call, we're in trouble."

The girl felt the pressure on herself, yet also felt a sense of determination despite the overwhelming weight that now sat upon her shoulders. "I will win this," she promised, "Ishna won't."

* * *

Ishna's legs were crossed, back pressed back against the huge throne. She looked tiny in the thing that was made for a full-grown man, and then all the electronics that would be attached to him.

This girl was free of any such restraints, sitting straight and tall in the chair. Via was to her right, Lyndia to her left. They were not the only people on the bridge. Other crewmembers did occupy it now, maintaining the various stations. Some were magical girls, but they were mostly human, all working under the command of the violet-haired girl.

None of them knew the fate of the previous crew, though they could guess at it. Ishna didn't feel like scaring them. Her arms rested on the arms of the throne, as she stared ahead at the viewscreen.

"They're almost here…" She said. A sly grin spread across her features, her eyes flickering as anticipation rose in her chest. It was a wonderful sensation.

"Are you ready?" Lyndia asked.

Ishna nodded. With but a single mental signal, her mind expanded into some ten thousand separate parts. Libraries in her head were flipped open, their contents spilling out into those parts. "I'm ready," She said. "Things should be breaking apart right now…if I'm correct, then I shouldn't be able to observe Erwine's fate for roughly eighty percent of the upcoming battle."

"Is that a problem?" Via wondered.

"Not when every possibility is accounted for," Ishna explained. She looked to the side at Via, then over at Lyndia. "Both of you know your parts?"

The girls nodded. Ishna looked straight ahead once again. "Then let the greatest dance of them all begin."

* * *

Erwine gasped, her eyes widening. The others around her reacted at the same time, all being signaled as well. They weren't automatically sent information, however. Erwine did have that benefit.

Two starships had been identified, circling around a large asteroid. They were hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, but they had been found.

The strike cruisers accelerated a little, as the navigators identified one as a Luna-class cruiser, while the other was found to be a Dauntless-class light cruiser. The two were something of a match for the strike cruisers in a straight battle, but if the mage knights could close, then boarding action would easily carry the day, assuming that the enemy had no traitor knights on their side.

"Orders?" the captain of the _Illumination _asked.

Erwine took a deep breath as the distance began decreasing rapidly. She didn't know much about the ships, but instantly, full specifications for both vessels, as well as summaries of their abilities flowed into her mind, and were sorted out by those who helped her.

The Luna was advancing ahead of the Dauntless. The Dauntless hung back by the asteroid itself, with the larger cruiser slowly moving outwards, turning to present its broadsides. The two strike cruisers of the mage knights now hurtled at thousands and thousands of kilometers per hour through the debris field, the _Expulsion _to the left, with the _Illumination _some five hundred kilometers starboard of her sister.

Bright flashes flickered all around the void fields as debris bounced off the protective fields. The ships were nimble creatures, darting between the large chunks on the orders of their navigators, hooked into the techmages who were hooked into the ships.

Erwine assessed her knowledge, and spoke, her voice clear and strong, "_Expulsion, _turn to port, get behind the Luna and cross the T before boarding the Dauntless. _Illumination, _devote power to forward shields, we go straight for the Luna."

No one complained as the ships executed their orders. The Expulsion broke away, as the Illumination slowed massively. The Luna's sides flashed bright white, and lights like stars bloomed as long spears of energy pierced the blackness of the Expanse.

The Illumination shook as the shields were hit by a couple lance shots, but the debris in front of it lit up with flame as the energy was discharged into the floating bits of rock, metal, and gas clouds. The strike cruiser, tearing through space thousands of times faster than any speeding bullet.

The lances fired again, but the Illumination was not without weapons of its own. Even as flames erupted in space around the craft, the cruiser's front flashed as it returned the favor.

The Luna was shifting now. It was no longer presenting broadsides. Slowly did it turn to starboard, swinging around to face towards the _Illumination_. The Dauntless was moving as well, previously situated just off a massive asteroid, but now moving behind the Luna cruiser.

It was a perfect counter to the entire plan. The Dauntless's broadsides could fire back at the Illumination while the Luna's broadsides denied the Expulsion. The captain gasped a little as she saw this play out, "That isn't possible…that is a textbook example of how to counter what we just did…" She said nothing more.

Erwine grunted as she felt the pressure of the battle start to overwhelm her. She took a deep breath, then issues orders again. "Expulsion, turn to starboard. Aim your front at the Luna. Fire torpedoes…" Erwine looked at the hologram of the battlefield. Her eyes focused on a particularly large slab of something, probably artificial metal due to its evenness. "Illumination, turn starboard as well, take cover behind the debris," Erwine indicated which one, "Once the Expulsion opens fire, we move."

Despite the fact that the enemy was only four thousand kilometers away at the moment, the Illumination had to stop, or be destroyed by the spread of torpedoes that the Lunar could unleash. It would annihilate the strike cruiser, as the ship was traveling on a straight vector directly towards the two craft.

Lances and ballistic rounds still lit up the blackness as the Illumination slipped into cover, doing its best to match the velocity of the slab of metal as it spun through the air. It began to be pounded by the gun fire of the two ships, but the expulsion, after a few shots from starboard lances, turned to face its torpedoes at the Lunar.

The well-aimed shot was planned by the navigator of the craft, who calculated the guidance systems perfectly to avoid the debris. It was trivial for her mind to calculate the movements of every single bit she saw for the next five minutes. The full spread was away, taking a path made to avoid the debris, but use it as cover from the defense systems of the Lunar.

However, the Lunar was turning to port, accelerating forwards as it turned. It was stupid, as the move exposed the rear of the craft to the torpedoes. But the Dauntless was just behind the Lunar, and properly fused shells from its ballistic guns destroyed the torpedoes hundreds of kilometers behind the cruiser, the massive explosions engulfing the missiles.

Then the Dauntless moved forwards, as the Lunar turned towards the Illumination. It was now presenting its broadsides to the debris that the strike cruiser took cover behind. While the Illumination could slip out and fire torpedoes, the Lunar's broadsides would tear it up. The worst part was that the ship was over two thousand kilometers away, not a good range for teleportation, especially if the enemy was watching to intercept the attempt.

The best chance they had was to turn around and go away, as the Dauntless was now turning around the asteroid, disappearing behind it. The captain commented once again, "They're reacting better than I would in this situation. It's not even that they have some tactical genius, they're calling all our moves before we make them…"

* * *

Ishna yelped in excitement as the battle begun, frantically calling out orders as her thousands of minds assessed the battle. She had spent days and days doing nothing but sitting and planning for every single possibility that this battle could bring about.

The number of plans in her mind dwarfed even the Codex Magica in terms of size, with every variable being accounted for.

"This is variation C112-no wait! C111…no, it's C107, the Expulsion isn't going as far to port for 111…maybe it's actually 105…Yes! We have C105." The ships shifted in accordance to this. The plans Ishna had were not even based only on big events. Erwine had executed the C plan, but they were one thousand possible variations of the C plan that had to be accounted for.

"Next we can shift into E, J, or T…" she whispered to herself.

When Erwine would react to Ishna's movement, "She's shifting behind…that one. So it's E…234? Wait a minute…more slowly than I thought, so probably E551. Yet the _Expulsion_ is turning fast, so somewhere in E190 to E200. Ahhhh, torpedoes are being programmed to use the debris as cover. Well then, that gives us time. It's E197! Move as planned!"

And so, Erwine's plan, which was quite reckless but also clever, was defeated yet again. Had even the greatest admiral been in charge, they would not have had the ability to understand that the _Expulsion's_ torpedoes would impact with a 67% chance of hitting due to the extreme amount of programming added in by the navigator of the_ Expulsion_. And 67% would throw off the entire flow of the battle.

The Lunar could not be damage now, not for a little while longer. Any great admiral would also not have known that because the Illumination moved a bit more slowly into cover, then it would actually be in perfect position to turn around and shift away, which was why Erwine's attempt to turn around would fail.

"Turn us around," Erwine said, "Expulsion, keep watch on the asteroid. Try to get in close to the Dauntless and board it. It can't fight in close quarters as long as you are ready to board, so you should be able to scare it off. Illumination, we turn around before taking a potshot at the Lunar and moving towards the asteroid. They were guarding it, so let's try to bait them by going towards it."

Once again, Erwine's plan was tactically sound. The _Expulsion_ should have moved in on the Dauntless-class and driven it back from the asteroid as the _Illumination_ moved in. The Lunar would have turned around to face the two ships as they boarded and eliminated the Lunar, before turning and gunning down the Dauntless.

A counter would have been if the Dauntless's captain and crew were good enough so that they could maintain a solid distance from the _Expulsion_ but also be close enough to add their firepower to that of the Lunar's. Another counter would have been for the Lunar-class to use the debris as cover before using its superior firepower to wipe out the strike cruisers while the Dauntless moved back into harass and prevent landing on the asteroid.

But the strike cruisers were faster than either ship, so as it was, the two approached the asteroid quickly. The Dauntless's crew was not amazing, but their commander was.

"Erwine's quite clever. She knows her stuff well, and she knows that we're guarding the asteroid," Ishna commented aloud, "She could even beat a skilled admiral of the Imperial navy with this set up at the moment. However…I have been, and I still am playing to lose."

Ishna's carefully drawn out timetable for the operation required that certain things happen at certain times. She didn't want Erwine to lose. She wanted Erwine to win at a certain time. Every move had to be carefully calculated so that neither side gained a clear advantage.

A battle was easily won or lost at a random time. But when wanted to lose in a specific way, at a specific time, at a specific point, and for a specific reason, the difficulty began going up exponentially, until it was essentially impossible for any normal being to accomplish.

But so far, Ishna's plan had been flawlessly executed.

The _Illumination_ swung about, then turned towards the asteroid, moving quickly as it fired off its broadsides at the Lunar. The brief exchange of fire damaged shields, and nothing more.

The Dauntless had actually gone under the asteroid, as the Expulsion rushed towards it. The asteroid covered the craft from fire, but it was moving forwards, as the Lunar class swung to starboard, trying to chase after the Illumination.

The Dauntless was going to be caught by the Expulsion. It was inevitable. The Illumination would get it too. Even if it didn't come out, the two ships could go down and engage it, or board it. It would be trivial. The Lunar was too far away, blocked by the shoals of debris, to assist, and was not fast enough to get back in time.

Bright flares in the darkness indicated torpedoes accelerating towards the Dauntless. The dozens that came from both strike cruisers would tear the ship to shreds.

But just before they fired, Ishna said, "We have J778. Dauntless, shift exactly one hundred meters to the right…" She then told it exactly where to fire its guns, and exactly how to distribute shield power. It was executed properly, and half the torpedoes hit the shields of the Dauntless.

Again, Ishna could not see the future. Erwine was issuing orders. But the events of the battle up to this point told her exactly where the two strike cruisers would be when they did fire. And that told where the torpedoes would be. And that told how to defeat them.

The Dauntless was alive. Its shields were down, but no hull damage had been taken. It began moving slowly backwards, raising power to forward shields as it fired its own torpedoes. Ishna's words told exactly where and when to fire every single one.

The result is that the Expulsion, the closer of the two ships, slowed down as the torpedoes came towards it. The Illumination kept going, but it would be out of the range as the Dauntless backed away from the asteroid. The craft was not retreating. The Lunar pulled out from behind a thick cloud of fragments, broadsides ready. Although the Illumination was still obscured, the lances fired off.

The rear shields were hit hard, and they would finally snap as the craft slowed and turned to port about one thousand kilometers from the asteroid. The Expulsion was turning to starboard to present broadsides to the Lunar as well.

Erwine's plan had been executed properly. So why did the survival of the Dauntless matter? The Lunar had to move in, as the soldiers on each craft mobilized, ready to board the asteroid.

Ishna smiled. Taking a deep breath, she laughed victoriously, before shouting, "Dauntless, fire ballistics and torpedoes. I'll tell you when." She would continue, tell exactly where and when to fire, and how to set the fuses.

The Dauntless had pulled away a few hundred kilometers, enough so that the strike cruisers could not immediately worry. Then it had turned, and accelerated massively. At top speed it show past the strike cruisers, firing its broadsides and torpedoes. The shots were not targeted at the mage knights.

The lances and shells of the vessels flew out towards the Lunar. The shells were hit by other shells. The torpedoes flew right into the paths of lances, having been fired in time to block the path. "U889.9078…" Ishna muttered.

If it were not for her labyrinthine library of a mind, granted to her by her power as a magical girl, her plans would have to be written down. And the plan for this engagement alone would easily equal, if not surpass, the size of the precious Codex Magica.

A fourth of the shots fired hit the Lunar, the ones not stopped by the Dauntless being stopped by the debris field. The Dauntless made a wide turn, now above the Lunar. The light cruiser should have taken huge damage from its high speed throughout the debris, but the corridor for the maneuver had been cleared out beforehand.

The mage knights couldn't board the asteroid, and they now had to move away in order to get closer. The Lunar turned to starboard, accelerating towards the cruisers. Meanwhile, the Dauntless turned the same way, accelerating down another pre-cleared corridor towards the asteroid.

"Lyndia, get what you need and get out of here…" Ishna paused, choosing the vox over telepathy, then continued, "Hey…good luck, tell me when you're leaving, I'd like to say goodbye."

"Understood," the reply came, as the light cruiser shot away and the Lunar approached the _Illumination_ and _Expulsion_.

"We go after the Lunar first," Erwine said, wondering what was happening at this point. She hadn't won, but she hadn't lost. She had the upper hand now, as there was no way for the Lunar to get out in time. She nodded, smiling a little, "We got her," she whispered, before speaking up, "Prepare to board the Lunar. Take out its guns first, then engines. Hopefully, Ishna is aboard, and we can get her there." Erwine would then leave the bridge with the others ready to begin the assault.

Ishna smiled as she flipped to the next set of scenarios for the boarding operation. "Ahhhh," she said, "Erwine, You certainly have me quite outnumbered, don't you?"

* * *

Erwine did not find the tight confines of a boarding torpedo to be very pleasing. She was packed in there with the other members of the Inquisition who had been on the Illumination. There were seats for twelve, so everyone fit just fine.

Launch was in less than a minute, and Erwine's heart was beating faster and faster as she sat there waiting. Everyone was linked into a wider telepathic network created by Estelle in coordination with the telepaths in the Hearth Knights detachment.

Erwine was sitting close to the door of the torpedo. She wished that they could just teleport in, but what kind of interference might be faced was unknown, and they did not want to take the chance of Ishna stopping them all.

The distance was also great, and closing into teleport range would be dangerous given the fact that the Lunar was mostly untouched. The close range gunfight between the three ships had lasted for a few minutes, including a lot of posturing. Whoever was commanding the Lunar, presumably Ishna, was quite good at what she did.

It was managing to avoid most of the major plays made by the strike cruisers, eventually forcing them to go ahead with the boarding plan, even though it was hoped that they would be able to disable or destroy the cruiser on their own.

The torpedo shook violently as it was launched. It would now be some time before the impact would occur. The Lunar-class was attempting to move back towards the larger asteroid, with the strike cruisers denying it. The battle of maneuver was dragging on, as the Dauntless idled by the asteroid, doing nothing.

Ayelen and Sanae were sitting next to each other. They had not spoken in any serious way since their little fight. As the boarding torpedo approached the cruiser, Ayelen reached over and put her hand on Sanae's hand.

Whispering softly, loud enough so that none but Sanae could hear over the rumbling of the craft, "Please," she said, "Can we at least work together?"

The dark-haired girl nodded, but Ayelen figured that was all she was going to get out of her, so she took her hand away and stayed silent. The boarding torpedo shook massively as it tore into the hull of the cruiser.

The front blew open as fragmentation charges cleared the area in front of the breach. Laelia's shield was up, and Celestine made it so that none could see the magical girls. Adrianne moved out first, followed right behind by Erwine.

The large corridor they had breached into was suspiciously clear. The mage knights had arrived about a hundred meters behind them, so they immediately moved in that direction, back towards the rear. The boarders from the Expulsion would go towards the bridge, while the others would go towards the engines.

Adrianne and Estelle led the way, with Erwine following right behind. Justinia and Wei were in the rear. Estelle was watching out for any sign of enemy telepaths, while Justinia scanned the ship through and through, searching for any enemies. She encountered no interference, something that was strange.

Sechylia entered the ship's systems, checking and disabling security systems while opening locked doors in the path of all four separate units. The sound of fighting could be heard ahead as the girls advanced on the mage knights' position.

As the door opened before them, they encountered a large room. It was a large hangar space, featuring multiple floors. It should have been holding craft, but only a scant few were present in the massive area. From the fire present, Erwine estimated that there could only be about three enemy magical girls in the room, but they had been holding the mage knights for at least five minutes, given that the Hearth Knights had boarded right into this room.

The mage knights were gathered in a circle, shielded and stealthed. But enemy fire was absolutely accurate, while not a single shot from the ten magical girls launching projectiles could score a single hit on anything besides a shield.

Yukie turned as the others telepathically announced their presence. _Our friend seems to know exactly what we're doing, and then telling her lackeys about it. We can't seem to hit them at all. We were waiting for you all before we launched a full-on assault. _

This assault began immediately, with the twenty-one magical girls charging at the three in the room.

Ishna still sat on the command throne, a single figure standing next to her. She tipped her head back, looking up at the ceiling. _Are you ready? _She asked.

_Yes. _The girl's voice held a sense of restrained wonder at what was to happen, but a rather unhealthy amount of fear accompanied the rest. _I'm…ready. _

_Goodbye, _Ishna replied, feeling that this goodbye would indeed be a final goodbye. _Good luck. May we meet again someday. _She hesitated for a few seconds, before saying something more. _The Goddess Protects, May She guide your soul. _

_Goodbye, _the voice replied. Then she was silent. Ishna shut her eyes for a few seconds, savoring her memories of that girl's voice. _Braver than I…_the heretic thought, before she turned to look at the girl standing beside her.

Via stood there, her long purple braid running around her head and down her chest, turned her head to Ishna as well. "The enemy has encountered both delaying groups…" the girl said. She seemed disappointed, "Perhaps I should move to assist?"

"We need you later," Ishna said, "Going out now would get you killed. We can't have any casualties here on this day."

"So work your magic," the armored girl said, "Otherwise, we're going to lose this day."

"Oh, but isn't that the goal?" Ishna asked with a smile, before she shook her head. Opening telepathic channels, she started to speak.

Targeting each message to only the individual girl it was intended to be heard by, Ishna began. _Fire three shots, one step to the right, crouch, roll to the left. Fire five shots, step back one meter. _That was one string of instruction for roughly five seconds.

She was issuing six strings of these instructions at a time, with her mind split evenly into seven pieces. Six were handling the individual issuing of orders, while one handled everything else. She was equally conscious in each of these at the same time, it was just that the dominant one was the one not dealing with the orders at the moment.

She went on for some five minutes like this, as the cruiser was pounded by the mage knight vessels. It was starting to show signs of serious damage, and a dull throbbing had begun in the back of Ishna's head.

_Pull back, _she said to all three members of the group delaying the force Erwine was a part of. _You know where to go. _Ishna then stood, closing her eyes to think. _Five minutes, _she thought. Holding her arm out to the side, she tapped the girl in violet. That knight disappeared, teleported away.

Ishna was still standing there. She teleported away then, towards the other three girls, engaging the force Juno was part of. This delaying force, unlike the one that had just pulled away, did not have a teleporter. That was an issue.

With her shield and invisibility up, Ishna popped into existence in front of the group. A chain of detonations followed a storm of lightning bolts and ice shards, before a wave of flame swept in. Myriad other projectiles flew in, all detonating against her shield.

The three girls on Ishna's side all piled into the shield. "Good job!" Ishna called, before she disappeared.

The advance down the cruiser was fast after the three girls left. It was known why, but at least they were gone. The surprisingly well-maintained and clean cruiser offered no resistance. Humans were present, but they scattered before

Even more strangely, the ship showed no signs of chaos influence. In no way, not even a latent magic presence was detected. It wasn't anything threatening, just strange. Nonetheless, the magical girls were mostly unfazed by the sight, and pressed onwards.

Justinia stopped. She turned towards the wall, frowning. A series of communications passed, and the other clairvyoants with the knigths scanned over the area multiple times. _An incredibly faint signal, _Justinia replied, _some kind of jamming is preventing us from seeing anything in there. Clearly technological anti-magic, no other magical programming. _

Yukie replied, _we need to keep moving. Call in Juno. _The mage knights kept moving, as Juno teleported down from the forward section of the cruiser. She stood next to the wall, her eyes closed, as she observed what Justinia gave her. _I can do it, not easily, but I can do it. I used to be able to jump through active warp zones, not anymore, but this shouldn't be impossible. _

_Only two, however, _she said. Adrianne and Erwine immediately volunteered. Juno had to charge for a few seconds, before she teleported.

In an instant, the three were standing in darkened space. It was pitch black. Erwine's eyes weren't as good as Juno's and Adrianne's, taking a split second longer to readjust,

Somebody dropped their weapons. From the multiple clatters of metal, it was Adrianne. Right as Erwine's eyes adjusted, she heard multiple steps, someone running off.

Then they fully functioned, and Erwine was amazed. Adrianne had tears on her cheeks all of a sudden. Her knives lay on the floor where she had dropped them. Then gasped in horror. Sitting against the wall, in a room barren of anything but a large box in the corner, was something that could be identified as a body of a human being.

A young, female human being, that is. The only feature that could be used to identify her was the long, dark blue hair that descended from her head. It was a bit longer than the shoulders. Adrianne knelt in front of it, her body frozen in shock. One arm reached out feebly for the mess of a girl before her, but it was faltering.

Erwine did not want to ever describe what she saw ever again. It was a horrific mess of blood and gore. Erwine tried to avert her eyes. Adrianne's mouth formed a coherent sound that Erwine could understand.

"Nadine…"

Erwine stepped back in shock, face twisted. "Nadine?" Erwine asked, for absolute confirmation.

"That…" Adrianne held her arm up, pointing at the bloodied mess, "Is Nadine…"

Adrianne caught note of something, and leapt forwards, tears streaming from her eyes. "By the Goddess!" she shouted, arms grabbing onto the breathing, conscious girl. "Nadine! Nadine!"

She put her hands on the girl's face, as she looked down and saw the pile of grief cubes. She had not been left there as long as Theodora had been left, but she was in even worse shape than that girl. Adrianne started doing her best to heal the girl, with Juno approaching slowly from behind.

The girl tried to whisper a few words as Adrianne wept tears of joy, holding onto the girl tightly. "I'm here, I'm here…" She repeated, "I'm here for you." Adrianne whispered. Her hands glowed as she struggled to piece Nadine back together.

A hand was laid on her shoulder, Juno speaking softly. "Adrianne…understand that she might-"

"She'll survive!" Adrianne shouted, "Get her out of here, we need to heal her as fast as possible." It was a direct order, issued to someone three times her age and several times her rank.

And that person didn't dare contradict the order. She gently lifted the girl into her arms, while Adrianne stood beside her. "I'll be right back for you," Juno said to Erwine. A few seconds passed of Juno glowing, before they disappeared.

Erwine was left in the dark room all alone. Her mind ran with questions. _Why would Ishna leave her alive after so long? What would she want with Nadine? Wasn't a message sent to Adrianne from Nadine? That message led us to Vasillica…what if Nadine is working for Ishna? _Erwine shook her head, disregarding the insane theory.

Juno reappeared in the room, and noticed Erwine's shock. "You alright?" the lord inquisitor asked.

"It's just too convenient," Erwine whispered.

"I know." Juno replied sadly. "But I trust Adrianne's instinct, I'll let her be the judge here." The two reappeared in the hallway soon afterwards.

Out there, a mage knight healer had been teleported back to handle Nadine. Ayelen suppressed the girl's pain as the healer rejuvenated her wounds, focusing on those that impaired her senses and major functions.

Adrianne knelt beside the girl the entire time, holding Nadine's hand as she looked desperately at the girl. Her face was covered in tears. She didn't understand how this was possible. But she did not question what she saw. She merely took solace in the fact that Nadine was alive.

Even the now, the girl was struggling to speak, eyes rolling to the side, vaguely recognizing the presence of Erwine.

Nadine could already speak and move to an extent, and now it was just the lesser injuries that needed healing. As soon as most of the wounds were closed, the healer stood up and caught up with her squad. Adrianne had a smile on her face as she looked down at the girl.

It was a smile that showed both joy and sadness. Hints of regret were mixed in, while confusion didn't make any appearance at all in the girl's visage. Her hands gently clasped Nadine's left, as the girl leaned against the wall. Tears stained Adrianne's face as she looked into Nadine's eyes.

"Hey," Adrianne said to the girl who had been lost to her so long ago.

"Hello, Adrianne," Nadine whispered softly, finally understanding where she really was. The two stared at each other in absolute silence for a few seconds, no one willing to interrupt the stillness.

Both smiled, as if this was the happiest moment in their lives. Erwine didn't blame Adrianne for that happiness. "I'm finally going to win," Adrianne whispered, "I'll finally beat her."

Then the world itself shook. A huge rumble seemed to shake the very air itself, a familiar sensation passing through everyone there. It hit everyone. It was a massive pulse, striking out at every single being in the entire expanse. Humans were spared from most of the damage, but magical girls were given the worst pain.

Erwine's hands went to her head, as an inescapable pain filled every part of her body. Her eyes went wide, as the world morphed before her. An endless expanse of red mist and black ground stretched out before her. No, the colors were purple and no-they were blue and no-they were…they were all the colors.

The sky was filled with rushing clouds, darts of ever-changing forms, colored charcoal black, that slipped in and out of vision. Howls and screams of a million kinds, ranging from the whining of a mouse to the roars of a daemon to the screaming of a human, filled the air with a chaotic rhythm. And there was a rhythm to the sounds.

And in the middle of this formless plain, there was a large oval shape. It was almost like an eye. The middles of it parted slowly, the two moving. It opened slowly, like an eye. It _was_ an eye. The pupils came into focus. Erwine felt a shiver run down her spine. She gazed wide-eyed at it. _Something _gazed back.

Erwine blinked, and she was curled up in the fetal position, shaking wildly as blood poured from every orifice on her head. Her eyes were empty, and her body felt cold. So incredibly cold. Pain wracked her entire body.

She tried to keep her eyes open, feeling that closing them would only invite back whatever she had just seen. Or whatever had just seen her. She did not succeed.

Her eyes closed, but nothing else came. Erwine savored the peaceful nothingness of the dark, before she slowly cracked her eyes open. Yet even as she did, she felt the energy draining rapidly from her body. Though she tried to reach out, speak a word, or even send a thought, she collapsed.

Erwine's eyes shut. When she woke up again, she had lost five minutes. The girl was up with a start, the others recovering from similar symptoms. She looked around, seeing Adrianne hanging tightly onto Nadine, who was currently unconscious.

Estelle was behind her, more concerned for the blonde than for the other girl. Juno was the one who was the most in-shape. And she was scared. Her weapon was out, pointed upwards so as to not obstruct anyone else.

Her eyes gazed warily around, as if she knew something no one else did. "That was a warp breach," she explained as the others rose. "An active warp breach within a couple hundred kilometers." The lord inquisitor wiped away the blood running from her nose.

"Not even the kind a ship would enter warp through. It was worse. Yet there's no trace of daemons anywhere." Juno took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Something is very wrong here."

_We need to get to the asteroid now. Forget the ship, it's finished, we can wrap it up later. We have to find out why that breach just opened, and what Ishna's trying to do. _Juno communicated to everyone linked telepathically, gesturing for those around her to rise.

"Come on," She insisted, "The area is filled with warp energy, but I should be able to get us through."

"if you can't?" Erwine asked.

"Then we die," Juno said. She concentrated for a few moments, assessing the situation. "I'll make it," she confirmed. "Just give me a little time."

Erwine turned around, looking at Adrianne and Nadine, the latter girl was just waking up. She gripped tightly onto Adrianne, shaking profusely. "It'll be alright, everything's alright…" Adrianne whispered, holding onto the girl as if she were the thing keeping her alive.

Hearing Juno move, Erwine looked back. The girl reached into the pocket of her coat, removing a small black object. She brought the grief seed to her lips, kissing it, then whispering a few words. Her body glowed intensely.

"Everyone focus on the person closest to them, at least among those here right now. If we do get split up, or if we do get lost, then you'll at least have that person with you, hopefully." Juno said. She knew that the power emotions held was strong when it came to magic. It wasn't hard to figure out.

"Ishna dared to come into the sector that I have jurisdiction over, and treat it like her own playground. This may not be anywhere near my home, but it's still my duty to protect it." She said, "Come on, let's go."

Adrianne helped Nadine to her feet as the others converged on Juno. In a flash of light, they were all gone.

Erwine didn't feel the normal process. It should have been instant. In one place one second, and in another place the next. They certainly left in less than a blink of an eye, but on the way, something happened.

She saw the eye again. It looked at her. Stared into her soul. It stared at them all. Then an intense light shone from the center, drowning them all. A blink of an eye later, and Erwine wasn't with anyone else.

She was alone.

* * *

Sanae found that she was lost. Not lost in the warp in the way one might think, with daemons tearing apart her soul, but she was lost. She wasn't anywhere she ought to be.

A large tree, pink blossoms blooming all over its body, stood tall and proud. Beside it, a river ran, moving neither fast nor slow, it just moved. Sloping up away from the river was a small bank, upon which she saw somebody else for a moment.

She focused her eyes, and they were gone. She walked up the bank, realizing that besides the bank, the river, and the tree, there was nothing else but white. It wasn't clear if this was just a dream, or an actual place in the warp.

Nevertheless, she figured it had to come from her own emotions. She sat down on the bank, and found someone else was beside her. Sanae reacted with the same surprise Ayelen did.

They flinched, almost immediately raising their hands in defense. Yet both were astonished, and both remembered that they were most likely in another dimension.

"People are more honest on a riverbank," Sanae commented, looking out at the fake world around her. It wasn't even a world, just a fragment of one.

"Is this from your memories?" Ayelen asked.

"No,"

"It's not from mine." The brown-haired girl replied. She paused, then asked "This is the warp, isn't it? A part of it."

"I don't know the answer to that question," Sanae sighed, "But I wouldn't be surprised if it was."

"So this could all be fake, we might really be dead right now, with daemons feasting upon our souls." Ayelen pointed out.

"Sure, but I doubt that," the dark-haired girl shrugged.

"Why?"

"What I'm feeling isn't nostalgia, but it's something like nostalgia. As if I remember this fondly, yet it haven't even happened yet." Sanae shook her head, "I'm getting nostalgic over a future possibility, is what I'm saying."

"So this is a vision of the future. Do you think Ishna sought to pull such a thing from the warp?" Ayelen guessed.

"Perhaps," Sanae nodded, "But there are probably more things at work here…" Her voice trailed off, as Ayelen's eyes fell on hers. Sanae returned the gaze.

"You said people are more honest…" Ayelen muttered. She spoke up, "I really do trust you. I really do think I can help you."

Sanae sighed, "I'll fight to the end of time to avoid that."

"That's an emotion right there, that fear you feel," the other girl pointed out, "So why not feel happy, as well?"

"Good question," Sanae chuckled. Facing straight ahead. "I wished for my sister to come back to life not because I felt that she deserved it, but because I wished to escape the burden of having to carry her murder on my shoulders." She tipped her head back, turning it to the side. "So, is that someone worthy of friendship?"

Ayelen nodded. "Anyone is worthy of such a thing," she said, "Even murderers. Everyone has a story to tell, some tell it less clearly, or in a more biased or unbiased manner, but they all have reasons."

"And Ishna?"

"She has her reasons, it's just that they are malevolent."

"You'll fight me to make me your friend?"

"I will," Ayelen confirmed, not backing down.

There was a sound like glass breaking, and both sat on cold rock. It was a cavernous space. They could breath, but they couldn't tell much else.

"Well, we seem to be in reality," Sanae commented, now wondering if they had ever left it. Things were getting stranger by the second.

* * *

Estelle had remembered Juno whispering a few words to her before they went. "Adrianne has Nadine. I need you to do something I trust only you and Justinia to help with, so please focus on me, as Justinia has Sechylia." Estelle did so, then noticed the grief seed the girl pulled out.

After the encounter that split them, Estelle appeared standing. Juno was beside her. On the floor. On her back. Dead.

The inquisitor's first response was to check her gem. It was barely functional, blackness filling it up quickly. Estelle yanked one of Juno's boxes of grief cubes out, sliding the colored object inside. She caught her breath, slowing herself down as she looked at the girl's body.

The grief seed itself had rolled from her right hand, and now saw down by her leg. Estelle reached for it, finding that it was almost ready to spawn a new witch. She expected an Incubator. There wasn't one. Estelle looked at the seed. _Destroy it, _she realized.

She knew in that moment why Juno wanted her. The girl had been completely overloaded when breaching the warp field, so she knew that the seed would take the brunt of the energy. And now, it had to be destroyed, as apparently the Goddess did not reach this place.

And Juno trusted only two people to not hesitate to break a seed, potentially risking a new witch spawning. She knew that only those two people could handle what might come out. _That means it's a powerful one. _

Estelle struck, whispering a short prayer for the girl. The thing shattered, black fragments scattering everywhere, before fading away. Estelle sat back beside the body, observing that the cavern had no entrances or exits. She sighed, thinking over the fact that Adrianne had chosen Nadine over her.

_It makes sense, though. Nadine means so much more to her than I do, no matter how unfortunate that fact is. _Estelle realized.

* * *

Ayelen and Sanae faced one another. "We don't have to do this," Ayelen said. Sanae was acting strange. Ever since the massive pulse of warp energy had emanated out from the asteroid, Sanae had been different.

She seemed quite hateful of Ayelen now. Even more than before. "Ayelen…" the girl muttered, "You keep trying to fix me…"

"I've tried once, and have left you alone!" Ayelen cried, "I just wanted to be friends!"

Sanae threw her head back and laughed. Her hands raised, going to her blade. When she stopped laughing, her eyes would focus on Ayelen. "Goodbye," she said.

Ayelen would hear a sharp slicing sound as her spear was cut in half. She'd managed to step aside as well as block, which was good, as she would have been bisected otherwise.

Three quick slashes bounced off of another spear, as Ayelen summoned two dozen into existence behind herself. They flew forwards. Sanae's smaller sword came out in her offhand, and the volley was defeated, save for a few small scratches on her body.

The distance was closed again, and Ayelen felt a pain in her arm as skin was parted. Her vital fluids spilled from the wound onto the cold, barren floor of the rock. Another slice left a long cut along Ayelen's forehead. Her reflexes had stopped the cut from extending into her skull.

A finger tapped Sanae, and the girl was immobilized temporarily. Ayelen moved in to grapple with the girl, hoping to use her magic to her advantage. It worked. She poured all the energy she had into intensifying the pain coursing through Sanae's body.

The girl froze up, her magically-enhanced resistance breaking down before Ayelen's' assault. She faltered, falling back onto the ground. Ayelen kept going, refusing to give up. Sanae was forced to drop her blades as Ayelen wrestled them away, pinning the girl down.

The two sat there for a few moments, Ayelen trying to recover as Sanae wound down from the pain she'd suffered. "Do you understand, now?" Ayelen asked. "I have hope that I can help you. I won't give up until you die."

"Why do you care about me so much?" The brunette didn't want to admit it. It was to be hard.

"It's a selfish reason," Ayelen whispered.

"I know selfishness very well. Don't be afraid."

"I want to be happy. I want to know what happiness is. Real happiness. Maybe by helping you out, I can find out what it really is." Ayelen explained. "That's why I'm trying, not because I truly care about you."

"Still, you're trying," Sanae sighed, "I give up. We're both stubborn, somebody has to back down at some point. So I will." Ayelen helped her to her feet.

"I'll help you find a reason to have hope. I'll help you find a way to make up for that lost wish," Ayelen promised, "I won't stop until you do."

* * *

Even after Juno teleported the others into the asteroid, the mage knights were on the outside still. They would take alternate routes in, by breaching via Thunderhawks, specifically blasting the thing open and flying in.

They would still get lost, somehow, amidst what was apparently a massive zone of complexly-wired programs that had managed to entirely split up the mage knights, misguiding them at every turn.

It was because of this that Yukie faced the heretic knight alone. The girl had purple armor on, all markings erased. There was no way to tell where she was originally from. The armor's color was not even a solid clue, given that many had violet. Yukie's helmet still covered her head, and as she stepped forwards, the heretic's head glowed as her helmet came into existence.

Her armor did bare the symbol of Slaanesh, so Yukie could only assume that the girl was just as depraved as any other follower of that god. "Who might you be?" Yukie called out, raising her hands and adopting a stance she had carefully developed after over one hundred years of fighting. Her shurikens were summoned into her hands.

"Well," the traitor replied, standing straight up, "My name is Via Isiniad, formerly of the Blood Angels,"

"Interesting," Yukie said, "My name is Yukie Cochis, Sergeant of the 7th Squad of the Heart Knights 8th Company. Care to explain why you had to betray the Goddess?"

"Ishna knows how to talk someone into something," Via replied, "And the real reason, the full explanation…well, you'll have to wait some time for that." She lifted her right arm. A bright flash brought a long scythe into that arm.

"Shall we begin?" Via asked, "I've not much time,"

Yukie smiled, "Let's." The two were trapped in a large, circular room. He ceiling was high and domed. It was a perfect arena for a battle between two magical girls.

The room would echo for a long time with the sound of their combat.

* * *

Adrianne's hand had been tightly grasped around that of Nadine's, the girl smiling into the face of her master. She still considered her that way, though they hadn't seen each other in so long.

And when they teleported, and when the group was split, Adrianne knew who she would end up with. She knew that she couldn't help but be bound to Nadine.

Her eyes opened, and she was on the floor. It was cold, hard, and bumpy against her clothing. Someone was in her arms. She looked down, not even really needing to look to know that Nadine was there. She smiled at the girl, pulling her tighter to herself.

"I'm sorry it took me so long…" Adrianne said solemnly. "But I'm here now."

"I know," Nadine said, holding Adrianne back, "Come on now, let's get up and get moving. Ishna can't be far off now." Adrianne held on for a couple seconds longer, to the point where Nadine was blushing at the contact, before she was willing to release her and stand up.

Nadine's legs shook as she stood up, the girl's breathing ragged. Adrianne held her hand tightly, holding her eyes on Nadine's body at all times. "Don't be so worried about me, I survived thirty years in Ishna's hands, I think I can handle anything else she can throw at me."

Adrianne nodded. Then she shrunk up, feeling the need to ask a burning question. "What…what did she do to you?"

The girl, with her dark blue hair, wasn't so ready to answer. She flinched at the question, her mind flashing back to all that she had experienced. "Imagine the darkest tales about the horrors of the warp, then implant the understanding into your mind that one of your own kind is doing all that to you."

"Don't think any more about it," Adrianne insisted immediately upon seeing the true damage it caused to Nadine to even start to remember.

A moment of silence passed between the two. Nadine looked around, seeing a passage leading away from the current cavern. There was gravity, meaning that it was being artificially generated. She started walking, Adrianne following ight beside her.

"How have your last thirty years been?" Nadine spoke with a heavy tone of regret, which she seemed to struggle to quench.

Adrianne almost fell over, she stopped so fast. Her muscles froze up, her mind spinning as it hunted wildly for an answer that would satisfy Nadine. _I can't tell her the truth…I have to tell her the…better parts! That's right the better parts! I leave out the bad and-no, I can't just lie to her. _

She stood for a minute, breathing faster and faster as she waged the internal conflict, her desire to please her master going against her desire to live up to the new persona she had taken on. Eventually she forced an answer from herself.

Adrianne was quiet, solemn, as she explained. "I managed to ruin the lives of five other girls, in a way that they can never actually recover from. Alongside that, I've tortured and killed many magical girls and humans. So much blood is on my hands that I honestly stopped caring about who got in my way."

"One of those girls, Erwine, the silver-haired one. She's just thirteen years old, contracted a month ago. In two weeks' time, I managed to mentally ruin her, then actually went ahead and…" Adrianne shut her eyes, struggling to force the words out, "Raped her." A shiver passed through her body as she spoke.

Nadine was looking back at the girl, a frown now on her face. It became worse by the second. She was just disappointed in Adrianne. "You did all that…" She whispered, "Why?"

Adrianne just started crying. It was as if she was the little girl. She reminded herself of Erwine, the Erwine that had existed before Adrianne changed her forever.

"Why did you do it?" Nadine asked, astounded that anyone could commit such acts. "How aren't you imprisoned, why does Erwine work with you, what's going on here?!"

"I did it for you!" Adrianne cried out, slamming her foot on the ground. "You and the others, you all meant so much to me. You were the first people in the whole world who I really felt actually cared for me! My parents didn't, no one else back home really did!" Adrianne wept uncontrollably as she stared into Nadine's eyes, unable to come close to restraining herself. She descended into incoherent mumbling after a couple seconds more, going on about how sorry she was.

Nadine just looked at her. The girl couldn't even put words to what she thought of Adrianne. _I'm honored, because she was willing to do anything for me. At the same time, she disgusts me. _Adrianne dropped to the ground, tears spilling to the floor as Nadine stepped in front of her.

"I'm sorry," Adrianne muttered, managing to speak in a semi-understandable way. "I'm so sorry." Nadine knelt down, sighing.

"Adrianne…" she began, but was interrupted.

"When Ishna killed everybody…I thought you were dead too. No, I would have done all this even knowing you were alive." Adrianne said. She felt Nadine reach out for her shoulder, and quickly scooted backwards, moving as Nadine were a daemon. "Don't touch me!" she cried, "I don't deserve your caring! Not after I threw away everything you have me!"

Nadine could watch with pity as Adrianne stared at her. The girl's eyes begged for forgiveness. "I…I loved you more than I ever loved my own mother." Adrianne whispered, "You were better than she ever was. I loved the other girls like they were my sisters." She choked up for a few moments, struggling to force the words out. "And then, Ishna took them away from me, one by one. I had to watch as she did it, and I couldn't stop her. Even though I tried, I knew that I had no chance. Then I left you behind there, while Ishna let me live."

Adrianne wailed, "It would have been easier if she just let me die! Had she killed me in that desert, I would have taken that over being left for dead, then rescued by xenos! Why did they even have to save me?!" Adrianne screamed, "I'm not worth saving! I'm just a little girl who can't even harm a fly!"

Yet as she said this, the images of those she had harmed flashed before her eyes. All the times she had hurt people, or others had hurt people on her orders, came back to her. She realized that she was just a little girl.

"Yet I can hurt people, can't I?" she whispered, "I can hurt people…why?! I'm just a little girl. I didn't want any of this. I didn't want any of this." She kept repeating those words, shaking her head as she curled up into a ball.

She felt Nadine take her hands. Slowly, they were pried away from her body. "Don't think like that," Nadine whispered softly. "Don't say things like that about yourself. You deserve better than that."

She put on a gentle smile, staring down into Adrianne's eyes. "Adrianne, most girls would have just turned into a witch right there, when they saw Ishna do those things. You didn't. You loved me, you loved us all so much that you were willing to continue moving forwards, just for the sake of revenge."

Nadine slowly moved the girl to sit straight up. Her hands holding Adrianne's, Nadine continued. "You said you did so many bad things, but they were for what you saw as a good reason, right?"

Adrianne nodded. "You did them out of revenge, right?" Another nod. "That revenge was born because of your love, right?" Another nod. "Actions done out of love take place beyond good and evil. I can't judge them, because you did them while possessed by something beyond our understanding."

She reached out for Adrianne. The girl pulled back at first, but then she was pulled in tight against Nadine. "Shhh…" the girl hushed her, "No need to cry. I'm here for you. Don't ever think like that again."

"No matter what, I'll be by your side, Adrianne. I'd gladly do anything for the girl who choose to give up her entire life to seek revenge for my sake."

"Erwine…" Adrianne whispered, "We reconciled. She understands, in a way, why I did what I did." She took a deep breath. "At this point…we plan to stick together after this is done."

"Then I'll come alone, how about that?" Nadine asked. Adrianne held her tighter, squealing in glee.

"Of course!" she said, "I'd love that…"

It would be a few minutes later that the two would stand up, both ready to face the world together. Adrianne smiled, "Don't worry, Nadine. I won't hesitate any longer. I'll end what Ishna started, and then…we'll have a whole life to catch up on."

* * *

Erwine and Wei opened their eyes. They had locked hands tightly before the teleportation. Now, they weren't where they ought to be. The sky was grey, the air was cold. Buildings rose up to either side of the girls. They were stark grey, featureless metal constructions.

The place seemed lifeless, devoid of any sparks of creativity. From the grey sky, white snow fell, coating the already covered ground. Cold gusts of wind swept down the streets, battering the two girls as they looked around.

Erwine froze after a couple seconds. Wei noticed this, stepping up beside her, following her line of sight. It was just at the corner of a building, nothing special. "What is it?" She asked, worried.

"Siothea…" She whispered, "This is Siothea."

"Your home world, right?" Wei asked. Then she understood. If they were in the warp, and Erwine was seeing her home world, then something related to Erwine would be shown.

"I haven't seen any of this," Erwine was scared. "This isn't from any memory I have of this place. I mean…I recognize my surroundings, I know these alleys, but I don't know them like this. I never saw them like this, it's nowhere in my mind." She backed up, running into a wall as she looked around warily.

"What's the problem, this isn't necessarily your memories." Wei pointed out.

"True, that's so true, but this is a memory." Erwine was almost crying at the sound of what she said, "I remember this, but the memory isn't in my head. This is a memory of something that hasn't happened yet."

Wei paused. She looked around. "I don't see any threats, so I don't understand the issue. Perhaps Ishna is looking into the future?"

"Why would she need a warp breach to do that?" Erwine shook her head, stepping away from the wall as she spun all around. "No, there's something more here, something bigger going on."

"How do you know?"

"I just do," Erwine insisted. She assessed her surroundings, then walked in a certain direction. She strode quickly, Wei following just behind her.

"Erwine?" Wei asked.

"Yes?" Erwine was flat in her reply.

"You're really not going to run off with Adrianne after this, are you?" Wei asked.

"I don't plan on it. Honestly, it was in the heat of the moment when I told her I would. I'm not so sure it was the best thing to say. After this is done…" Erwine paused, spinning around and looking Wei in the eyes. "I'll rethink it, and I'm sure we can come to a decision based on what you want as well." Erwine smiled, "We are supposed to be friends, after all.

Wei jumped, her eyes seeing something behind Erwine. The silver-haired girl spun, her blade flashing into existence. She saw a girl coming down the street, looking around wildly, as if the world was trying to kill her. At random points, she screamed out, though there was nothing else there.

Then her eyes centered on Erwine, and the girl stumbled backwards, falling onto her rear. Her arms were raised in a protective manner, and her whimpers could be heard across the twenty feet separating the girls.

Just when Erwine was about say something, the world was cut in two. Like someone cut the fabric of reality itself, then pulled the halves apart, Erwine fell through the cracks into darkness.

The room was a massive circle. Perhaps a hundred feet in radius, a little less than that. The ceiling was just as flat as the ground, with a few bumps here and there. It stood twenty feet above the ground, and if one actually took a second to examine it, they would find it covered in strange inscriptions of symbols from another, long lost time.

The cavernous space was filled with all manner of objects, ranging from stone tables to pieces of moss. It was a chaotic mess of debris, fragments from ancient temples, clippings from supposedly mystical forests, gems that were rumored to give magic powers. It looked like the junk drawer of a god.

And based off the person who stood in the exact center of the room, it might as well have been one. The floor was also covered in inscriptions, all centering around the point on which Ishna Kleimar stood. A massive tome was opened in her hands, supported by one palm on each side.

The room was currently a decaying whirlwind of multicolored energies, slowly dissipating even as they kept swirling about Ishna. It was all motes of every color imaginable, save for three things in the air.

Three pieces of parchment slowly floated around Ishna in a perfect circle. The girl grinned, slamming the book shut. The tome was cast into the air. Ishna reached to the side, her arm disappearing into nothingness.

From the dimensional pocket, she received a long sword of black and bronze. Flipping a switch let the sword light up, before Ishna's hand glowed, and her own power was added. An ancient magitech sword from the Golden Age, able to make short work of practically anything.

Ishna slashed down, before the tome could even come close to touching the ground. In an instant, an irreplaceable relic was reduced to cinders. Deactivated, the blade was cast back into the storage space. Ishna reached her other palm out, letting it sit flat.

The papers slowly but surely collected there, one by one. Soon all three were present. The whirlwind of energy was entirely gone now. Ishna realized that she'd shed a few tears at the tome she'd destroyed. Such a thing would never be seen in the universe again. Yet it wasn't meant for this time of chaos and strife.

Ishna put her right palm down atop the papers, then slowly brought both hands away, the parchments floating in between. Spreading her arms out to the side, the parchments flew off, heading to carefully preplanned locations. Everything was ready.

Wiping the tears from her face, Ishna turned to look at a certain part of the wall, a solemn smile coming over her face. "It's time to say goodbye, I guess." She whispered, before she disappeared.

There was no one but Erwine. She did not see any kind of escape from this room. It was roughly circular, domed, with a low ceiling. She looked around. She was shaking, but she could move. She didn't understand what was happening.

There was a sound. She spun around, seeing the wall behind her disappear. She moved towards it, hearing gunfire from outside. She saw a mage knight. Yukie. She was speaking to someone else, a girl in violet armor.

Erwine ran forwards, but the wall was back, phasing into place just in time. She took a few steps back, recoiling from the experience. She looked around, trying to find another escape. Another wall disappeared, now revealing Sanae and Ayelen, facing one another. Erwine ran forwards. The wall returned.

Another wall disappeared, it was Adrianne. The inquisitor stood there. She ran forwards. She could see Erwine as well. Then the wall reappeared right as they would have crossed the boundary.

Erwine was stuck. She sat in the middle of the room, deciding to ignore the walls, and wait until Ishna came to actually confront her. Sure enough, the girl appeared after only ten seconds.

"Hello," Ishna said, standing straight. Erwine was sitting down, and said nothing in reply.

"Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" Ishna asked, walking forwards. She came within five feet of Erwine. "Did Adrianne at least? I know that they're practically the same person…"

Erwine moved. Her sword was flying out towards Ishna. Her arm stopped in midflight. "Please," Ishna begged, "I didn't come to hurt you…I didn't come to do anything bad…I just wanted to say goodbye…"

"Goodbye?" Erwine asked, feeling her sword arm forced back down to her side.

"Yes," Ishna said, "I wanted to be polite, and I suppose that I need this as well…"

"You need to say goodbye to me?" Erwine asked, "What's happening to-"

"I'm going to die here!" Ishna blurted out desperately. Erwine had heard the tone used before. It was a cry for help. Ishna begged to be saved from this death. "But not to you," she shook her head, "So don't get any ideas…"

"Why would you let yourself die here?" Erwine asked, "It doesn't make sense. If you can win, why don't you? You could have won the naval battle, with what you were doing? Why didn't you kill us all right there, back on your ship?"

"I can only give you one answer to all the questions you may ask me," Ishna said.

"And what answer is that?" Erwine dissipated her sword, seeing no need for it.

"Remember when we first met?" Ishna asked, "For the first time in both dreams and reality?"

"Yes,"

"Remember when I said that a lot of people depended on you following Adrianne to the end?"

"Yes…"

"I wasn't lying…" Ishna whispered. Her voice was almost inaudible.

Erwine looked into Ishna's eyes. The orbs had a different look than usual. Erwine had trusted Ishna before. She still believed that the girl truly didn't like to kill. "What's your real goal?" Erwine asked.

"You are on a path to uncover a weapon that could destroy the entire Imperium," Ishna said. Her tone was different now. It was an evil tone, a threatening one. "You already know that much. I need you to find it for me. And I know that you will use it in the way I want it used…" she chuckled a little.

"Unfortunately, in order for things to unfold properly, I must die here," Ishna explained. She stepped forwards, grabbing the top of Erwine's hair. Pulling her inwards, Ishna roughly kissed Erwine.

It lasted for far longer than Erwine would have liked, but the heretic came at her with a passion that she had never felt in anything that had happened to her before. When she broke away, Ishna smiled sadly, "I'm so sorry everything turned out like this…but there's nothing that can be done."

"Does it have to be like this?" There was a part of the little girl that wanted to believe that there was something worth saving about Ishna.

"In the end," Ishna shrugged, "It has to be this way. There's no other option." The girl paused, thinking for a moment. Then she asked, "Remember how we first met in a dream, Erwine?"

Erwine nodded. "Have you woken from that dream yet?" Ishna asked.

The silver-haired girl was given pause. She looked around, unsure on how to answer the question. "Y-yes…" She whispered, then shook her head. "I'm still not sure who I am."

"You will be, soon." Ishna said, though there was more than a hint of regret in her words.

"…Goodbye, Ishna," Erwine said, as the girl started backing away.

"We'll see each other again, one day, in this plane of existence as well, hopefully at least." Ishna said, before she disappeared. "Goodbye Erwine, the Goddess Protects."

"That she does…" Erwine found herself whispering, "May She guide your soul…"

Tears came to her eyes, though she knew not why they came. Erwine fell to her knees, and cried.

* * *

The battle between the two knights would end eventually. Yukie lay on the ground, breathing lightly. Blood covered her armor. Mostly her blood. Via was standing, and she walked slowly towards Yukie.

"That was a spectacular fight, easily one of the best I have had in many, many years," Via said. She stepped down on Yukie's back, digging her foot into the ruined armor. "But unfortunately, you lost."

"Just kill me already, traitor," Yukie spat, having accepted her end.

"Sorry, but orders are orders, I can't." Via chuckled, "Even if I could, I wouldn't. I do love making little lapdogs of the Goddess bark, but it shall have to wait."

"What do you mean?" Yukie grunted.

"It's mean we're done here," Via explained, stepping off the girl and walking away. "Don't worry, little doggie, I'll make you beg eventually. See you sooner or later, whichever." The girl sauntered away, as Yukie struggled to get up and head after the girl.

* * *

Nadine and Adrianne had been following the currents of energy, headed towards what was hopefully the center of the asteroid. Where the warp breach was. Their footsteps were in tune with one another as they traveled through the spacious yet desolate caverns, any noise echoing off the walls.

An eerie sensation had fallen over the both of them, with shivers being sent up their spines occasionally just from the atmosphere of the place. Something was just _off. _It was the only way to describe the strange feeling that tingled at the edges of their understanding.

It was the kind of strangeness brought about by magic or the warp, it was the kind of strangeness brought about when something worse was going on. Yet Adrianne couldn't think of an example of such a thing.

They came to a stop before a large entryway into a huge cavern. The place seemed barren of anything, and was a large circular shape. "Here we are…" Adrianne whispered, expectation building up in her heart. Her blood rushed, her heart raced, she started to feel dizzy.

Adrianne understood that this was the end of her quest to defeat Ishna Kleimar. Nadine hesitated as Adrianne took a step forwards. Adrianne paused, looking back. "Stay here," She said, "Your gem…it's not in good shape. You won't last long out there."

"And you?" Nadine asked.

Adrianne smiled. "I've spent thirty years making other people suffer. When things have to balance out, I think the cycle of karma itself is on my side."

"Do your best," Nadine said. "Remember, even though we're not here, all of our hearts are behind you. You are not alone."

Adrianne nodded. She strode confidently forwards into the room. It was time to finish the fight.

Adrianne did not seem to mind as the room changed around her, revealing a myriad of ancient artifacts scattered about the room. The wall behind her became solid. Ishna stood at the center of the room, a piece of parchment in her hand. Adrianne walked to ten feet from Ishna.

Ishna placed the parchment on the ground. It looked brittle, incredibly fragile. Adrianne's eyes were focused in Ishna, however. "It's been a long time since that day," Ishna said. She sounded entirely different now. "The day we first met, the day we laid eyes upon each toehr for the first time." Ishna cocked her head to the side, face showing no signs of her usual playfulness, "Was _this _day written in stone on _that _day?

"I wouldn't happen to know for certain," Adrianne replied, "It's all about the theory you subscribe to. Personally, I think you've had this coming all along."

"Are you certain? If so, then if I die here, it's because I want to," Ishna pointed out.

"Incorrect. I should have been clearer. You've had this coming the moment you made your enemy. Eventually, I would corner you. And here we are now." Adrianne said, narrowing her eyes.

Ishna sighed. "You're missing the point. I could kill you in an instant, I'm by no means cornered."

"Then kill me," Adrianne said. Ishna did not. "So you see, something's preventing you from doing so, most likely your own stupidity. I'll capitalize on that, and you will die."

"Throughout this world, you followed your hatred for me. Throughout this world, I molded my own way through the powers I possess. Who _deserves _to leave this room alive?"

"I do. Because I'm able to look at my mistakes, overcome them, overcome any insanity I had, overcome my failings, and move forwards to do the right thing." Adrianne said.

"But what is right?"

"You're dodging me, now," the blonde commented, "Scared?" She questioned.

Ishna grinned sickly, "Certainly."

"Right," Ishna took a deep breath, "Well, we can begin this when you're ready. Erwine's all prepared."

"Prepared?" Adrianne questioned. Then she spat out, demanding, "What did you do to her?"

"I apologized, and said my goodbyes," Ishna explained. "I won't be seeing her again, not for a long time, at least."

Adrianne disregarded what the girl said. She knew that Erwine would not be hurt by Ishna. Adrianne narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists. "Why are you doing all of this? If this is to be the end, then I want to know, why?"

"I've already explained it," Ishna shrugged, "You should have listened."

"You dodged around the point every time. I've had enough of your cryptic answers and lies, just give me the truth. Why are you doing this?" Adrianne demanded.

"I refuse to give you anything," Ishna chuckled, "It's less fun that way."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to be robbed of your victory?" Ishna asked. Adrianne didn't respond. It was taken as a 'no'.

Silence reigned for a minute, as the two girls stared at one another. They did not waver, though both were clearly deeply touched by the entire situation. Neither one was willing to back down. This was going to be the end of something. Adrianne didn't know what.

"Thirty years of struggle end here," Ishna said.

"I know," Adrianne said. The two were motionless for a few seconds longer. Then they steadied themselves, and faced each other with new courage in their hearts.

Ishna spoke solemnly. "One must live, and one must die. She who dies shall be free of the burdens of hope and despair, and she who lives will carry that burden till it overwhelms her. To the death, then. I'll give you ten minutes. In ten minutes, Erwine will arrive here, and no matter what, it'll be all over." Ishna reached her right arm out to the side, and her rapier appeared in that hand. Flourishing it and pointing it at Adrianne, who conjured a half a dozen daggers, each one the length of a sword, Ishna cried, "Adrianne, let's make this the greatest ten minutes of our lives!"

Adrianne's gem was clean. Ishna's gem was clean. Both were at their full capacities. Adrianne's weapons flew through the air, curving wildly about as the two moved. A single leap crossed the distance. Ishna's first two strikes were parried away by Adrianne's arms, as her hands loosed another half a dozen swords into the air.

Two dozen silver flashes now circled around Ishna as Adrianne summoned only two swords now, one clasped tightly in each hand. The two clashed, spinning about each other in a fast-paced yet finely controlled dance. Adrianne's swords flew in from all directions, even from directly behind, yet Ishna wasn't touched by a single one.

One by one, they were knocked from the sky, Adrianne struggling to land a blow. Yet Ishna had no opening either. The only sound in the cavern was that of their feet on the ground and the clangs of blades clashing against one another.

The girls were both determined in their movements, not one ounce in hesitation in the way they struck at one another. Each strike was aimed to maim or kill. No mercy was going to be given, and neither desired any.

Ishna's face, though, was strange. It bore a melancholic look. She fought just as fiercely as Adrianne did, but while the blonde had a look of determination, Ishna didn't seem to want to win. "Why are you fighting me like this?!" Adrianne demanded, her cry ringing out over the sound of their strikes.

"Like what?" Ishna sighed, her strikes little more than rapid blurs of motion. Adrianne's were just as fast, with a whole cloud of swords circling through the air, as Adrianne tossed more and more out into the stale air within the cavern.

"Without your magic. It's as if you want me to win!" Adrianne cried. She stabbed out, Ishna smoothly knocking the strike aside, before her leg flashed out into the air to knock away several blades. She smoothly pirouetted to dodge the next set, the same look on her face.

"Perhaps I do," Ishna sighed. Into the air they went, flips and acrobatics adding another dimension to the battle. They danced around each other as they fell, not any closer to a conclusion than they were at the very beginning of the battle.

Dozens of strikes passed in the space of a few seconds, both girls pushing their bodies beyond even their superhuman limits. Their bodies coursed with energy as they overcharged them, their strikes fast enough to slaughter a dozen men in but a second's time, yet neither girl was struck.

Both were just blurs of motion, unobservable to the human eye. Yet to each other, both seemed to be moving so utterly slowly. This battle was to decide their fates. It was a battle to conclude a grand dance of hatred that had begun thirty years ago.

Neither girl expected this to be anything but the end. They knew for certain what it was. "Ishna, why have you done all of this!" Adrianne cried. "What was your reason?!"

"You wish you knew, don't you?" Ishna spoke softly, her words almost lost amidst the chaos of the sounds of battle. They did not pause to speak. "Is that why you came all the way here, to a place like this, to ask me _why_?"

"I want to know," Adrianne confirmed. She intensified her assault, almost managing a few cuts, before Ishna replied.

"Why? Is that what has driven you for so long? Is that the light that has guided you? Curiosity?" Ishna shook her head. "No, it's something far more malicious than that. You want me to die, Adrianne. So kill me."

"But how can I kill someone so alike to myself?!" Adrianne shouted, "It's not easy!" They locked blades once, before breaking away. Twice, thrice, they came close, staring into each other's eyes, before leaping off. "Erwine is so important to both of our existences. We are clearly both driven by a strong desire to achieve something. Both of us are insane."

Adrianne almost laughed at the idea as she spoke the words. That she could be so much like the person who she hated so dearly. "You say that…" Ishna muttered. She said nothing more.

As Adrianne moved back in, her thoughts started to focus around the idea that she had. The idea that somehow, she ought to feel bad for Ishna. The girl wasn't just melancholic now. Every so often, a single shimmer from her cheeks exposed that she was crying.

_Another time…_Adrianne thought, as the battle continued. She had stopped summoning new swords. She fought with those in her hand, and nothing more. Neither girl had been touched by the other. Though they had never fought on equal terms, they seemed to know how each other fought.

Adrianne couldn't help but feel empathy for the girl she opposed. They weren't opposites at all. They were just the same person who had gone in two different directions. _Another place…_her mind continued. Even as Adrianne wondered how long it had been, she kept on fighting.

_We could have been the very best of friends. _Adrianne realized. Yet like marionettes pulled along by invisible strings, they kept on dancing. They didn't stop dancing, as if the tune that they moved to never ended. It never could end.

Thirty years had passed since the day Adrianne Azure watched her friends die at the hands of Ishna Kleimar. Thirty years of pain, grief, bloodshed, and struggle. All for the sake of revenge.

It was all going to come to an end now. Adrianne knew that in her heart. A part of her sought this ending. Most of her didn't want this ending. It didn't want an ending at all.

For thirty years, she had existed as Adrianne Azure, the Ishna Hunter. If there was no Ishna to hunt, then how could Adrianne Azure, the Ishna Hunter, possibly exist? It was a steady crisis that crept up on her as the fight went on.

Yet Adrianne didn't falter in her determination, nor did she falter in her pity for the one she fought. She couldn't fathom what could drive a girl to such depths of depravity, but she knew that it was her job as a magical girl to rescue her soul from it.

The Goddess was said to protect everyone, even the heretics. Surely Ishna would fall onto that list as well? Yet there had to be a reason. A reason why a magical girl, a being who was supposed to bring hope to everybody, could possibly seek to bring so much despair.

Adrianne wanted to know. It was the thing she wanted second most in the world right now, behind the girl's actual death. _If she and I are so alike, then what if I become like her…? _It was a possibility she didn't want to consider. "Why?!" Adrianne shouted, "What's your goal?! What drove you to become this kind of person?!"

Ishna froze, even as Adrianne leapt towards her. "You'll never know…" She whispered. She flourished her blade, swiping Adrianne's aside. Adrianne's sword was knocked from her left hand. It clattered onto the ground.

There was but a minute left.

Adrianne backed up, as Ishna charged forwards. Adrianne narrowed her eyes, seeing the opening she needed. The world slowed down, as Ishna moved forwards, her blade pointed at Adrianne's heart. The grief rapier could easily end Adrianne.

The blonde moved, brandishing the one sword she had, in her right hand. Together they moved towards each other, eyes locking onto one another's. Both were crying, to different extents, and for different reasons. Adrianne cried because this felt like the end of an era for her, knowing this event would define the next part of her life. She didn't know why Ishna cried. She wished she knew.

Adrianne's weapon knocked Ishna's aside, the point snaking in towards her heart. Ishna let her rapier fall to the ground, her arms reaching out as Adrianne's blade found her gem. Even as it started to crack, Ishna's hands grasped onto the sides of Adrianne's head.

She whispered a few words into the girl's ear, a string of images flowing into her mind. And so, the reason for all of this was known to Adrianne. The girl's eyes widened, realizing what she had just done. "That's…that's not right…" She shook her head at the horror of what she saw.

"I wish one of us could carry this cursed destiny, and see it to its conclusion. I know the same words that drove me mad will do the same to you." Ishna chuckled. She started falling backwards, her gem breaking. Adrianne came down with her, pulled by the light grip Ishna had on her cheeks.

"Yet neither of us can. Those words that could change the world are not to be known by anyone in this day and age." There was a gentle surge of light. "This was destiny all along, Adrianne." Adrianne choked up. "Goodbye, Adrianne, may we meet again one day." Ishna whispered, "The Goddess Protects, may She guide our souls."

Adrianne felt tears running from her eyes, as Ishna wept as well. The girl's eyes shut. Before she fully left, she whispered, "Tell Erwine…tell Erwine I love her." The girl's body was still, her gem fully broken.

Adrianne felt a scream rising from the back of her throat as the girl went motionless. It was a scream of pain, regret, horror. She realized what Ishna had been doing, and she was scared. Ishna hadn't been beaten.

The girl looked down at her hand, seeing that her gem itself was starting to break. The grief seed that Ishna had jammed in was starting to take root. Adrianne recognized the seed. It was the one of the girl who Ishna had turned into a witch, back on Khyllis all those days ago.

All around the room, the walls faded away.

Estelle heard a scream, and turned around, leaping to her feet. Juno was almost back to life, but Adrianne was more important. She saw the girl kneeling over Ishna, shuddering in pain. She ran, finding tears in her eyes the moment she registered the sight.

Erwine was looking right at the wall as it went away, and was immediately running for Adrianne. Her wings spread out, aiding her as she leapt. She got there a split second before Adrianne. She was panicking, her eyes noticing the seed in Adrianne's hand.

The former inquisitor fell onto her own back, starting to convulse. Erwine herself screamed, Estelle running up beside her. "Don't leave! Don't leave!" Estelle wept, desperately hanging onto Adrianne.

The girl raised her hand, up towards Erwine. She met that girl in the eyes. "Erwine…" she whispered, darkness starting to spread throughout her body. "Ishna…Ishna…" she tried to force the words out, "She told me to say she loved you…"

Adrianne's hand fell back down. Erwine took it, drying to drag the seed out. It didn't work. It had taken root, Adrianne was too far gone. Though she struggled to stay alive, every second was a pain.

Nadine was on the other side of her, and knelt down. She took Adrianne's left in her hands, gently holding it. "She's gone…" She whispered.

Adrianne nodded. "I can't be saved." She continued to look into Erwine's eyes. This wasn't the ending the thirteen year old girl wanted. She had wanted an ending where they could all be happy. Ishna would be dead, and Erwine could go about being the hero she always wanted to be.

This ending wasn't fair. "Please, Erwine…don't let me…" The girl writhed, a cry of pain coming from the back of her throat. "Don't let me become a witch. I don't want to hurt anyone, not after all I've already done."

Estelle raised her hands. Erwine stopped her. All the other magical girls on the asteroid had been let into the room. All were clustered around as Erwine's hand blocked Estelle. Adrianne whispered a few more words. "Erwine…take control of your own fate. Change this cruel world, make it better."

Into that hand, Erwine's blade appeared. She looked at Adrianne, taking the girl's hand with her free one. Nodding, "I understand." She whispered. Grasping tightly, she stared into Adrianne's eyes. "The Goddess Protects, may She guide your soul," Erwine whispered.

"Goodbye," Erwine whispered.

"Goodbye," Adrianne whispered. The blade flashed. A sharp crack rang out across the room. Adrianne Azure's existence ended. Her eyes closed, her body still.

A few moments of silence passed before anyone even thought of moving. It was a sight no one wanted to ever see. Then there was movement.

Erwine's blade was gone. She leapt down onto Adrianne's body, desperately grasping onto her shoulders. She shook the motionless body desperately, crying out the girl's name. She refused to accept this ending. It couldn't be real. None of this could be real.

It had to be a sick dream Ishna had forced on her. It was just an illusion, actually. Perhaps they were lost in the warp after a failed teleport, and daemons sought to trick her.

Erwine honestly did think that if she believed hard enough, she would wake up. In her bed. On Siothea. In that home that she knew so well. It was so boring, but she knew it so well. The bed would be cold, hard, nothing like the luxuries she had enjoyed as a magical girl.

But she wanted to be back there more than anything else. She would give up everything she had gained just for the sake of returning to when she was young.

That routine of normalness. The constant, never changing limbo that was her life before she contracted. Before she ever considered contracting. Had she another wish, she would have used it to go back to there. At this point, Erwine Braune was certain that she was no longer Erwine Braune.

No, she was Erwine Braune. This was just a nightmare. It couldn't be anything else. Erwine shut her eyes as she collapsed over Adrianne's body. She was probably crying out at the moment. Nada would be in to wake her soon enough.

Even as her arms wrapped tightly around the lifeless corpse, Erwine hoped and prayed with all her heart. Silence descended as Erwine stopped listening to even her own tears. This was a dream. She knew that for a fact. She waited a few seconds, before she opened her eyes, knowing she'd see Nada comforting her.

She opened her eyes. Adrianne's body was beneath her. Estelle was right beside her. Nadine was to the other side. All around her were people whom she barely knew. She was still on a lonely little rock light years from her home.

It was not a dream. It was reality.

Erwine held on tighter, hearing other girls stepping away, giving her some privacy. Estelle and Nadine stayed, as did Laelia and Ayelen. Ishna's body still lay were it was.

Erwine started weeping uncontrollably. She wept for minutes and minutes, even as Estelle laid a hand on Erwine's back. Erwine cried until it was physically impossible for her to cry any longer, having run out of the energy to do it.

Erwine went silent at that point, as did the rest of the room. Estelle still cried, but it wasn't obvious. An eerie silence descended, firmly grasping the cavern in its hands. Erwine slowly sat up, looking to confirm that Adrianne was dead.

She was. "Why?" Erwine asked, looking over at Ishna's body. "Why would Ishna let herself die?" She shuddered, not able to understand any of this.

"I don't know," Nadine replied, looking into Erwine's eyes. She was devastated herself, though she didn't show it in the same way.

"This isn't over, is it?" Erwine asked.

"It's not," Nadine confirmed. "Not even close, from the looks of all this."

"Then I won't stop till I find out the truth. I won't stop until I found out why Adrianne had to die." Erwine whispered. Nadine and Estelle nodded at this.

Just to be sure, Erwine wondered, "This isn't a nightmare, is it?"

"This is all real," Nadine confirmed. "I'm sorry."

Erwine slowly shifted to sit on both knees, hands on her lap. She stared at Adrianne's body, then over at Ishna's. Her limbs were trembling, the girl barely able to move at all. "So this is the real world…" she whispered, a million emotions swirling around in her head. "This is the truth."

Estelle and Nadine both stood up, silently agreeing to give the girl some time. Erwine's life was shaped by the girls that lay dead before it. It was only respectful.

Erwine didn't even pay attention to them as they left. She started to whisper, her voice solemn and quiet. Her words, barely words at all, were directed to both of the girls that lay before her.

"I shall keep on fighting, till the end of my own existence, to finish what has been started. Even if it drives me to commit the greatest heresies, or subject myself to the greatest hardships…I will keep on fighting." She grew more determined as she continued. "I will not stop until I die or I know the truth."

On that day, Erwine swore a vow that she would never forget for the rest of her existence.

She opened her eyes. Erwine Braune woke up. The world wasn't strange anymore. It was normal. Her old life was strange. That was both the hope and the despair that struck her heart in that instant.

Reality becomes indistinguishable from dreams when we see things we don't want to see.

A brave few may realize the truth, and seek to enlighten others but enlightenment is so incredibly hard when lies are so much nicer to believe in.

The dreamer is awake.

* * *

**I should be back with another story about the mage knights(that also develops the world as well) in about a month or so. Can't say when the next part of this story will be out, I need a bit of a break from this one. Thanks for reading. **


	34. Ghosts of the Past

_**Puella Magi Aeternum Bellum**_

_**In Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition**_

_**Volume 2: Beyond Fate and Free Will**_

* * *

Nadine Edicossen. After six months of thorough investigation, this council finds you free of taint. Extensive physical and mental searches have been completed to confirm the lack of any outside elements in your body and mind. As such, you are once again qualified to enter regular service as an Inquisitor in Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition.

Understand that your actions will be under watch for the next several years, and anything that could potentially be interpreted as a sign of corruption or heresy shall be interpreted in the worst possible way. Work hard, and prove your loyalty to Her Holy Majesty. The Goddess Protects.

Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel

* * *

Dust. Old dust. Dust that had been circulating amidst the ancient ruins for a time unknown by any. A brownish planet, its skies suffocated with dirty clouds, the life choked out of the air by the dust. The dust. It buried everything eventually.

Clouds of it roamed the surface, kicked up by the winds. It all came from somewhere. But no one knew where that somewhere was. Maybe the question was what had happened. But still, no one knew that answer either.

Maybe it came from the civilization. That civilization buried beneath the dust. Hidden beneath the smog of the clouds. Human, xenos, it didn't matter what kind it was.

It mattered that it held secrets. Secrets. Buried. For a long time. Beneath the dust. For kilometers and kilometers, the complexes spread, both above and under the ground. Mighty edifices, testaments to might. Or folly?

Dust coated the surfaces. Like a layer of snow it laid upon all. Even inside, or beneath the surface. Beams of sunlight stabbed through the clouds. If they were lucky, those beams might make inside. If the ceilings didn't stop them.

Decay. The ceilings were decayed. Cracks were abundant, holes letting sunlight shine upon the innards of the ruins. Dust. Dust somehow blackened it all, turning down that brightness.

The winds, violent and fierce, screamed like a wrathful ghost. Like a host of wrathful ghosts, come to blow the dust and strip the flesh from anything.

Dust. Old dust. Kicked up by footsteps. Quick ones. Not slow. Yet irregular. Loud clacks. Were the shoes made of some delicate material? Like the heels of a woman. How would such a woman find herself on this old tomb?

The first thing one might notice was the hat. A red hat. A wide brim. Pulled down a bit low, it concealed her forehead, and even cast a shadow on her eyes. The walls, the floor, the air around her, all carrying a rich history. All was ignored by the dashing figure.

Something was tucked under her arm. Her left arm. A dusty old object. A tome. Her head. It turned from side to side, scanning for a threat, as if something might pop out of the walls. And on this ancient, desolate tomb, who knew what might be hiding under the dust?

Corridors. Underground corridors. Dust floating through the air. Footsteps bounced about the tight spaces, the sound sometimes making it above, but only if the sunlight stabbed through. Long, straight, narrow. Why were these corridors like this?

Did anyone know? She who made the footsteps didn't want to. She only wanted to get out. Sunlight stabbed down ahead. At an intersection. Four corridors flowed into it, all spaced evenly.

The ceiling was open. An escape route. She passed the end of the corridor, into the intersection.

A bright flash. Brilliant blue lights flared up, strange sigils and symbols forming in the air. Something in her right hand now. Sparks flared into the air, spreading far and wide as she spun. The blade bounced backwards, her arm thrown out. She was off balance.

Regained balance. A detonation. In the center of the room. From above the warhead came. Knocked against the barrier. The intersection. The walls. They were strong. Well-built. An ancient material. Did anyone know? Human, xenos? Did anyone care? Human, xenos?

To her feet. Looking around. Blade raised, tome tucked back. A faint glimmer from above. Metal on metal. Red. Liquid. Red liquid. Through the air. Flying. From who?

Metal sliding against metal. A blade entering its sheath. Clacks again. A pair. A hard impact. A jump. A jump backwards. A presence. Not anywhere. Only in her head. Who was it?

A stab. A powerful blow. From a direction that didn't exist. That never existed. An image. Two bodies. One, two. One with blonde hair. The other with deep blue. Lying beside each other. Blood from both.

Emotions. Rushing through her. To her knees. Moisture. Salty. From her eyes. An attempt. To overcome the pain. Metal on metal. Her blade was no longer in her hand. A clang. The blade on the ground.

Who had struck? Impacts. From above. Multiple. Five pairs of sounds. Look up. Through the tears. The cloudy tears. The figure at the head of them all. Raven-hair. Her tome, torn away from her.

The one with the dark hair. On one knee in front of her. Words, just a few, from the moving mouth. Intended for her ears.

"Hello Erwine, it's been a while…"

* * *

"What do you want?" Erwine spat, staring up at the inquisitor. Her arms were pulled behind her, handcuffs clipped around her wrists. Constructed of adamantine. For the restraint of magical girls. All inquisitors had a few.

"To know what you are doing here." Estelle replied. She stood up. Erwine was stood up. Ayelen and Sanae held onto her arms. Erwine looked all around herself with a furious gaze. Just behind Estelle were the others. Wei looked down at the ground, her face covered in shame.

Justinia had her typical emotionless personality. Sechylia was a bit frightened. Laelia and Celestine were nowhere to be found. "That was just low," Erwine commented angrily, "Showing me their dead bodies?"

"I did what I had to," Estelle spoke without emotion as she turned around. Her arm was extended to Justinia. The tome was passed into her hand. Dusting off the front, Estelle nodded.

"So you're in bed with Chaos these days?" she asked, looking at the runic script. "Because I'm not sure why a rogue like you would need something like this."

Erwine said nothing. "Not even an explanation?" Estelle asked, turning around and approaching her. She held up the tome, shoving it in Erwine's face. "Understand that if I don't get a good explanation from you, I could get you executed for seeking this out."

Erwine said nothing, her gaze stoic. "Alright then," Estelle said, sighing, "Then we'll do things the…hard way. The less fun way, really." Estelle looked her in the eyes.

Once again, Erwine felt a presence in her mind. It was a strange one, the sensation of someone else being there. When they shouldn't be. She did her best to fight it, forcing it away. She wasn't very good, but she still had her own magic. While she couldn't retaliate effectively, ramming messages to 'stop' into Estelle's mental form did help.

"Come on, Erwine," Estelle sighed. The young girl showed no sign of relenting. The inquisitor turned around. "Ayelen."

Erwine knew what was coming before it hit. She gritted her teeth, instantly focusing her mind on blocking out all of her pain. Still, the intense pressure pushed through. The sensation surged through her body, the feeling of every nerve being triggered to its maximum extent more powerful than her mind.

Tears came to her eyes as her body shook, the pain only increasing as time went on. Whimpers came from her mouth. Her eyes went wide, and the moisture flowed. Sanae and Ayelen held her tight, as much as she tried to struggle.

She moved wilder, pushing as she hard as she could against all that held her, until eventually all the strength left her body. "Keep going," Estelle demanded, even as Erwine's legs collapsed under her, and she was held up by only the two girls to either side.

She was on the verge of passing out from the pain. The world swirled around her. Ayelen let go. As did Sanae. Erwine hit the ground, still trembling in pain. She felt her hair being grabbed. Brought to her knees as Estelle looked her in the eyes. Once again, there was a presence in her mind.

"Interesting…" Estelle said. Erwine had never had her mind read against her will before. Any time in the past, she had been prepared for it, or was allowing it to occur. But…but it felt different entirely when it was involuntary.

It was like rape. Perhaps even worse. And seeing as how something like that had happened to Erwine in the past, she knew that she could judge how bad it was. Estelle dug around in her mind, sifting through her secrets, plunging as deep as she possible could. Deeper and deeper, her mental form penetrated Erwine's mind. Then it was gone. "Well then, that was easy," Estelle said. She stood up, gesturing for Sanae and Ayelen.

Erwine was lifted off the ground. "Let's get out of here," Estelle declared. Justinia held the tome. The others jumped up through the gap in the ceiling. It was large for two. Erwine was brought up Ayelen, and Sanae left last.

The shuttle was nearby. Erwine, still tired from what had been done, was hauled over. She was slowly regaining full recognition of the world around her. She grinned a little, realizing that Sanae and Ayelen were behind the others. Opening her mouth, she dropped her voice low, ordering, throwing as much magic as she had behind the words, "Let me go,"

Ayelen and Sanae froze. Their muscles shook as their minds tried to figure out what to do. Both were young, and had little experience in resisting mental attacks. "Let me go," Erwine said again.

They had not the key. It was taken by Estelle. Ayelen and Sanae did drop Erwine to the ground, who then realized who had the key. She stood up nonetheless, as Ayelen and Sanae regained their abilities to think.

Her legs were cut out from under her even as she tried to run. Not by any physical weapon. A strike from Estelle removed Erwine's ability to control her legs. The girl hit the ground hard, her hands still behind her back.

"Nice try," Estelle said, stepping down from the shuttle. Erwine was lifted up again as Estelle approached. She removed a cloth from her mouth, and, tying it around Erwine's head, formed it into a gag.

"Close off your minds to her, don't receive her messages," Estelle ordered. Erwine knew that it was going to be useless to try any more of that at this point. She was sat on the bench, and strapped in.

Estelle sat across from her, with everyone else still silent. "Erwine, do you know why I'm here?"

Erwine did nothing. "I want to help you," Estelle explained, "But you clearly don't want my help."

"I know what you're thinking," Estelle said, "I certainly did attack and torture you over the course of the past ten minutes. However, I only did so knowing that any other option was not going to work on you. Given the way you ran a year ago, I figured that capturing you like this would be the only option, and given your resistance just now, I see that I am correct."

She took a deep breath. The inquisitor shifted about in her seat, seeming rather uncomfortable. "Nadine still with you?"

Erwine decided to nod to that. "I imagine she supports all of this?"

Erwine nodded again. Estelle did not reply. It was not long before the shuttle reached its destination. Erwine still had no idea what was going on.

The doors opened. Estelle was already up, and Ayelen and Sanae hauling Erwine out of the craft. At the bottom of the ramp stood Nadine. Erwine recognized the hangar as being that of the _Rosie's. _

"What are you doing?" Nadine shook her head at the inquisitor walking from the shuttle. "Would you like to tell me what you're doing with my girl?"

"Yours?" Estelle asked.

"I am an inquisitor," Nadine said, stepping towards Estelle, "No matter how long I was away. I was fully investigated, and still submit myself for investigation as scheduled. If you have any evidence you would like to bring against me, then please inform me right here and right now."

Estelle stared Nadine in the eyes, a battle of wills playing out. Estelle knew she would lose. She was forty years younger than the woman before her. "Nadine Edicossen, I have come here to ensure that the operations you are conducting are within the bounds of Inquisitorial jurisdiction. Your 'girl', as you call her, was just found retrieving a text written in the runic script of Chaos from an ancient ruin. I believe that any inquisitor, given proper cause, may investigate another in such a manner as I am now."

"Did she hurt you in any way?" Nadine asked. Erwine nodded.

"After you resisted?" Erwine shook her head. The inquisitor cocked her head at the younger inquisitor, "That's interesting," Nadine said, "Perhaps I should be the one doing the investigating."

Estelle did nothing visible. Erwine was handed to Sechylia and Wei as Justinia, Sanae, and Ayelen moved forwards. "Nadine Edicossen, you are now under temporary arrest for the obstruction of my investigation. I would like to remind you that your age does not give you a higher rank, as your current registration marks you as susceptible to outside influence." She nodded her head. Ayelen and Justinia's weapons were in their hands, and Sanae's hands to her swords.

"This is a mess," Nadine shook her head. She considered her options. _I beat them all, but then she gets off a message to her ship and things go south from there. Or I comply and talk this out rationally. _

Nadine put her hands behind her back. As Sanae cuffed her, she kept her glare focused on Estelle. As the group started walking towards the doors of the hangar, a figure approached them. It was a different looking man than the one Estelle had seen some time ago.

It was clear that it was Maximillian Bolton, but he was much thinner than before. And stress seemed to have taken its toll. "What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded.

"Maximilian Bolton, you're ship has been commandeered by Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition for the sake of an investigation. You shall stand yourself and order your crew to stand down, lest they be disposed of for obstructing Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition."

Bolton was brushed aside as Estelle and the party advanced forwards. "Take her to the brig," Estelle ordered to those with Nadine. Then she grabbed Erwine, "Give me some time with her."

They split, Estelle alone with Erwine. She moved towards the ship in a direction Erwine knew. Towards her room. She knew exactly why they went in that direction. Perhaps that was why she was so scared.

The gag was removed from her mouth. Erwine's stern look had transitioned to a sad one. "So this is what happens after all that time?" Erwine asked, smugness running through her voice as she smirked, "After all that…Estelle, are you best at betraying people? Is that what you wished to be able to do?"

"Shut up," Estelle growled. "You don't understand."

Erwine suppressed the urge to laugh. "You've arrested me based on circumstantial evidence, Nadine on incredibly shaky grounds, and tortured me with no pretense. So yes, I have no idea what's going on."

"Erwine, I'm trying to help you," Estelle growled as she led the girl throughout the halls. "Do not question me."

"Oh, so digging through someone's mind counts as helping these days?" Erwine's tone was laced with venom, "I guess I've been away from the mainstream for so long I've missed all these interesting changes."

"Don't do this, please," Estelle begged, spinning around. Her eyes met Erwine's. "This is exactly why I did what I just did. I knew that you wouldn't agree with any of this. You would never have told me about your little secret."

"Because it is my secret," Erwine replied. Both knew Erwine was right. "And I would rather not share it with anyone, especially someone like you."

Estelle started moving again. Erwine was dragged by her for most of the rest of the way. She reached Erwine's room. She realized that she did not have the key. Looking at Erwine, the girl shook her head. Estelle was resorted to rifling through the girl's pockets till she saw she didn't have it. "I assume Nadine does?"

"For safekeeping," Erwine said, "You think you know what's in there, so you should understand."

Estelle sighed. Summoning her glaive, she cut the lock, and shoved open the door. Dragging Erwine in, she closed the door again simply jamming it in the doorway. She grabbed one of the bookcases to the side, and shoved it in front of the inwards-opening door. Erwine knew it was so that she couldn't get away.

"Where is it exactly?" Estelle asked, as Erwine moved to sit on her bed. Her room looked exactly the same as it did when she first entered, albeit with a few more things that she had come to call hers lying around.

The girl sat there, silent. When Estelle stared at her for long enough, she did reply. "I don't see why you need to know," Erwine replied.

"Erwine," Estelle sighed in defeat, "Please just tell me,"

The girl's reply was resolute. "I won't. I can't. And I never will."

"Must I bring Ayelen in here again?" Estelle asked. The threat didn't seem to faze Erwine for the slightest second. "I'd rather not go into your mind against your will again, either. So make this easy on the both of us."

Erwine looked down at the ground. "Why are you doing this? When I can have an honest answer, one that I seriously believe in, I shall choose to assist you. Until then, you'll get nothing."

Estelle nodded. She moved to stand in front of Erwine. Taking a deep breath, she spoke. "Erwine Braune, one year ago, Adrianne Azure and Ishna Kleimar died. Yet you are running around like a woman possessed, insatiably searching. I've heard from the local patrols, you're not doing the normal job of an inquisitor. Nadine's reports have been consistent, but the activities she describes are…strange. Something about what happened one year ago changed you in some way. I want to find out why. Possibly even assist you."

"Then why did you do all of that?" Erwine asked, "Why ambush me, torture me, and then arrest Nadine? You could have just asked."

"Would you have listened?" Estelle asked, "Would you have ever told me about this secret of yours? Or would you have rejected me?" _Just like Adrianne did, _Estelle thought to herself.

"…Touché," Erwine said grudgingly with a nod. "Fine then, I'll do this for you now. But take the cuffs off first."

Estelle shook her head, "They stay on."

"You put me in these things so fast," Erwine commented with a sly grin, "Even the gag. I bet you like seeing me like this, don't you? All helpless, powerless before you. You know I realized you and Adrianne had something, but don't see me as a replacement, did you two do this-"

"Enough," Estelle spat, cutting Erwine off with both her voice and her telepathy. She walked over to the girl, reaching behind her to unlock the cuffs. Estelle immediately stepped back. Erwine glared at her for a second before she stood up and turned to the left.

She approached the wall. "I'd ask you to not look, but you would anyways." She pressed her head against the wall as she removed her soul gem from the necklace she wore.

Words drifted from where Erwine stood, soft and smooth like the words of an angel. They were in the slightest whispers, barely enough to be heard. "He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster, and when one stares into the abyss, the abyss stares also into him."

Then she pressed her soul gem against the wall. There was a slight glow of light. The wall pressed back, then slid to the right. Erwine stepped forwards into the small cavity. Estelle came up behind her. There was a safe in that room. It looked to be incredibly well-made.

Erwine pressed her gem to that, and it glowed again. Then the box unlocked. The door itself was massive, about six inches of solid material. And inside was nothing more than a single piece of parchment, of an average size for a piece of paper. It was wrapped in an airtight lamination, and the laminated parchment was in a plastic bag. Erwine shut the safe, turned around. She stepped out, and the door closed.

"A soul reader?" Estelle questioned, knowing the devices were Golden Age technology, "How did you get one of those?"

"I found something on Ishna's ship. It was a large box. Has the functions of a cogitator, but it can't do everything. For some reason, it can read souls, and operates all the systems for that. It's in the corner within that space."

"Seems rather advanced for a cogitator," Estelle said.

"I don't think we make AIs these days. I'd say it's just incredibly well-programmed." Erwine took a deep breath. _If I'm showing her this, might as well say everything. _"I get the feeling that it might have been set up by Ishna herself, as it seemed to have been plugged in as the operating system for her vessel. Furthermore…" She paused, "I feel like I was supposed to find it."

"That's impossible," Estelle said, "You can't run a ship with a cogitator,"

"There were no humans aboard," Erwine said, "So take that as you will." There was a brief silence, before the inquisitor pushed forwards.

"Nevertheless, we have bigger concerns here," Estelle said, looking at what Erwine held in her hands, ever so carefully.

The parchment was filled with lines of…something. Estelle didn't know what it was. It was something that she had never seen before in her life. Nothing like it. In any way. The writing was entirely indecipherable to her, and she had studied examples of many Chaos scripts.

"Where did you get this?" Estelle asked.

"It came from the asteroid where Adrianne and Ishna died." Erwine explained, "Nadine gave it to me when I was still lamenting over Adrianne."

"You've been trying to translate it?" Estelle guessed. When Erwine nodded, she replied, "Then why not take it to a translator? There are girls who can translate anything, or did you _have_ to keep this a secret?"

"I tried, actually," Erwine said, "I did. Nadine is an analyst. She couldn't figure out a single word of this. Not even a single symbol's meaning was given to her by her magic. I've been hunting, for the past year, for something that will assist me. I came to this planet as Nadine knew of the ruins on it, and hoped that some deep exploration would net me something."

"And that was the tome you found?" Nadine asked.

"Exactly," Erwine said, "I would love to try and see if it gets me any closer, but a certain inquisitor is holding me and my master hostage." She turned her head. Her stare aimed at Estelle conveyed many things. The biggest was betrayal.

_Ayelen, Sanae, get over here, quick. _Estelle said. It only took a bit of mental pushing before Erwine fell to the ground, arms and legs dropping out of her control. She felt the cuffs click tight around her. The gag went back in her mouth. "Sorry," Estelle said quietly, "But I can't let you be running around free."

Estelle moved the bookcase aside. Minutes later, the two arrived. "Keep her here," Estelle said, "I'll be back soon." Then she thought of that stubborn girl. Frowning, Estelle added, "Hopefully."

* * *

Nadine leaned back against the wall, a bored look on her face. Her long blue hair went halfway down her back. A single piece dress covered her torso and legs, reaching down to just above her ankles. It was of the same shade as her hair, and sleeveless. Dark gloves, same color as before, reached past her elbows. High heeled boots reached up her legs, the end invisible thanks to the dress.

Her arms were still behind her back, and she was still surrounded by Estelle's girls. She knew that talking things out was pointless. A small smirk came onto her face when the brown and black haired ones left. She was fairly certain their names were Sanae and Ayelen, but was more concerned about the fact that it probably meant Estelle would be back soon.

Nadine was already staring right at her as she walked through the slowly-opening doors. "So Estelle," Nadine started. "Have you any idea what's going on now?"

"Erwine was quite cooperative, yes," Estelle replied with an air of superiority. _This isn't going to work, _she realized the futility of the lie the moment it left her mouth.

"Then where is she now?" Nadine asked. When no response came at first, she continued, "So you left her there, with those other two, Sanae and Ayelen right, I presume?" A quiet _tch _came from Estelle's mouth, but that was all Nadine needed to know her reply. "Good, so now that we've established you're not trusting anyone _and _lying, I feel like I know what I'm doing now."

"And what would you be doing now?" Estelle tried to mimic the other inquisitor's fierce tone, but couldn't manage it, already thrown off.

"Not trusting you," Nadine simply said.

"I only came to help you all," Estelle insisted. The realization that she was rapidly losing control of the situation to someone theoretically at her mercy was taking its toll. "Please, believe me,"

"You didn't come to help anyone but yourself," Nadine looked aside, scanning the room as though it interested her more, "With the actions you've committed so far, I doubt that I can believe your words."

Estelle gritted her teeth as her heart rate intensified. "Erwine has been out of control, I don't think you'll deny that."

"She has been possessed by a certain spirit, intent on solving this mystery set before." Nadine corrected Estelle like a teacher might correct her student. "But since it has to do with the explanation behind the deaths of millions of people, including her old master, I believe that Erwine is perfectly justified in her fanaticism."

"But it's going to destroy her!" Estelle shouted, "I saw the same thing in Adrianne, back when she first set out on her own, like the damn fool she was!"

"Don't speak of Adrianne like that." Nadine didn't shout. Yet her words carried more weight than any shout could, "Erwine has described to me what you did. Abandoning her when she needed you the most, I know her story was unbelievable, but there is a difference between healthy skepticism, and outright evil!"

Estelle was shaken by the shouts. She nodded. Nadine was amazed, absolutely amazed, to see tears come to the girl's eyes. "I have done many things that I am not proud of, I will admit that. I abandoned Adrianne, I left her to run herself down, I couldn't just say what I was feeling, and this is certainly no high point for me! But trust me, I have the best intentions at heart!"

"Really now?!" Nadine said, "Then what is all this? Doing all of this to Erwine? To this ship! For what purpose?!"

"To save Erwine! To save Adrianne's legacy!" Estelle cried, "She knew that she did nothing good for this world. Not a single thing she did brought about joy and happiness for many. Erwine is the only legacy she has left, the only thing wrought by _only_ her hands that remains as something that could bring good! If I allowed Erwine to destroy herself in the same way Adrianne destroyed herself, then there is nothing more that I could to disrespect the legacy and memory of Adrianne Azure. This girl is doing the same thing Adrianne was, but back then, I didn't have the guts to intervene, I thought I could just talk her down or something stupid like that." Estelle narrowed her eyes at Nadine, "When I saw her broken and lost after a fruitless life, I realized the mistakes I made. I will not make them again."

The older inquisitor wasn't sure how to respond. The rest of the room wasn't sure what to do either. Most had looked towards the outburst for at least a second. Estelle's passion gave a new life to the room. "Nadine Edicossen, give me a reason to trust Erwine with her own life, and I will gladly believe you. But until then, I will protect that girl from herself, because the only thing that hurt me more than watching Adrianne descend into madness was knowing that I sent her there."

Nadine looked around the room, turning away from Estelle. She met the gazes of Bolton, the other magical girls. Then she turned back to the other inquisitor. "I have no reason to give you. But I believe you. So perhaps you ought to release Erwine and me, and we can begin to talk this out?"

Estelle nodded. She tossed a key to Justinia, who immediately set to work. "I'll get Erwine," she said.

"I'll come with," Nadine suggested, "She won't want to talk about _that _with anyone else around."

"Stay here," Estelle said to the other girls in the room.

* * *

Erwine glared at Ayelen and Sanae. The two had resolved to not looking directly at her. But she kept moving her eyes around, always meeting the glances of one of the two. It was tedious for her, but her murderous glare discomforted them more than it did her.

Neither wanted to turn their back, but neither wanted to keep looking. Erwine chuckled through the gag at times. Sanae had come close to hitting her, but Ayelen had restrained her before she could. Erwine had continued her behavior. She knew they the looming shadow of Estelle would stop their hands from anything serious.

The door opened. "Leave us," Estelle ordered, while Nadine stood beside her. The blue-haired inquisitor was devoid of any restraints. Estelle handed a key to Nadine. Erwine felt the cuffs come off, and the gag removed. She immediately stood up, storming towards Estelle. Before a single word rolled off her tongue she was held back by Nadine, an arm across her chest.

_Don't do it, _Nadine said to Erwine telepathically as the girl looked at her with disappointment, _she wants to help us. She's being honest about that. _The young girl glared at Estelle, before taking a few steps back. Nadine gestured to the small table in the room, the chairs still around it.

"Let's take a seat," she suggested, "And be calm, rational, people." Estelle was visibly displeased at the comment, but didn't argue. Erwine hesitated, but followed Nadine's lead.

The four sat in the chairs. Estelle was on her own across from Erwine and Nadine, who sat right beside one another. "I apologize for my actions up to this point, I believe I have established why I did it all."

"As if we forgive you," Erwine scoffed.

"I forgive her," Nadine said, laying a hand on Erwine's shoulder, "Staying angry at her will do nothing now."

"She didn't do all that to you," Erwine said.

"I know, but she has thoroughly explained herself." Nadine said, "And I realize I've been letting you have too much control. You need to think about your actions over the past year."

Nadine looked back at Estelle, "So, what is your reason for coming here, besides stopping Erwine?"

"That can wait," Estelle said, she gestured to the parchment. "I believe that we should discuss this first and foremost. It seems like the biggest issue at the moment."

Nadine nodded. "As Erwine may have said, I found it in the same cavern Adrianne and Ishna died in. The entire place was filled with various artifacts, of incredibly old age. And the room was filled with warp energy."

"I think we should begin by piecing together exactly what occurred back there," Estelle said, "We all gave our official reports, but I think that some information was withheld."

"Well, I was found on Ishna's ship by you all. Then the warp breach occurred, and Ishna appeared. Adrianne, you, and I were in the same space. Adrianne ran through the open wall, and I let her go. We could not get in after that. The wall only opened again when Ishna was dead and Adrianne was dying."

Erwine's head spun towards Nadine. Horror dawned on her face. "W-what?" she said. Her voice was faint. She was not believing what she had just heard. Another faint whisper. "W-why?"

Nadine looked down, "I'm sorry, Erwine," she said softly, "I know what you're thinking, that I killed Adrianne. But my intention was only to-"

"Shut up!" Erwine leapt from her seat, barely restraining herself. Tears of anger and confusion appeared in her eyes as she gritted her fists tightly, grinding her fingers together. "You killed Adrianne! You fool!"

Erwine sprung forwards. Nadine fell out of her chair, controlling the fall and going into a roll, as Erwine's blade swung in a horizontal arc through the air. Coming up after the strike, Nadine threw her arms up, backing away from the angered girl. "Erwine, please," she said, "We can't do this now."

"She was my master!" Erwine said, "She gave me a reason to exist! She…" The girl dropped her blade to the floor, stumbling forwards as she rambled on, "She loved me like a daughter…I meant everything to her!"

She glared Nadine in the eyes, "I was supposed to destroy Ishna! I was supposed to destroy Ishna and prevent her from having to do anything! But instead, Adrianne ended up dead, and I never did anything to Ishna! I never harmed the girl!" Erwine fell to her knees, bending over.

"And you killed her…" Erwine said, "You monster…" The girl fully collapsed, falling onto her side and curling up. "You monster…"

Estelle was standing up. Her face was twisted in absolute shock. "She…Erwine's not like this…she was never like this…"

"She has been for the past year," Nadine said, kneeling beside the girl. "Whenever it's just been the two of us, she's never held herself together. Erwine is incredibly strong in any other case, stronger than even Adrianne from what I understand. But when it comes to that girl and her fate…she just can't hold herself together." Nadine looked sadly at her, "Adrianne hurt her so much, but she was such a huge part of Erwine's life that without her..." The girl just trailed off.

Nadine lifted the girl up into her arms, and then sat back down, holding Erwine gently in her lap. "She never knew you killed Adrianne?" Estelle asked.

"I didn't kill her," Nadine insisted, knowing the choice of word order was just to bite back for previous jabs, "I let her do what she wanted to do. Perhaps I was wrong, but you've made poor choices as well. But no, Erwine never learned of that detail." Estelle seemed to disagree with the secrecy, but didn't comment further.

_The way she reacted, almost like she was ready. _Estelle thought. _Did she plan that, was she trying to show something, throw me off guard? _She considered the possibility of her being too paranoid, but figured that too much was better that too little in this case. She ran her eyes over Erwine, "She seems fine at the moment, why the outburst?"

"Ultimately, she laments at Adrianne's death because she was not there to prevent it, and not there to kill Ishna…" Nadine said. She trailed off as she saw Erwine stir to let her talk.

The girl looked strange, sitting in Nadine's arms. Estelle had to remind herself that one girl was fifteen, and the other was over eighty. "Ishna was stronger than any of us combined. I've always wondered how Adrianne killed her. Ishna had to have let her. She always told me about how she hated herself, so I guess she saw that she had won. But she took Adrianne with her. Even if the entirety of the Hearth Knights force had been there, Ishna could have still killed Adrianne. Nadine…shouldn't have let Adrianne go like that, but I've realized that she's not really to blame for any of this. I…let my emotions get a hold of me, I apologize." She got out of Nadine's arms, slipping back into her own chair.

"It's just that..." Erwine took a deep breath. "I had made peace with Adrianne. I was ready to go on with her, and I had forgiven her for everything she had done. More than anything, I just wanted to know the Adrianne that wasn't a terrible person." Erwine's hand came up to cover her eyes. "I-I-I always knew that she was in there." A sad grin came onto her face, "I guess I just wanted to know her better, but then she was torn away from me without warning at all, and for basically no reason."

She now had her stoutness back. It was the same emotion Estelle had seen on Adrianne's face for almost twenty years. Erwine sat straight in her chair, calming herself down as she brushed away the tears.

"Back to the main topic," Nadine said, "As I said before, Adrianne went out to fight Ishna. We all know what happened next. I found the parchment there in that cavern. It was close to where Estelle and I were, I was surprised Estelle didn't notice. I gave it to Erwine, and we recovered that cogitator device from the ship Ishna was on. Over the next six months was the official investigation. Then Erwine and I went off on our won to solve the mystery behind this parchment."

"What is it? Where did it come from?" Estelle wondered.

"I can't answer either of those questions. The parchment had a high amount of warp energy around it when I found it, but that's all I can say."

"Well, we know a warp breach occurred," Estelle said, "But it was incredibly short. The pulse was barely what should have happened. I'm a telepath, and I was barley affected, when I should have been put out of commission, with my defenses not raised very high."

"No daemons appeared," Estelle said, "None of any kind. Nor did anything come directly from the warp as far as we know. In addition, the breach was so incredibly short that no one should be capable of that. Some magic programmers might be able to do that, but they'd have to be the likes of Ahrahmia, and no one like that was present as far as I know."

"Was it Ishna?" Nadine asked, "Her power was immense."

"Possible," Estelle said, "But not likely, given that she teleported right afterwards. She would have still been maintaining the closing of the breach. Maybe a machine?"

"A warp drive, a small one?" Nadine asked, "I doubt it. It couldn't have closed that fast, and nothing we have is small enough to create a breach and make it that small."

"So we've ruled out practically every possibility," Estelle said, "And we still don't know where this piece of paper came from. Can you tell anything else about it with your magic?"

"Not even the age," Nadine said regretfully, "I have no idea where it might have come from."

She looked knowingly at the silver-haired girl. "Erwine, have anything to contribute?" the older inquisitor wondered.

"Ishna…said something to me after the breach, but before their battle." Erwine said. "I was trapped in a small room all by myself, no way out in any direction. Ishna appeared. She told me…" She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She knew that the truth wouldn't be believed. "She told me that I was incredibly important, and made sure that I knew she was about to go to her death."

"She did?" Estelle asked, "Why would she do that?"

"I have no idea," Erwine said, "But that doesn't make any sense, all her words about me being important. I didn't do anything there. I was helpless." Erwine cut out everything else that happened, not ready to speak of everything that was said.

"Perhaps she wants you dead?" Estelle asked, "You were at first suicidal when you learned this all centered around you."

"But she could kill me at any time if she wanted to. No, she wants me to find something. Some weapon, remember? I'm the one who will activate it and somehow wield it." Erwine shuddered.

"But Ishna's dead," Estelle said, "We don't need to worry about her plans anymore. We need to deal with the repercussions. Presumably this parchment is important, but we can't worry too much about Ishna."

"However," Erwine reminded her, "Ishna still said I was important. She has a plan in motion, I can feel it. She won back there, in some way. Why would she die if it was for no reason? She could have destroyed us all, and obtained these parchments. I get the feeling that she's just locking us into a destiny which we cannot avoid, or at least locking me into some path."

"Perhaps," Nadine said, "I was with Ishna for a very long time…She has a plan…that's for certain. You learn a lot about someone by being tortured for over twenty years by them. That woman hated herself for some reason. I felt like she just wanted to die."

"She could have become a god," Erwine said, "Yet she said there were too many in this world, I have no idea what she was really after."

"But why would she stop herself?" Estelle asked.

"Ishna despised herself. I get the feeling that she set all this up to obtain this great weapon, but went against it in the end. There have been plenty of stories of heretics giving up in the end after realizing what they've done." Nadine explained, playing devil's advocate more than anything.

Estelle sighed, "Then what is this parchment?"

"That, I cannot tell you," Nadine conceded.

Erwine nodded, "So in the end, we still know nothing. Even if we can tell Ishna's personality, then we still don't know what she really wanted. And I think we can assume that she didn't intend to die there. Her change of heart was sudden, I think. She did come to me…crying, not wanting to die. She did regret her actions in the end."

"So what we can conclude is that Ishna regretted her actions, which caused her to let herself be killed by Adrianne. Her plan is still most likely in motion, and we have no idea what it is, but it almost certainly relates to whatever this parchment says." Nadine summarized.

Erwine agreed, "We need to be careful. I know that I sit at the center of everything, but…" She remembered the wish she made. To control her destiny. "But I'm certain I won't be used anymore."

The room was silent, till the blue-haired inquisitor spoke once more. "The picture is only becoming more and more muddled as we try to clear things up," Nadine observed. "Any ideas where to go next?"

"Actually…" Estelle said, "That is one of the reasons I came here. There was the earlier drama, but I also picked up a case recently that relates to the Hadiens Incident."

"What is it?" Nadine wondered.

"In the Niell Sector, on the planet of Curia, there has been a series of murders. The victims range from random vagrants on the streets to government officials. The local girls were called in by the Arbites after a month. It has been two and a half months since the murders began. The girls almost immediately sent out a request for inquisitorial assistance, which I picked up a week ago. I came to find you two first, knowing that you'd be interested."

Erwine scoffed. "Why? What are the details even?"

"The murders could not have been committed by a human being," Estelle said, "They won't give me more, telling me that they're so impossible that they're not sure if they'd be believed. But the reason I think you two might be interested is what I know from certain contacts in the Hadiens Sector."

Estelle continued after a brief pause. "Laelia and Celestine are currently undercover on Hadiens Prime. The local sect doesn't know they are there. I did the calculations, and have asked multiple navigators on this. Given the standard speed of an average Inquisitorial vessel, and an average navigator, it would take a month to get from Hadiens Prime to a sector away, to Curia. And three and a half months ago, Liselotte left Hadiens Prime with a standard Inquisitorial vessel with a standard navigator. They were unable to track the trajectory, but I think we can assume what it was."

"Liselotte was a good girl," Erwine said, "She wouldn't go and murder people for no reason."

"True," Estelle said, "I saw the same thing. In fact, I'm not saying that it's entirely her fault. Laelia and Celestine were only sent to Hadiens, about five months ago, when I started to observe an overarching pattern. I call it the Hadiens Effect. Everyone who has remained in that sector ever since the incident a year and a half ago has been acting erratically. Arietta has been pulling up archives from the past ten thousand years non-stop, mobilizing expeditions to practically every single ancient site in the sector, and they've even tracked some outside of Hadiens. She has submitted nothing to MSOC, no theories or anything like that. She's remaining very secretive with all of these activities as well."

"And the others are being strange as well?" Erwine asked.

"Plenty of girls go missing for weeks at a time, before they suddenly return. Even higher ranking ones are gone, their disappearances usually accompanied by warp flights out of the system, before they return suddenly. Nothing was written in any kind of record about deployments. Their deployments, despite the fact that they work directly for the sect, are not listed in any kind of report or record. And this fact lends credence to the theory that Liselotte is the one on Curia, as no one else left that month in an unscheduled departure. Something is going on in that sector, but we can't go at them directly."

"Why not?" Erwine said, "You have plenty of evidence. Present to MSOC, and call in an investigation."

"Because Arietta has MSOC convinced everything is more than fine. I've tried approaching MSOC about this, but they're not hearing my complaints. My record has been tarnished by my actions that have become more and more well-known, and they're not going to trust entirely someone like me."

Nadine looked smug as she asked, "And Juno?"

Averting her eyes from Nadine's look, Estelle explained, "I tried. She listened to me, but she's afraid to go in as well. If they're taking such extensive measures, this is a serious matter. The fallout from a full-scale investigation could be disastrous. Furthermore, we only have the suspicious travel, no solid evidence, and no indication of their goals. I'm basically acting as Juno's eyes and ears on this case. If we can find something that gives us a solid lead on their intentions, she'll act on it. Until then, anything she does will just be taking shots in the dark.

"So what do you want us to do?" Nadine asked.

"Come with me to Curia. We will investigate this matter. And if it is related to Hadiens, then we follow the trail back there and figure things out. If we can catch Liselotte, or any other girl in the act, then we present to MSOC, and bring the hammer down. Until then, we have to act like we're just doing our jobs."

"So we're off to Curia?" Nadine asked.

"Yes," Estelle, "Ideally, we'll arrive in two weeks. Laelia and Celestine are set to meet us there, but they're not sure if they can or should. If something else comes up, they may just stay there. Otherwise, they have Juno waiting to get them there with a fast ship running two navigators."

"Juno is back in the Deathwatch?" Erwine asked with interest.

"Yes, she is," Estelle nodded, "But I contacted her about this issue. She agreed that we have nothing serious against the Hadiens Sect. She will help us in any way she can, however, given that she has some sway again. She's back in there trying to track down the remnants of Ishna's forces. They're not having much luck, but hoping that we can shed some light on the matter."

"Well, that's good to know," Nadine said. She smiled, her gaze going from Erwine to Estelle. "I suppose it's good that our conflict was resolved so effectively."

"And I believe we are set on our purpose." Estelle said, smiling similarly. She looked at Erwine, "Do you agree?"

Erwine nodded, "I believe that…I believe that some answers may finally begin to come." She smiled, sincerely hoping that she would finally gain the answers to the questions that had plagued her for so long. "Yes…" She whispered, "Maybe some closure may come…"

* * *

A darkened street. Two figures moved quickly down it. The sound of their footsteps echoed about the seemingly empty space. The shroud of night sat above Hadiens, but the setting of the undercity made it even harder to see, thanks to the buildings and streets above.

Long hair fluttered out beyond the two girls. One in blue and one in violet. Frantic looks were on the faces of both. Both were invisible, shielded from attack as well. To the side they leapt as a sound came from above.

Two magical girls. From further down the street, two more dropped down. Communications were passing between the four, but they could not be heard. Neither Laelia nor Celestine was a telepath.

The pair traveled down the side alley, knowing that a telepathic net would be extending over the city. If they were found by the multiple girls scanning, then everything would be for naught.

Someone hopped down in front of them. Weapons were drawn, till the girl threw up her hands. On her armor was the insignia of the Deathwatch, hesitantly, the two lowered their weapons. Her helmet came off. "I was the only Juno could spare," she said as she held her hand out. Laelia and Celestine felt a telepathic shielding go up over their heads. "Rilliana Jiaveis, telepath of the Deathwatch," she said. "I think it's time you two got out of here."

"Agreed," Laelia said, thankfully "Somehow, the Sect was tipped off about our presence. Not sure how they knew, but it will be hard to get off-planet at this point."

Rilliana shrugged. "Not if Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel wants to visit her old posting, and happens to spend a few hours there. And maybe, just maybe, she'll pick up some extra luggage."

The two girls smiled. "Then let's move," they suggested.

And the trio went off into the night. It would be hours before they made their way, carefully, up through the city and towards the inquisitorial buildings. Hadiens had yet to recover from the devastation of nineteen months ago.

An entire section of the city was still being rebuilt, and thousands and thousands still had no homes to call their own. It was simply impossible to rebuild so much in such a short amount of time.

As the three waited near the Inquisitorial building, waiting for the descent of Juno's shuttle, Laelia and Celestine both felt pangs of guilt in their hearts, for being unable to somehow save all those who had died. With Rilliana ahead of them, they both turned to each other. Sad grins came onto their faces.

Their lips met, and somehow, that just made everything better for the both of them. Neither really knew why.

Rilliana sighed, "I'd hate to interrupt you two…but I'd like to apologize for what's about to happen…"

The building was lit up as Rilliana turned around. "My armor does have the insignia of the Deathwatch, but that stuff can be drawn in, you know. Consider it your failure for not asking for confirmation."

Multiple Valkyries swooped in, circling around the building as a dozen magical girls teleported in, armed and shielded. Rilliana shrugged, "Sorry, but we need to make sure you don't fall into the wrong hands."

* * *

Details. Details had to be worked out. Nadine was currently discussing those with Bolton and Victoria, making sure to stay in touch with MSOC on the deployment. While she had ran off with Erwine for a year, she didn't want her reputation to be absolutely destroyed, so she figured it was time she got back on track.

And during this time, Estelle found a space to speak with Erwine. A girl that she had not had a pleasant conversation with for a long time. Or ever, depending on the definition of pleasant.

"Could you tell me what exactly you want from this conversation?" Erwine asked. It was the first thing she said as she noticed the inquisitor approach her. The girl idly stood on the observation deck. While both Erwine and Estelle's ships cruised for a warp entry point, it would be some time before Estelle had to head back to her vessel.

"I haven't even begun," Estelle said, strolling past Erwine and walking further down the deck. "Why so…aggressive?"

"If you're going to lament about something, I've not the time for it,"

"Then why are you here?"

"I like to think here," Erwine said.

"You've been doing this for a year?" Estelle asked, "Coming up here every now and then to think?"

"Your point being?"

"Just seems lonely, you and Nadine…" Estelle said.

"You've explained why you care so much about me, but why do you keep pushing the issue?"

"Because I made Adrianne into what she was," Estelle replied. She now stood about twenty feet from Erwine, looking down at her. The younger girl idly stared at a point on the wall behind the inquisitor. "And over the period of twenty years, I saw her act like you are now, and get only worse."

"What did you do to her?" Erwine asked.

"Do you want to know? Do I want to tell?" Estelle asked.

"Depends on the role you played," Erwine shrugged, "But I won't be angered regardless."

"After the incident on Khyllis, she was sent to a special academy, designed for magical girls intended for some special role, or ones that had yet to find an inquisitor. We met there. She was an emotional wreck at that point, not trusting anyone. The higher-ups knew the full story, but believed that she was for the most part suffering from trauma and filling in the story. Besides, there were no leads of any kind, the incident could not be investigated any further. But I became a good friend to Adrianne, the closest she'd had in years."

"And then…she trusted me enough to tell me the entire story. I had thought that she was like me, just a girl in training. I didn't know she was supposed to be recovering from such an incident. But she told me everything. I thought for a few days on the issue, before I reported her story, and viewed her very differently. I eventually came out and told her straight up that I thought she was crazy. I told her that I would still help her, but that she needed to let this belief go. Little did I know that the only reason she told me was because she hoped I would be the one person to ever truly believe her."

"She ran off on her own. She would start gathering allies. I would submit a request to pursue her. We were around twenty at this point, and that was when we started on the long chase that would end…most unfortunately."

She looked at Erwine. The girl was silent. She kept staring forwards for a few seconds. Then she turned her head, aligning her eyes with Estelle's. The meeting of gazes shocked the girl, as Erwine's glare was intense. "I can't get angry at you, Estelle. I can condemn that action, and I can tell you that you should be filled with regret, but I can't get angry. My actions caused Adrianne to die when she did. I was, for whatever reason, the only one able to actually stop Ishna in any way. And I failed in that duty. So while you certainly contributed to the events that have transpired, her death was ultimately my fault."

Erwine took a deep breath. "So please, stop feeling bad for yourself. You merely ripped her to pieces, I was the one who killed her."

"Adrianne thought she failed Nadine and the others," Estelle said hurriedly, "Please don't walk down that path." She was begging.

"I won't," Erwine promised, "Adrianne made me to finish what she started. No, finish what Ishna started. This has been going on for thirty years, this grand plan of Ishna's, if not longer. I'll tear it to pieces, I _will_finish what was started. Adrianne always figured that she would never be able to end things on her own. I was _always _the one who would bring an end to all this. I _know _that I can. So don't question me, don't question my actions, and don't question my emotions. I know what I am doing, more so than you do."

Erwine turned around. "Warp entry is in an hour, I suggest you finish things up here before heading back to your ship." She did not budge from her spot, waiting for Estelle to move away. The inquisitor took the message, and left without another word.

Erwine took a deep breath, hanging her head as she stared down at the ground. The image of a beautiful face, frozen in a look of tranquility, flashed before her eyes. And as she remembered the face of that dead girl, she whispered, "Adrianne…I promise."

The door to the bridge opened. Nadine was already turning around at the noise. She knew Erwine had required some time, and would not be done for another ten minutes. _Fifteen to twenty if Estelle did go speak to her…and oh boy, she did. _The older inquisitor walked towards the younger one. "Bolton, I'll get back to you in a short time, I need to handle this." She grabbed Estelle by the shoulder, hauling her down the corridor away from the bridge.

"What are you doing?!" Estelle shouted, "What is this?!"

As the doors shut behind the two, Nadine looked down the hallway, making sure no one was approaching the bridge. Nadine's eyes glared into Estelle's. "We need to speak about the intelligence of your decisions, young lady," Nadine said, speaking like she was the girl's mother. She was old enough to be, that was certain.

"What decisions?"

"The way you approached us, it was arguably the worst way possible," Nadine said.

"Would you have told me about the parchment?" Estelle asked, repeating the same thing she had before. "Would Erwine have?"

"Erwine would not have," Nadine replied. "And don't you think that 'justification' is getting a bit old?"

Estelle brushed aside the second comment. "And you, there were two questions there,"

Nadine didn't lost a bit of her composure. "I would not have revealed the secret unless Erwine asked me to do so for her."

Talking quickly, the girl in black demanded, "Why are you so protective of that girl? Why does she mean anything to you? I'd be thinking that you'd be eager to share with anyone who might be able to help with solving this whole mystery." Estelle crossed her arms.

Nadine sighed. She glared at Estelle. "I just want to get back to my duty as an inquisitor. And the sooner Erwine realizes the foolishness of all of this, I can do that. I accept this mission to Curia, hoping that I can start to get her back on track. I respect Erwine because she was made that way by Adrianne, and I respect Adrianne and her memory. But understand, I want things to return to a level of normalcy. The fact that I'm still under investigation, limited as it is, after thirty years of being locked in a tiny room, is insulting! I just want to prove that I am a good person, and that I can work as any inquisitor should!"

"So you really don't care for Erwine?"

Nadine shook her head. But the answer seemed difficult to say regardless of her dismissal. "As I said, I respect her and her wishes, but she has to understand that there is a limit to this foolishness of hers. I want nothing but the best, but we've been getting nowhere for the past year."

"Sounds like you're a bit selfish," Estelle commented, hoping more than anything to cut away at her iron demeanor.

"You could say that, but you could say I'm selfless for giving up my credibility and trustworthiness for the sake of Erwine," Nadine said, "I've given for long enough."

"Hope and despair balance back out to zero," Estelle reminded her, turning around. Her shoulder was grabbed onto by Nadine.

"Don't quote Hastvan on me," Nadine demanded, "We need to work together on this, and you walking away from me is not going to advance us towards that outcome in any way."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Estelle wondered, "Bow down to your authority. I would like to remind you that you're under suspicion for a reason. We don't want a double agent tearing us apart from the inside."

"I'm beginning to understand how Adrianne must have felt," Nadine said, "And I guess you really are perfect at betraying people."

That hit a soft spot. A soft spot that was still incredibly sore from previous events. Estelle gritted her teeth, glaring back at Nadine. "I…I am not betraying you! I am ensuring that my people do not suffer any more than they need to! What is your game anyways? You keep flip-flopping back and forth, one moment calling out Erwine, the next supporting her in eveyr way!"

Nadine stopped. She opened her mouth, but then closed it. The flat expression only annoyed Estelle further. "Do you have anything to say, or are you just a traitor?!" The inquisitor shouted, "You spent thirty years held by Ishna, I imagine she had to have put something in your mind."

The girl's flatness collapsed. Nadine's jaw dropped open "B-but…"

"Scared?" Estelle asked, surprised to be seeing that emotion. _Legitimately scared, _she realized. Thinking for a few moments, she asked, "Didn't Juno's investigation go over your mind again and again?"

Nadine nodded. "It did…but I'm still afraid of what might be there." She seemed to have to force the words out. Estelle frowned, unsure how to reply.

"What can I do?" She wondered.

The other girl looked equally lost. "I don't really want to be trapped on a ship with Erwine anymore," Nadine said, "I just get the feeling…well, Ishna liked talking about how intricate her plans were to me. I get the feeling that she might have expected us all to link up at this date, and I don't want anything occurring because of something that Ishna put in my head."

Estelle considered things for a few moments more, then proposed, "I can stay on this ship while in the warp, if that would make you more comfortable?"

"Certainly," Nadine said, starting to walk down the corridor, "You can use one of the spare rooms." Estelle followed the inquisitor, and the two made their way through the ship in relative silence, but with a definite tension in the air.

Then the warning klaxon for five minutes went off. "Well, Justinia knows I'll be staying here for the duration of the journey," Estelle said, "So I'm all set."

Nadine nodded, "We need to go see Erwine. She sometimes has terrible attacks from warp entry." She stood, walking for the door. Estelle followed.

* * *

Alone, Erwine stood. She took deep breaths, slow and deliberate. She sincerely hoped that no one else would disturb her. But as far as she knew, no one but Estelle and Nadine would come up to where she was. And Nadine knew not to. Estelle already had, so Erwine knew she had some time alone.

A tear slipped down her cheek. She hadn't cried in front of anyone else in a long time. _Well, that streak is broken now, after that little outburst. _But the fact still remained that she kept her tears to herself. She did her best to move forwards, putting behind her the past.

Adrianne still haunted her thoughts most of the time. That woman…had no right to be remembered by anyone. _Yet I made a promise to that girl. I told her she would be remembered for something good. _Erwine sighed, _torture, murder, abuse, rape, there are plenty of crimes that girl committed over the course of her life. But I blame her for none of them._

_Is she truly undeserving of judgment? Or am I a coward, afraid to criticize someone so close to me?_ Erwine shrugged, _as if I'll ever confront and answer those questions. _She turned around, ready to leave the deck. She had nothing else to do here. Brushing aside the bit of moisture on her face, she walked forwards with determination.

_The tome is still in my room, _Erwine remembered, _perhaps I ought to try something with that._

* * *

Nadine had just finished showing Estelle to the room, knowing that the girl had already seen it around a year before. "It feels like it hasn't been any time at all since then." The younger inquisitor remarked with a sigh.

"Time has a strange way of changing speed," Nadine agreed.

Estelle bit her lip, then wondered, "Nadine, what was it like, spending those thirty years there? You didn't seem affected at all by it."

The blue-haired inquisitor strode in front of her companion. She stopped now, head tilting back and looking over her shoulder. "I try not to think of those thirty years." She looked forwards once more, "It's not pleasant whenever I do."

Then the warning klaxon for five minutes went off. "Well, Justinia knows I'll be staying here for the duration of the journey," Estelle said, "So I'm all set."

Nadine nodded, "We need to go see Erwine. She sometimes has terrible attacks from warp entry." She stood, walking for the door.

* * *

Erwine was certainly unsettled by the klaxon. The parchment was back in the safe, and the tome there as well. The girl sat on her bed, focusing her mind. While the pain and visions had never been as bad as the first time she had ever entered the warp, they had gotten pretty bad at times. So her possessions were safely tucked away, and her mental barriers were being raised as best as they could be.

The door resounded with a gentle knock. Erwine stood. She opened the door to find the two inquisitors looking at her. "Hello," she said, turning around, "I assume you came due to the entry soon?"

"Yes," Nadine said, "Feeling alright?"

Erwine nodded. Five minutes passed, with Erwine silently sitting and focusing. The vessel shuddered, and a strange sensation clawed at everyone's mind as this occurred. Erwine released the pent-up breath as nothing more than that occurred.

The _Rosie _was now in the warp, traveling alongside Estelle's official craft. Erwine looked at the two, "Well, I was just looking at the parchment with the new tome, hoping to uncover some clue, want to help?"

Hours and hours passed. Absolutely no progress was made. Despite Nadine's magic, and the combined knowledge of the three. "There is absolutely no connection," Nadine concluded near the end of it all.

"How old is the tome?"

"Roughly thirty thousand," Nadine replied, "Older than the Imperium, but not older than humanity."

"So what do we do?" Erwine asked, "There's nothing older than this."

"I feel as if the answer will come to us if we continue on the current track," Estelle said, "Chances are this is connected to the Hadiens Effect, as it is clearly related to the incident of a year and a half ago."

Erwine nodded, "Well, we'll just have to wait."

* * *

Erwine caught Estelle alone on the observation deck. "You all like standing up here, right?" the inquisitor asked as the girl approached, "Don't really see the point of it."

"It's quiet, and usually the view is pretty. But you can't see much in the warp," Erwine replied. Estelle sat on the bench. Erwine came up and leaned on it. She faced the opposite direction, looking at the wall.

"I guess," the inquisitor started, before pausing, "I can see your point."

"Well that's good," Erwine commented, but the words carried a hint of sarcasm.

"If you'd excuse my aggressiveness, is there something you wanted?"

"To apologize, really," Erwine said, "For the way I've been acting with you. I'm an interrogator, and I really have no right to be treating you the way I have been. I should be more mature."

"Thank you,"

"I see that you just wanted to help me. And…well, we have a two week voyage to Curia. We still have thirteen of those days left. I figure that things will be a lot easier if I just get some courage and say sorry."

Estelle took a deep breath. It put Erwine on edge, the air of Estelle not being one of forgiveness. "Alright," she said, "I think I can accept that. After all, I think I'm the one who has done more to Adrianne in the end."

Estelle stood up. She turned to face Erwine's back. The girl still faced away. "Why do you blame yourself for all that you supposedly did?" the inquisitor asked.

"I don't know," Erwine said, "I don't even know why I still forgive her."

"I don't know why either…perhaps we should work together?" Estelle asked.

"That might be the best idea at the moment," Erwine said. She smiled, although Estelle could not see it.

"I'm no replacement for Adrianne, I don't think anyone is, but I hope I can help you in some way."

"I think you can," Erwine said, then repeated in a whisper, "I think you can…"

* * *

Estelle treated her crew differently than Adrianne had. She had always done so. The inquisitor had never actually considered if it was a personal preference of hers or if it was just going in the opposite direction Adrianne did. An outside observer might be inclined to believe the latter, given that it was the exact opposite of what Adrianne did.

Instead of acting like a harsh taskmaster, she did her best to get to know them all. And by know them, Estelle did not break them down then build them back in a more useful form. And while the effectiveness of that strategy could not be denied, given what Erwine had become like, the morals could be questioned…given what Erwine had become like.

The point was that Estelle treated them differently. And as such, instead of having a bunch of different individual spaces, she designed the ship that had become her personal one for the express purpose of gathering all the members of her crew together.

The ship that had generally been claimed to be hers was technically an Imperial Navy vessel, a light cruiser as a matter of fact, specially outfitted by the Inquisition for speed rather than combat, but it was quite effective at that as well. It had been given to her when her request to take part in a pursuit of Adrianne was granted, and she had never given it back.

Partly due to the fact that said pursuit had only ended a year and a half ago, and partly because she was good friends with the captain. In fact, she would have had the thing taken from her long ago were it not for this friendship, due to the lack of results from that pursuit.

Thanks to this friendship, she was able to get the ship, or its interior, really, modified to her liking. Due to her policies towards those under her, she had created a large space, near all their rooms, where she intended for them to be able to meet. It really looked like a large living room from some luxurious mansion.

While it was certainly a meeting place, they generally tended to keep their problems to themselves to be resolved more personally later, rather than destroy the usually happy mood. But as time had gone on, and trust grew, the six, now eight, magical girls had been more willing to share issues with others.

The mood was not happy on this day. It was not necessarily sad. Everyone seemed concern. It was definitely how they acted. The level of concern was not even close to uniform, with every single girl having a different attitude.

Wei's was perhaps the most pronounced, and perhaps even straying from concern into something else. Simply put, she was very angry at Erwine. Justinia leaned against the wall as her main protégé paced about the room, rather indifferent. Sechylia sat in a chair close to Justinia. She seemed less concerned about the situation as a whole and more concerned about Wei's demeanor.

Sanae and Ayelen sat next to each other. Not right beside. There was distance between them, and it was a fact that people who were on worse terms were closer than they were, but they were still close. Sanae was certainly calm, but also serious. Ayelen was restless, shifting about in her seat as she waited for the silence to be broken.

Eventually, Justinia would be the first to speak. It was a single sentence, intended to do nothing more than get the conversation moving. "Ayelen, you've worked with her the most."

"True," Ayelen said, "But it's been a year since we've spoken, I have no idea how she's changed. From what I observed…she has changed, so I don't think that my word is the most trustworthy."

Sanae was calm, flat when she spoke. Not quite as emotionless and monotone as Justinia, but perhaps the most calm out of them all besides that crimson-haired girl. "Nevertheless, give us your best assessment of how she has changed. Given that Nadine has put up with Erwine for this long, I imagine that Erwine is calling the shots over there, so if we assess her character, we know what she's going to do."

"We shouldn't be so paranoid, that's a start," Ayelen said, "At least in terms of the way we look at her. She's not some monster that's going to turn and devour us if we take our eyes away for a second. She's still one of us." They all filled in with unspoken words: _she's not Adrianne, yet. _"Now…don't believe that she's going to be entirely beneficial or helpful, but we have to remember that she has been through a lot, and treating her like the enemy will only make her more like Adrianne."

"You think she's becoming like Adrianne?" Sechylia joined the conversation. "I don't know much about her really…but is that a bad thing?"

"Certainly," Ayelen said, "I don't want her to become that woman. I was able to forgive her in the end, but…but she…I never want another person like her to exist…ever." She showed obvious discomfort, bad memories obviously returning. Sanae reached over to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you think Estelle will help?" Sanae asked them all. Before Ayelen could speak, she insisted "Let's think calmly here."

"Estelle should be able to. From what I understand, she has always known Adrianne the best. And therefore, she will be able to stop someone from becoming like Adrianne…theoretically. But I really have no idea if that will be true or not. We should be prepared for anything when we get to Curia."

Wei scoffed at this. She had been making her displeasure clear throughout the conversation, but perhaps this was the grandest gesture. "Would you like to contribute?" Sanae questioned, "In a meaningful way, I mean, because you are adding something right now, I suppose." The snap in her tone wasn't lost.

Wei paused. She turned her head, catching Ayelen in the eyes. "You really do think Erwine is a good person, don't you? You think she has some redeemable quality about her? Well…I guess she does, but I don't get how that overpowers the bad."

"Wei, this is no time for your own opinions of the girl. We need to accurately figure out what Erwine wants, and how she is going to act, I'd like to not get stabbed in the back." Sanae said, maintaining her calm.

"Well she's going to do just that," Wei warned, an evil grin on her face, "She'll promise you something, and then when you turn around to receive it, she'll be gone. "The girl shrugged, "And personal opinions? I really see it more as an actual fact that she betrayed me, but whatever, say what you want to say."

"Wei, stop it." Ayelen said, "We've just established that turning on Erwine now is not going to solve anything. It will only make things worse for her, and if you want what she promised you, getting angry is not going to be the way to get that."

"Have you ever been truly betrayed?" Wei asked, "If not, then you can-"

"Don't speak to me about betrayal!" Ayelen stood up. A gaze, murderous in its intent, glared into Wei's eyes. She resisted without backing away. "I have been betrayed in my life by people who I thought cared about me, yet I have forgiven them both! I would remind you that years and years of mental illness were the result of the betrayals I suffered, while all you have suffered from is a mild annoyance!"

Wei was about to retaliate, but she was grabbed from behind. Justinia latched onto her hair, yanking her backwards. She dragged the girl out of the room, ignoring the wild complaints and curses directed at her. The room was left in silence as the older girl exited with the younger one.

Finding herself outside the meeting room, Wei was tossed forwards, stumbling a bit before recovering. Justinia leaned back against the closed door, crossing her arms as she stared deadpan at Wei. "What was the meaning of that?!" she shouted.

"You were doing nothing but cause trouble," Justinia explained flatly, "And I'd really prefer that we get something out of talking in there. What you did…was rather counterproductive. So either go away, or go back in there with a willingness to accept that Erwine was not, is not, and will never be, at least in the foreseeable future, be the devil."

Wei glared at Justinia. She shook her head. "I'm sorry that my issue is too minor for you. Those people…all they're going to say is how little I've been through. That doesn't matter! I still suffered, and even if the betrayal was minor to you, it still hurt me!"

Justinia shook her head. "I never said that I believed that. For as much as she has grown, Ayelen is still an impulsive brat. You're better than her, so start acting like it. Please, for your sake, and for mine, it was embarrassing seeing you break down like that."

Wei sighed. "I'm sorry…" the words were earnest.

"Your issue does matter, but acting about it in this manner shall not help you. You've been fine for the past eight, nine months, but the moment Erwine comes back into your life you bring it up again."

"I still have a problem with her," she furrowed her brow at Justinia's comment.

"Justified," Justinia agreed, "But you can't go after her like the enemy. Be calm, understand that she is a magical girl as well, and as much as I hate to bring this up, she's been through more than you."

Wei nodded. "I understand." She crossed her arms, staring off to the side.

Justinia kept a smirk inside herself, and asked. "Do you really?"

Wei nodded again.

"Then get back in there, and add something to that discussion." Justinia ordered. "I need to go speak to the captain. I will be asking Sechylia about you…" The girl stepped close, raising a single finger in front of Wei's face. "And if she says one, only _one, _negative thing about you, then you cannot expect my response to be positive in any way. Do you understand me?"

"Yes,"

Justinia stepped past Wei, walking down the corridor. Wei turned to watch her leave at first, before she looked back at the door. She took a deep breath, then walked inside.

* * *

A knock on the door. "Come in," the person inside called.

The door was already unlocked. It was merely a matter of turning the knob and entering. Justinia looked upon the woman inside. A grown woman, with the body befitting her age, to an extent. Not that she was a magical girl. "Captain," Justinia nodded as she entered the woman's cabin.

It was a luxurious space. It was larger than the cabins occupied by magical girls on Adrianne's ship. But that was Adrianne's ship. Estelle and her girls occupied large spaces, each having two full rooms, fairly large compared to the quarters of the human crew members.

The brown-haired woman lounged on a sofa, still wearing her uniform. "Everything going well with the others?" she asked.

"To an extent," Justinia said, moving towards the woman. She sat on the arm of the sofa, facing away from the captain. "Wei's under control, which is good. They'll figure things out. We have plenty of time, at least."

"True," the woman said, "But, do you really think Wei will calm down by the end?"

"Not at all," Justinia shook her head. She took a deep breath, as there was a silence. "Elle, do you think that we're doing the right thing? Getting back in touch with Erwine?"

"I'm a human," the captain chuckled, "I don't think I'm the judge here."

"Seriously," Justinia insisted, "I want your honest opinion."

"I don't know," Elle said, shrugging, "You have a better idea of the situation. I only really know what happens after the fact. I just fly you around, and sometimes have some fun."

"Sometimes?" Justinia repeated, "Sometimes?"

"Well, by that I really mean that I actually use my abilities as a captain of this ship. Most of the time, I'm just a ferry service." Elle explained.

Frowning, the redhead asked. "Do you mind?"

"Yeah, certainly," Elle replied, "A captain not getting to do what she was practically raised to do…it certainly annoys me at times. But most of the time I realize how well off I am. I'm not going to die on the frontlines of some war, and I have the protection of well, eight magical girls at this point. It's a pretty safe position, I think." She brightened up a little.

"Certainly," Justinia looked off to the distance. One could call it a longing stare. "I hate it when someone is unhappy doing something they should like doing."

"What can you do?" Elle asked, "I prefer playing this part than anything else. I also get to be on the frontlines of any fun stories that pop up, so I can't complain."

"Sure," Justinia said, "But still…are you absolutely certain?"

"Seems like you're not really checking to see if I'm happy, and more wondering about whether or not I'm absolutely loyal to you and Estelle."

"That's certainly one of my intentions," the magical girl admitted with a chuckle and grin.

"I thought you were the least paranoid out of them all," Elle said, "Do I sense a growing fear of something?"

There was a long pause. A pause long enough that, if Elle and Justinia were not the good friends that they were, a question would have been raised. But no question was raised. Elle merely waited.

"Yes," Justinia admitted, "Just a bit scared about their safety. We're going into something big here…and I don't want it to hurt them. Although I should probably understand that it will."

"That's a rather dark thought…but I suppose we are getting into something rather big here," Elle spoke softly, awed as she thought of what had transpired, "It was the largest event in the sector for hundreds of years, not to mention the fact that we still have no idea what actually occurred."

"I guess we're trying to find that out," Justinia said.

"True, but we're really delving into the unknown," Elle said, "For all we know, we might just end up saving the whole Imperium,"

"Sure," Justinia said, but it was obvious she didn't really believe her words.

"Have some hope," Elle suggested, "It's not at all like you to be this gloomy."

"I'm just being practical," the magical girl countered, "I don't want to fill my head with dreams of glory and success."

Elle chuckled a little, "I think you're just scared."

There was another silence. It was an even longer pause this time, and even Elle started to get a bit uncomfortable. Her head turned, and a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. She did not look upon the stoic Justinia that she had known for so long. The girl was trembling.

Eventually, it stopped. Only then did the girl reply. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"It's not bad to admit it,"

"Yeah, I guess," Justinia said, but her voice sounded hollow.

Elle moved to the left. Justinia was on the arm of the sofa to her right. The girl stood up. She moved around the arm, and sat down next to the captain. She leaned against the woman's shoulder, closing her eyes. "Come on," Elle said, "Don't be all like this, not now."

"I won't," Justinia promised. Her voice was still hollow.

* * *

Nadine awoke to a knock at her door. She already knew who it was. The sound of the knock was one she had heard many times in the past year. Unlocking the door, she ushered Erwine inside.

The girl meekly stepped in, taking a seat on the couch in the room. Nadine looked at her as she closed and locked the door. "I assume you went to talk to Estelle?"

"Things are better now," Erwine answered, knowing the question would be coming, "We should be able to work together."

"You know the others under Estelle better than I, can we trust them?"

"Laelia always had a liking for me. We'll be fine. Ayelen likes me too, so she'll stick to us. Celestine and Laelia are, last time I checked, in love, so Celestine will follow Laelia. And Celestine holds a great amount of sway with Estelle, so that's good. Sanae and Ayelen are very good friends, so Sanae should trust Ayelen's judgment. I haven't spoken to Wei in a long time, so she probably sees that as a betrayal of sorts, seeing as how I promised her some things. And given that Justinia doesn't exactly trust anyone easily, just because she's practical, I doubt we'll be seeing much support from her, Sechylia, or Wei."

"Can you resolve the issue with Wei?"

"When I get the chance, I might be able to do so," Erwine replied, "But I can't say anything for certain."

"It would be the best if you could. What about Justinia, can you prove something to her?"

"Getting Wei back on my side would help with her." Erwine replied. She looked up at Nadine, "Do you think we can trust them?"

"I definitely believe that Estelle is our best choice at the moment. The case she makes is strong, and helping her will only make us look better to the rest of the Inquisition." Nadine said calmly. "Erwine, we can't afford to keep playing around. Not with the past you had. I imagine it's only Juno's grace that's kept us out of trouble, but that won't keep up the more we continue to run around making ourselves look like renegades."

The silver-haired girl just shook her head. "True, but I don't care about looks or reputation. I have given up on trying to be some kind of hero." Erwine spoke sadly. Nadine could tell she was questioning her own words as she said them. "Right now…I just want to solve this mystery."

"Did you not listen?" Nadine went to sit down across from Erwine. She stared the girl in the eyes as they sat, barely a meter separating them. "Estelle has explained how this relates to what happened."

Erwine nodded, but it more to stop Nadine from continuing. She took a deep breath, deep in thought. "Nadine…you seem different now…" Before the other could reply. "Before you really did support my wishes, but now you seem highly supportive of Estelle. Did you…never really believe in me?"

Nadine reached across the small table, picking up Erwine's hand. She held it tightly with both her hands. "Erwine Braune, I want only the best for you. You're Adrianne's biggest legacy, so I wouldn't dare let you throw yourself away. So yes, I do support Estelle more, because I know you might hurt yourself if you keep going on like this."

"Really?" Erwine asked, anger rising in her voice "You really think I'm just a fool?" She didn't want to cry in front of the girl. She shook her head madly, not wanting to let a single tear slip out.

Nadine stood up. She sat down next to Erwine, wrapping her arms around the girl. Pulling her tightly, she whispered softly. "Erwine, you're no fool. You stay rational and calm. Adrianne would have been tearing things apart if Estelle did to her what she did to you today. You are, in some ways, a better person than her. She made you into a wonderful magical girl, and I think you will do great things. But not if you throw yourself away."

"Adrianne said she didn't mind if I was never a hero. She would have preferred it, but I told her that I would do anything to see her wish fulfilled."

"Is Ishna dead?" Nadine asked.

"Yes," Erwine said confidently. So many times, she'd gone over all the ways Ishna could have faked her death. But somehow, something told her that Ishna had really died. _She could have faked her death, but she couldn't have faked all those emotions before it. _

"Wasn't that the wish Adrianne first told you?" the inquisitor asked, "You did tell me that, right?"

Erwine mumbled, "Yes,"

"So then Ishna is dead. Adrianne would have never reached that point without you. From the story you described, she would have lost it when Airi died. The things she did to you…they brought her back to reality. They made her realize the kind of person she really was…"

"So I…I did help her?"

"In the end, you did," Nadine whispered. She spoke softly into Erwine's ear.

"Thank you…" Erwine said, feeling a smile spread across her face. And unlike before, she did feel the smile was sincere. She wished that people smiled sincerely more often. She relaxed into Nadine's hold, and closed her eyes.

* * *

Ultimately, the investigation has been inconclusive. There is no evidence left on the asteroid itself, nor anywhere else within the expanse. All that has been recovered was that parchment, which we can't even begin to translate. Otherwise, there is nothing. Nothing on the cruiser, nothing anywhere else. Ishna left absolutely no trace of what she was doing. Not even what she did there, or how she did it.

It's easy to understand how Adrianne was seen as insane for so many years. If a single girl came out of the Expanse and spoke of all this, she'd get the same treatment. I can't even recommend where to look next. It has been confirmed that a ship did escape, but there was still too much residual warp energy to accurately track the vector. They could pop up anywhere at this rate.

Anyways, we've concluded Nadine's examination, and she's clean. At least she appears to be. She's already run off with Erwine, that little girl's so intent on finding out the truth behind all this. Something tells me she'll be the one to crack this open. I'll keep you updated. The Goddess Protects.

Lord Inquisitor Eskel to the Grand Inquisitor.

* * *

**It's finally here! Starting this while in the middle of the mage knights fic is a wonderful idea! Nothing can go wrong! **

**I intend to keep a steady update schedule with In Someone's Name, so I can't promise consistency for this one. Luckily, I'm far more competent than I was over a year ago, so I feel like this will be less of a trainwreck than the first volume. This second volume is also a whole lot shorter. Volume one is about 339,000 words, while this will probably end up being around 200,000. The best part is that more stuff happens in this part, so it's not nearly as bloated. **

**This was written a while back, so I do feel that In Someone's Name is honestly a lot better, at least till this second volume actually kicks into gear in about two chapters. **


	35. A Step Forwards, but Worth the Cost?

**Sorry about the incredible lateness of this. I got caught up in Dark Souls 3 more than I thought I would, and ended up second-guessing myself on this chapter a lot more than I thought I would. This isn't setting a precedent. Hopefully. **

* * *

The Reiker Incident may be the most infamous out of all the mistakes of the Inquisition. Certainly one with the most lasting effect out of them all. While it was four thousand years ago when this incident tore apart an entire sector, the effect is still very noticeable today.

In M36, specifically the eleventh day of the sixth month of the seven-hundredth and forty-second year, Florencea Reiker and her vessel came under attack. Ms. Reiker was from the Nader Sect, and was currently in the Lepanto Sector. The attackers appeared to be from the Lepanto Sect.

Reiker escaped relatively unharmed, but a report was already on its way to MSOC. The Lepanto sect attempted an explanation, but an investigation had already commenced. Meanwhile, other Sects were detaining inquisitors from Lepanto. To the eyes of the Lepanto Sect, who had mistakenly attacked Ms. Reiker, due to her operating in absolute secrecy, in belief that she was a heretic, everyone else was the ones they should be worrying about.

They made pleas to other inquisitors, other MSOCs, some heard their cases. The potential fallout from this was massive. Even the Grand Inquisitor took a serious interest. With all this tension, everything had to go wrong at some point. Even though the Lepanto sect was close to being cleared, some of the more zealous inquisitors in the investigation decided that wasn't enough.

After two months of tensions, the Lepanto sect's headquarters was broken into by multiple inquisitors and their retinues. The ensuing battle was noticed by everyone. Both sides instantly pointed fingers, and it didn't take long for the fire to spread. Even the investigation committee started turning on itself, while the others in the system started picking sides.

Roughly thirteen hours later, seventeen magical girls were dead, thousands of humans had perished, and massive loses in infrastructure had occurred. The investigation by the Grand Inquisitor found that the fault lay with the initial report. Had Reiker not immediately called out to MSOC, as was per standard and generally unbreakable policy, of possible heresy, this all could have been avoided.

As such, the Reiker Protocol was invented. Named after the incident to immortalize the humiliation it was, the Protocol allows an inquisitor to completely stop all flow of information into and out of a given system. Those who break the declaration of the protocol are immediately found to be heretics.

This incident is one of the most famous examples of miscommunication in all of known history, but its legacy of the Reiker Protocol has saved countless lives to this day.

-From _Ten Thousand Years of Mistakes: A History of Inquisitorial Failures _by Inquisitor Olivia Sadri

* * *

An Inquisition modified cruiser was indeed faster than the merchant vessel of a rogue trader, so the former would arrive before the latter. And ahead of them lay a large blue-green orb, a single moon locked in orbit. Insystem transit began, set to take about six hours.

It was actually quite easy to jump close to a source of gravity, thanks to the capabilities of navigators. They were far more effective at what they did due to their magic than any psychic human could ever manage. They could clearly see through the tides of the warp most of the time, allowing for ships to travel as fast as possible through them.

And while large gravity sources did disturb the warp, it was easy for a navigator to see ways around these disturbance. They did give up all their ability to see in the material world using their telepathy, but as a result they were masters of looking through the warp.

So the journey to Curia once the warp-segment of it had ended would not be a very long one because of the short distance the ships could emerge at. Bright flares lit up in the blackness of space as the vessels ignited their engines to standard cruising speeds.

And upon the slower of the two starships, the atmosphere was perhaps more frantic than the atmosphere on the other. Estelle impatiently stood on the bridge. She waited for the argument outside to be resolved. But who knew how much time that was going to take?

"We're not going to take control!" Nadine shouted at Erwine, staring her down, "We need to let Estelle have power here. She invited us to assist her, and we already look bad. The last thing we need is a power struggle with the person giving us a chance!"

"I'm not inclined to trust other people," Erwine said. She didn't shout, but her voice was filled with venom as she issued her words. "So don't think I'm going to be bowing down to Estelle."

"I don't expect you to. All I need from you is some respect for the woman. Please, just do as I ask and it will make things far easier for the both of us."

"I can't," Erwine insisted, "_You can't. _You're an inquisitor as well. We can pursue this on our own."

"No we can't. Estelle took this case, and we are listed as being requested to assist. If we go off on our own, then we are no longer assisting, and MSOC pulls us away. There is a trail leading back to whatever happened a year ago, and we need to follow it. Sometimes the only way to get what you want is to bow down to somebody else."

"I know that," Erwine said, "And that's exactly why I'm angry."

She turned towards the bridge, walking towards the doors. "I'll do as you ask, but don't expect much more than that." The massive pieces of metal parted before her, and Nadine hurried through with her.

Estelle raised her eyebrows as she saw them approach. "Well?" she asked, "Are we done bickering?"

Erwine nodded sharply, while Nadine let the younger girl respond for her. "Well then, we're about to get into the range where we can descend. I've already made contact with the locals, and they're ready for us when we arrive. We'll touch down at their office, and head straight to the most recent murder scene, happened about…well, this morning, but they preserved it for us. They also have a suspect…"

"Who's the latest victim?" Nadine asked.

"The governor," Estelle replied, and then as she saw the faces of shock, "Yes, the Imperial one."

"Then it's good you already took this case," Erwine said, "Otherwise it would be jumped by every inquisitor in the sector."

"Oh it has," Estelle said, "Apparently as soon as word got out, every inquisitor that heard was asking for permission to investigate. They were all turned down due to the fact that we were already coming here, but the moment we make a big mistake, chances are someone will be watching and try to boot us. It's obviously a big opportunity, so I can't blame any of them."

"Sure, but we're the only ones who may be able to actually comprehend what's going on here." Erwine said, half-jokingly, half-seriously "So perhaps we shouldn't make any mistakes."

"That's the intention," Estelle said.

The younger girl remembered something said earlier. "They've a suspect?" Erwine asked. Her eyebrows raised, she was skeptical, but also a little bit disappointed.

'Yes, they do," Estelle confirmed, "So we might just be wrapping things up here, but we can hope that there's some connection to be made."

"We're ready," Bolton said after a small amount of time passed, "I suggest you all get moving."

The magical girls exited the bridge, leaving Bolton alone. Alone, save for the entire rest of the bridge surrounding him. He took a deep breath, honestly wondering if he was actually making smart decisions with all of this.

* * *

Laelia and Celestine sat beside the table in the room. They were unrestrained, and nothing had been done, not even their soul gems had been removed. It was obvious that they were in an interrogation room, but no other procedures for prisoners were being followed.

The opening of the door revealed the telepath who had tricked them before, as well as another girl. The other girl was one that neither Laelia nor Celestine recognized. "Apologies for the wait," the telepath said, taking a seat alongside the other girl.

"We had to clear some other issues up, just making sure that no one's in the know as to where you are." The telepath explained.

"Not even Juno?" Laelia asked.

"Not even Juno," the telepath confirmed, "But this situation has already turned into a massive misunderstanding. It can't snowball any further, or else we'll probably be looking at a repeat of the Reiker Incident."

"A misunderstanding?" Celestine asked, her voice hostile, "You just kidnapped us. I don't see how that can be misunderstood."

"We only wanted to make sure that you were not taken by the wrong forces." The telepath explained. "There are other people operating on this planet, and in this sector, that don't appreciate the jurisdiction of the Inquisition. Not to mention the fact that you two were technically outside of your inquisitor's jurisdiction by being here. Unless you were acting on your own, in which case you might be in even more trouble."

Laelia asked, "Do you have a solid idea of what this other force is?"

"Not at all," the telepath shook her head. "However, they have been opposing us for some time, ever since we started looking into the Hadiens Incident, so we're assuming that they are somehow related to what is left of Ishna and her network."

"By the way," the telepath realized she had not introduced herself, "My name is Rilliana, I wasn't lying to you about that. This girl here is a healer. Her name is Illumea. She's just rather high in the organization these days, her power doesn't really matter."

"Really now?" Laelia asked, "A telepath and a healer sounds like a solid interrogation team to me."

"We're not going to torture you, or do anything like that," Rilliana assured, "That's not at all our intention. Our intention is to obtain some information from you, but we hope that by the end of our discussion, you'll understand that it is within your best interest to tell us what we want to know."

"Seriously?" Celestine asked, "What do you want from us?"

"We figure that because you two are operating so far outside of Estelle's jurisdiction as an independent, she will only accept a message from you as being truthful if a certain code is present." Rilliana explained, "And since neither of you are an astrotelepath, you'll need someone to send it. We figure that there is also someone sending messages as well. She'd need to add her correct code, to assure that no one is being forced."

"So you want the codes, and for us to get the astrotelepath to lend her support?" Laelia asked. Then she stated. "That's not happening."

"Please wait to make any immediate judgments," Rilliana requested, "You don't understand at all the full picture of the situation."

"Do we really not?" Celestine wondered. "You kidnapped us. Estelle is on her way to Curia. You somehow want to send her a message ensuring her that Liselotte was not responsible, or something like that. Something to throw her off, or hide the truth."

Illumea smirked. She leaned in. "And what might that truth be?"

Neither girl had an answer for a minute or so. "W-well…" Laelia began, "You sent Liselotte to start committing murders on Hadiens…because…" she had nothing.

A glance at Celestine revealed the same. "But," Celestine added, "The sect has been sending teams all over the place, even outside of the sector."

"Yes, we are investigating the Hadiens Incident. A massive amount of information came in," Rilliana explained, "We have to sort through all of it and figure out what leads to be following. A massive amount is still unknown."

"So why do you want the codes, then?" Laelia asked.

"Because Liselotte is not acting under our command. She has gone off on her own jurisdiction. She left for Curia, that's correct. She is most likely committing the murders. But even we don't know why. Nothing we know have has said anything about Curia, or that we should be killing people there. We don't want a repeat of the Reiker incident. We want those codes so that we can successfully inform Estelle that Liselotte is not acting on her own."

"So you do want to lie to her," Laelia raised her eyebrows.

"Not at all," Illumea countered. "You cannot explain why Liselotte might be there. Therefore, you have no choice but to trust our words. For all you know, we could be lying to you. But because you don't know anything about what's really going on, you can't formulate a case against us."

Celestine sighed. "We will review this message," she said, "And we will send it to the astrotelepath we have. Do you understand?"

"Of course, the message is in fact all ready for transmission. We apologize for the rather…rough way we brought you in. Again, there is something larger going on here, something that we really can't be certain of. If you wish to give us some assistance, maybe you know something from Estelle that we do not."

Laelia looked at Celestine. Their telepathy was not being blocked. _You sure about this? _She asked. _They might be lying to us. _

_We have no evidence. _Celestine replied. _This seems a bit suspicious, but what choice do they have. There is a telepath right there, and we know they have more. We won't be able to resist any kind of tough investigation. The fact is that if they really had malicious intentions, they would have caught us, yanked the codes out of us, and blocked all memories of the incident before dumping us back in that alleyway. _

_You're right…_Laelia said. They looked back at the two girls in front of them. "I guess we can give you them," she said, "But you better not be lying to us."

The message was sent to Laelia. "If could get that out to the astrotelepath as soon as possible. We figure Estelle is in warp by now, but we want to make sure she has it ready for when it needs to be sent."

"Understood," Laelia replied. "If you could let us go, so we could make contact."

"Certainly, but you'll be back?" Illumea wondered.

_Do we help them? _

_It might be a good idea. _Laelia said. _You already clarified that they can't want to hurt us. So I say we help them out. If things go bad, we can bail at any time and call in Juno. As it is, this will only help us get more information on them. _

"Yes," Celestine replied, "We will be back."

"Good," Illumea smiled, "Be on your way then…"

* * *

The twin craft soared through the bright blue skies of the agri-world. The massiveness of the governor's palace spread out before them. It did not seem like it was busy, but closer examination revealed the number of craft from the local Inquisitorial branch.

Touching down on the landing pads nearby these craft, the two shuttles softly made contact with the surface of the world for the first time. Standing in between the two were a pair of magical girls, backed by a few humans. Erwine was the first one stepping out of the craft, turning to look at the gathered officials. Estelle followed. Nadine was the last, much slower than the others, her gait a simple walk while the others rushed forwards.

Justinia would lead from the other shuttle, followed initially by Sechylia. Sanae and Ayelen were next, with Wei next. That last girl cast a glance at Erwine, but if it did reach her attention, it was entirely ignored.

The youngest girl of them all reached her hand out to the dark-haired girl. "Interrogator Erwine Braune," she introduced herself.

"Heard of you," the girl commented as she took the hand, then introduced herself, "Lia Rocha." Nodding behind herself, she said, "And Branca Carme" as her nod indicated the magical girl right behind her.

Erwine stepped back a single step, as Estelle and Nadine came up. The other five of Estelle's moved behind Erwine, letting those in charge introduce themselves first. "Estelle Adramartis," the inquisitor said as she shook hands.

"Nadine Edicossen," the next girl said.

"Well, I heard you were bringing help, but I didn't think it would be these two." Lia said. She waved for them to follow as she turned to start walking. "Oh yeah," she added, gesturing to one of the humans, "Lois Bieito, head of the senate here. We have the senate running more civic things, with the governor handling the wider and broader duties."

"Sorry for not telling you sooner," Estelle said, "I didn't think they'd be a problem."

"They just tell me that you're going to really commit yourselves, if you brought along two of the bigger names in these parts," Lia looked at the two, "Not that you were really willing to be caught up in all that, I suppose."

Erwine nodded, "It was mostly chance that I got all this fame." She sounded a bit sad that she had all this fame. After what had become to be known as the Hadiens Incident, named such because nothing else major had happened in Hadiens for years and years, Erwine and Nadine had become known to all who had read the after action reports and the proceedings of the investigation. And thanks to telepathic communications, such reports had spread very far.

"Fame that people would kill for," Lia reminded her, "So don't fell all bad." They were in the palace now, the halls crowded with Arbites and a few magical girls here and there.

"Still doesn't change the fact that she doesn't want it," Nadine reminded the other girl, "So don't push it."

"Sorry," Lia sincerely said, noticing she had hit a nerve. She glanced back for a second, "I assume you want to know everything?"

"As much as you can, and more about this suspect you have," Estelle said.

"Well, remember when I told you that you wouldn't believe what was going on?" Lia asked, as they approached the office. Estelle nodded. "Then get ready to understand why."

The doors were opened, and while there was no grand display, not even any body, Lia did keep talking as the girls began to observe the office of the governor. "The governor was killed via pressure on the blood vessels to the brain. Cut off the blood flow and the brain dies. However, the killer did not stop there."

Lia walked forwards, indicating the desk and chair. There were patches of red. No large pools, only tiny spots here and there. "The killer cut the man open at several points, and carved eight-pointed stars into the bone, before sewing him back up as if there were no wounds in the first place. Branca handed Lia multiple photographs of the scene, before she passed them about.

Erwine looked at the set, flipping through the pictures seeing that there was no trace of external wounds of any kind. "She did an amazing job of sewing him back up afterwards, I have to applaud her on that. He was then left lying there. Lois would come in shortly afterwards and find him like this."

"That makes no sense," Estelle commented, "How did the killer even get in? Was there any trace on cameras? Did anyone see the killer?"

"There was no trace in either way. There are no observation devices in the governor's office. So the killer could have been an invisibility generator, a teleporter, a telepath, or maybe even a time stopper. In any case, we have absolutely no lead."

"But you have a suspect?" Nadine asked.

"Circumstantial evidence and a shaky theory says that a teleporter in the local bureau did it. She was most likely responsible for the other murders as well, as they were most likely committed by a teleporter. Otherwise, we're not sure how the building could have been entered without no one noticing."

_Defeats the Liselotte theory, _Erwine reminded Estelle.

_I know, but there has to be some connection, we just need to look deeper. _Estelle insisted. She asked Lia, "The wounds were carved into the bone, correct?"

"Yes," Lia replied, "We're not sure what exactly did it, but since we think it's a magical girl it doesn't matter. I can certainly say that level of precision doesn't come with an axe of any kind, so it would have to be a thin sort of blade. The teleporter we have at the moment cannot be accounted for during the hours of the murder, and she uses swords with long thin blades."

"Would a scimitar fit the possibilities?" Estelle asked.

"A curved sword like that would be ideal, why?" Lia's eyebrows were raised at the strange question.

"We've been tracking someone, we think she might have been the one to break in here." Estelle explained, "But she's not a teleporter. She's a telepath."

"The cameras saw nothing," Lia reminded her, "And the outside of this office is covered with them, so she had to have been working with someone else in order to do that. I'm sorry, but unless you have some more evidence, we can't pin this on anyone besides an invisibility generator, teleporter, or time stopper. Telepath is the most unlikely option."

"Why is that?"

"No one remembers anything, and the cameras were on the entire time," Lia explained. "So let's say that she comes in the front door. She's spent time preparing, so she starts erasing all memories of her and making people let her through. She somehow does this to the dozens who would see her on the trip to the office, but even then, the cameras would catch her."

"Any blind spots in the cameras?" Erwine asked.

"None." Lia replied.

"Would a teleporter have been detected?" Justinia's monotone was heard over the din of the sounds in the office at the moment.

"We have a telepath and a clairvoyant scanning the palace regularly," Lia explained, "She would have been found, but in order to conserve magic, the scans only come when someone new checks in. We should have been more careful, I agree, but still, we should have found something, given that teleporting creates a larger disturbance for a clairvoyant

"So maybe it wasn't a teleporter," Erwine suggested, "Maybe it was a telepath. She comes in, starts erasing memories as you say. She does all of this, then has a program unfold in some head technician's mind to start doctoring all of the film to entirely erase her presence."

"The footage automatically goes to the Arbites," Lia countered, "Unless she had someone there as well…"

"Then she just wasn't seen by the cameras," Justinia suggested, "Was that ever considered?"

"She had a camo-cloak?" Lia asked, "But that still would have left some kind of trace on the cameras."

"True," Nadine said, "But there are other ways to counteract technology." She looked at Sechylia, asking for the others' sakes. "Could you erase the presence of a single person from a film, even if it was live?"

The little girl nodded, "Certainly," she said.

"But then how did she get through security, now there's two people involved," Lia said. "There have been some telepaths blessed with both abilities, but they are few and far between."

That question stumped them all. They looked around at each other, trying to find some answer. "Liselotte was a telepath, correct?" Erwine asked for confirmation. Estelle nodded.

"I checked the records some time ago. She's listed as a telepath, according to the sect and the _Grimoire Ingenium._" The inquisitor confirmed, "They could change the sect records, but the _Grimoire _isn't something that they'd have the power to modify."

"What if Ishna modified it?" Nadine offered. The idea was met with consternation, some doubt, but she explained further. "The girl was near the point of godhood when she died. I think it would be in her power to change such a record. Even without being noticed."

Estelle conceded. "Fine, so you're saying Liselotte was actually both, but every record of it has been altered to trick us? And that's assuming that the Sect is working with Ishna. Otherwise, we have to assume that they have someone working for them on an incredibly high level."

"Yes," Nadine confirmed. Estelle was about to reply.

Lia cut in. "Could we all calm down a bit? I'm not entirely sure what you're all going on about, but I'd like to point out we have a suspect. And while you really love your theory about this Liselotte or whoever, I would prefer that we take a look at the one we do have, before we start assuming things on such a scale."

Estelle nodded. "Let's do that," she agreed, "I don't think there'll be much point in bickering here any longer."

"Before that," Justinia intervened, "Perhaps we ought to leave Sechylia here to take a look at the security systems? Look for evidence of tampering?"

Lia agreed, "Branca, take her," she ordered.

* * *

The magical girl sat alone in the interrogation room. Her arms were cuffed behind her back, but she was otherwise untouched. Erwine, Estelle, Nadine, and Justinia would be the ones to enter, along with Lia, while the others waited outside. Lia stood by while Erwine and Estelle took seats. Nadine and Justinia were in the opposite corner of the room from Lia in where they stood.

Erwine and Estelle stared at the girl across from them for a few moments, before they seemed to have come to a decision. Not a word was spoken in the room before Erwine turned to Lia, "She didn't do it,"

"Explain," Lia demanded.

"She just didn't," Estelle said, gesturing to the girl. "Look at her. If she was actually responsible for the murders of nine people, then I don't think she would be looking worried. There has to be some kind of deeper motives for eight random deaths and then the murder of the governor. She seems scared, not like she's confident that she'll get away with this, as you did mention the evidence was merely circumstantial."

"I see you two have been talking," Lia observed, her eyes flicking back and forth from Erwine to Estelle, "Mind to share more of your conversation?" The two had been obviously communicating telepathically.

Estelle explained further, "What is your evidence?"

"She cannot be accounted for at the time of death," Lia explained, "She's a teleporter,"

"So what?" Estelle asked, "Why can't she be accounted for?" She looked at the girl for this one.

"I was at my apartment," the girl explained, her voice filled with pangs of fear, "I had personal time. It's in the damn records…" she started breaking down as she shook her head back and forth, "Please, I didn't do-"

"Quiet," Estelle ordered, "We know." She looked at Lia, "Well? What do you have to say to that?"

Lia nodded. She walked over to the girl, unlocking the cuffs, "Sorry Mercia," she said softly, "Just had to be sure."

The girl nodded as she stood up, but still cast a harsh glance at Lia. She stormed out of the room as Erwine and Estelle stood up. "Do you have anything else to waste our time?" Erwine wondered. A sharp glare from Estelle didn't seem to affect Erwine.

"I was merely attempting to take every measure possible. At least we have eliminated her as a possibility," she said, then looked at Erwine, "And I was thinking you could have a look at the body next."

"Results in from Sechylia?" Erwine asked.

"Almost done," Lia replied, "Needs a bit more time."

"Then we take a look at this body." Erwine decided.

* * *

The governor's body was in the morgue of the inquisitorial building in the main city. Erwine had never actually been in such a place before, but she'd seen her arm disintegrated before her eyes, so she didn't really mind the atmosphere of death and decay.

The body was taken out for them. The autopsy had been performed already, but the body had been put back together. However, the wounds were the carvings were left there. There were no carvings of any kind on the chest bones, so it didn't matter that the chest was cut open.

The carvings were on the backs of the hands, the forearms, the upper arms, the spine, three on the skull, and then the thighs, shins, and then feet. "The carvings are the same on all the bodies." Lia said, as Erwine pulled aside the skin of one hand to look at the eight pointed star expertly marked into the bone.

"How long would this take to pull off?" Justinia asked. She stood off to the side, bored. She was incredibly indifferent to the dead body before her, to the point where she didn't even seem to care that it was a mutilated corpse.

"Well, we're thinking that in order to open the wounds as neatly as they were, then make the inscriptions, then close it back up, it would take perhaps an hour, if the magical girl had excellent muscle control and knew what she was doing."

"Was the man's schedule clear?" Justinia asked.

"No, the schedule shows he had someone coming in at a time that would put the meeting at thirty minutes past death."

Estelle wondered, "Did you speak to that person?"

"No, the governor changed the meeting," Lia said, "Apparently it was a split second decision. He had something important to take care of, a personal matter, he said. The meeting was pushed back by thirty minutes."

Estelle now asked, "When did this occur?"

"About fifteen minutes before death," Lia said.

"Do you think he was forced to change it?" Erwine asked.

"I doubt it. He showed no signs of coercion in the communication. Our current theory has suggested someone without any kind of telepathic ability."

She cocked her head to the side. "Branca came back to me. Sechylia says…there was tampering with the security system. It was clumsy, as if a child technomancer had been messing around with it."

That would make sense..." Estelle nodded. She looked at Erwine. "Telepathy is all about using magic particles to manipulate information. While telepaths specialize in using it against human minds, it's entirely possible for someone to get creative and try it on technology without a specialization."

Erwine wondered, "So you're saying Liselotte could have done it, if she'd perhaps practiced beforehand?"

"Indeed," Estelle confirmed. Then she asked Lia. "Is the footage ready?"

"She already has," Lia replied, "We can see it very soon."

Then she spoke up, "Well, the footage is ready right now. It can't be placed on a cogitator, so she'll send it to us telepathically."

The images came into their minds. The four girls who were not Lia were surprised. Some at least. Nadine took it rather lightly, while Justinia shrugged it off like everything else that came her way. Erwine expected such a thing at this point, but Estelle hadn't exactly wanted to believe her theory.

On the footage was Liselotte. The same one from Hadiens. "So she's killed nine people," Erwine found it hard to believe at first, but still spoke before everyone else, "We need to find out why, and where she's going to strike again."

Estelle agreed, "We may not exactly understand the how, but we need to know the why. And it does look very strange. She killed eight already, and then goes after the governor all of a sudden…"

"To destabilize the planet?" Lia guessed, "There may be some larger operation going on here. It's happened like this before. A single operative goes in and starts killing random people so it looks like some magical girl turned serial killer. Then next thing you know, half the leadership is dead and the planet belongs to Chaos."

"That is what this looks like at the moment," Estelle agreed, "But she's from the Hadiens Sect, so what do they want here?"

"You said they've been sending expeditions to all sorts of ancient sites," Nadine said, "Is there any such place here?" She asked Lia.

"There are some ruins that may date back to Old Night, maybe even the Golden Age, but we're not entirely sure."

"We need to investigate those, then," Erwine declared, "Chances are that they were trying to distract everyone with those killings, so that they could get in and obtain whatever is there."

"Which is obviously heretical, because of these killings," Lia said. Then she took a deep breath, "Well, I don't think we've gotten anywhere, but I suppose you all should head out there. I'm going to stick around here, make sure that the investigation goes well."

"You ought to come with," Estelle suggested, "If you know this planet the best, then we should be accompanied by someone who knows their stuff."

Lia was unsure. She looked at the others for agreement. Justinia shrugged. Nadine nodded. But Erwine was the one with the opinions, and it seemed like an unspoken fact that Erwine's choice would decide things.

Erwine nodded. She cracked into a smile, "Yeah, definitely."

Lia smiled in return, "Then I'll let the others know, and we can be headed out as fast as possible, does that sound good?" The others agreed, and so the plan was made.

* * *

With the two craft cruising through the air, followed by an escort of four PDF Valkyries that had been called in to assist in case of trouble and a pair of magical girls in each Valkyrie, Erwine sat across from Lia, who had chosen to go with Nadine, Estelle, and the younger girl.

"So you're just fourteen?" Lia asked Erwine. She nodded.

"Yeah, contracted barely a year ago. Feels like it's been ten years, maybe even a hundred, but I guess everyone feels like that."

"Not me," Lia corrected politely, "Things didn't fly by for me. It's been a slow fifteen years. Don't get me wrong, it's been great, and I've done things I'd never thought I'd be able to do…but sometimes I hate myself." Nadine and Estelle were up front.

"For not staying as a PDG?" Erwine asked.

"Yeah, I can see that some people don't like you for that," Lia commented.

"Adrianne seemed to be fine with such people," Erwine commented, "She was terrible to me, to Ayelen, to Laelia…but she was perfectly fine with every other magical girl besides Estelle, and I guess those of the enemy. She did hate those girls the most."

"Makes…not that much sense, I guess," Lia said with a shrug. She had a happy demeanor about her, despite the rather depressed nature of Erwine. The younger of the two took at the look at the girl across from her. She hadn't gotten the chance to notice much about save her name and face in the rush of events, not entirely appraising the rest of her.

The girl had short blonde hair, the longest parts ending about the top of her neck. She wore a neat coat over her torso, not reaching any further than her waist. It was colored a dark black, while a small capelet of the same color was also on her. Strangely enough, there wasn't anything else on her head. Erwine had noticed that almost everyone had something on their head, whether it was a hat, a hair ornament, or a mere braid, but a few didn't. Lia wore a blue skirt reaching a bit past her knees. Dark dress shoes were on her feet, with long socks of blue reaching up past the end of her skirt. Her hands were covered by dark gloves.

Lia was observing Erwine as well. "The hat," she commented, "Doesn't look original,"

"It was worn by Adrianne," Erwine explained, "Used to have a cute little crown. I didn't hate it, but I like the hat as a keepsake. A bit sentimental, perhaps pointless…I don't know."

"It doesn't seem like something to be ashamed of," Lia said, "It may not entirely fit, but if it's for a reason, then I can't blame you. Style means practically nothing when you're trying to solve some gargantuan mystery like this."

Erwine chuckled at the comment. "Yeah, I guess."

"Almost there," came the announcement from further up in the craft.

Erwine looked up, doing her best to place a smile on her face. "Well, ready to ask even more questions?"

Lia nodded, "Is that what you people do?"

"Since the moment I contracted," Erwine explained, a bright smile spreading across her face as the craft swooped in towards the ground, slowing to a halt to touch down. The door opened before her, and before her was a place she would come to remember well.

The world was an agricultural one, so plenty of the land was not occupied by cities, as the atmosphere could not become too polluted lest the crop quality and output decrease. These ruins were in the north of the largest continent, amidst the cold mountains. Such an environment wasn't very good for farming.

Erwine had not thought that they would actually mean ruins when they said it. She expected some kind of obviously modern complex, or some underground vault, like on Vasillica. But instead what she found was something entirely different. It was like a ritual ground from some pagan society on a forgotten backwater. Stone pillars, obviously arranged with some intention, were spread out through the area, around a central building. It was part of a raised mound.

Erwine and Lia were the first out, with the former girl's mouth widening in awe. "You said this was from the Old Night, maybe even the Golden Age…" she said.

"True," Lia replied, "Because we've dated it. That's how old these ruins are. Whatever or whoever made them did so about twelve to fifteen thousand years ago."

"What about the history of Curia?" Erwine questioned.

"Unsure. This points at there being some pagan society, but there's never been a concentrated investigation of these ruins. We've let them lie here, not really minding them. They don't cause any trouble, so we don't bother. A few inquisitors have led investigations, but nothing has ever gotten them anywhere."

Erwine nodded. The two inquisitors emerged from the craft behind them, while the guardsman and other girls spread out around the area. Justinia led the other four up to meet with the rest. "Plan?" she asked.

Estelle spoke up, making the decision. "We look around the outside, then head in. We need to move quickly, in case some team is here already investigating. Don't go inside unless you are accompanied and not without announcing you are doing so. If we have to run, then make it quick and efficient. If we are engaged, then don't panic. Otherwise, just find out why nine people had to die for this place."

The group nodded, then split up. Erwine accompanied Nadine, while Lia decided to stick with her. Erwine's head moved from side to side as Nadine seemed to move towards some objective she had. The young girl attempted to discern some sort of pattern in the pillars in the area.

There were sixteen from what Erwine could see. That number didn't meant anything to her. It actually meant nothing to her, as she could think of no symbolism behind the number sixteen.

"Any ideas," she asked, "On the pillars, I mean,"

Nadine was walking up the hill. The other girls were investigating around the bases of the rises of stone, each one about ten feet in diameter. There were symbols inscribed on them, and Erwine was wondering why Nadine was not going to read them.

"The placement seems to be random. There's nothing like an eight-pointed star being formed or anything, which is what I first thought. But I've looked at the place many times over my time here, and I've observed nothing like a pattern."

Nadine paused at the very top of the hill. She smiled. Gesturing for Erwine and Lia to get closer, she started talking. "The pillars, they do have a pattern." She pointed at one, then traced a line to another, then another, then another. She did this for all sixteen. Nadine had traced a random mess of lines, it meant nothing to either girl.

"It's a word in a Chaos script, means buried secrets," Nadine said, "Whoever made this left a pretty obvious clue."

"So it was made by someone who knew this chaos script?" Erwine asked.

Nadine nodded, "And expected whoever found this next to know the script, so yes."

"So we should go inside, then?" Erwine asked.

"There is a single room inside. A set of stairs leads down into a large mausoleum. It's just one room, however. There's nothing there, and a lot of searching has revealed that there is nothing more." Lia explained, doubting the excitement the two had.

"But if that rune reads buried secrets, then there should probably be something," Erwine proposed. "We might as well go have a look. It can't hurt us, and if this is the only thing of worth on this planet, then it has to be the reason for all the killings."

"Unless this was a diversion," Lia realized, she looked at Erwine. The three froze as they were walking down the hill.

"It might just have been…" Erwine agreed.

"What else is in the sector?"

"Not sure…but there has to be something more than this." Lia said.

"They drew an inquisitor here…" Erwine said, "No, they drew _us _here. Drawing just any old inquisitor wouldn't work. They had to know that if they went after something big, we'd know and hunt them down with a fury no other would. We might just have been lured here by the deaths."

"It doesn't matter now. We can afford to spend a few minutes checking this thoroughly, it won't make a difference in the grand scheme of things," Nadine insisted. She walked down the hill, and turned towards the entrance.

_Headed inside, _she sent to Estelle, _Erwine and Lia with me. Follow me with the others, but have the guards remain outside, I think we might run into some trouble. Just a feeling. _

_Understood, be there as soon as we can. _The three descended into the mausoleum beyond. The stairs went down about fifty feet, revealing a massive room of stone. There was an air of death about the place, which made sense given the ornamented bodies in the walls.

The air was stale, and the walls of the place looked decayed. But still incredibly strong for something that must have been there for thousands and thousands of years. The back wall did not contain any bodies. "This place wasn't left by someone," Erwine observed, "It was a burial ground."

"But there was a message," Nadine promised, "Trust me on that." She walked towards the back wall. It was devoid of anything, even symbols or carvings. Just a fifteen foot slab of stone. The blue-haired woman stood before it. Erwine to her left. Lia to her right.

Nadine reached out and laid a hand on the wall. Erwine looked at her, noticing something slip down her cheek. "Why are you crying?" she felt a bit scared inside.

"Nadine told me something…" the girl explained, "Told me something I never though was true...I'm scared because it's true."

"What did she say?!" Erwine demanded.

"She said that the key to the buried secrets was the grandest heresy for the best ending." Nadine looked at the wall. Taking a deep breath again, she steadied herself. "The grandest heresy for the best ending," she repeated.

She started tracing characters on the wall. Erwine noticed something. It was a small depression in the wall, barely a centimeter deep. Nadine now traced with her finger inside it. She knew not what she traced. "The same language the message outside is written in," Nadine explained, "Something inside will track the pattern, and ensure that the proper patterns were traced. Just a cogitator, really."

"So there is something here?" Erwine asked.

"Of course there's something here," Nadine said. The wall before them rumbled. Then it shifted aside, moving back, before sliding away. A lonely corridor, devoid of any life or light now lay before them.

They walked forwards. Just then, someone else came down the stairs. Estelle called, "What is that?"

"A passageway," Nadine explained, "Unlocked by tracing the proper patterns on the walls."

"Who put this place here?"

"I have no idea," Nadine replied, "But we might want to find out. So here we go."

The rest were all with Estelle. They hurried forwards to follow as Estelle informed those outside of what was going on.

Traveling to the end of the corridor revealed a crossroads. There were five paths leading away. "It branches into a maze form here on," Nadine said, "There are five paths, and nine of us. I hate to say it, but one might have to go alone."

"I will," Estelle volunteered.

"Nadine is the oldest," Erwine countered, "She should."

Nadine agreed, "I can handle myself the best. And for the rest."

"Sechylia and I, Wei and Estelle, Sanae and Ayelen, Erwine and Lia," Justinia suggested, "Those last two know each other the best."

Erwine nodded, "I agree with the choices." Nadine concurred as well.

"No objections," Lia said.

"Stay in constant contact via telepathy," Estelle said, immediately crafting a network for the nine girls to use. It would improve communication efficiency and speed, and allow them all to hear everything. "Ready?" she asked. All confirmed. "Then let's go,"

They set off in their various directions, unsure of what lay ahead in the dark.

"What are you?" Erwine asked Lia.

"A shield generator," she replied, "And you can use some kind of command magic, and fly, right?"

"Yes," Erwine confirmed, "Although that last part wasn't exactly something I thought my wish would give me."

"What do you mean?"

"I know I didn't say it in my report, but Ishna somehow caused the wing mutation to occur. I have no idea how she did it, but she said it had a purpose. They immediately proceeded to save my life, so I guess…I guess she was right…" Erwine stopped in her tracks, and her eyes started to look glazed over.

Lia wasn't sure what to say. "You…don't like it when she's right?"

"It's more the realization that she has a plan for me." Erwine replied, "Even though she's dead…" Then she shook her head as Lia opened her mouth, "It's nothing." She insisted.

"Alright then," Lia replied. The passage was too narrow for them to be side by side, so Lia walked behind Erwine. There was absolutely no light, but both were inducing their hands to glow via magic, and their eyes had improved night vision thanks to their enhancements.

They had been walking for ten minutes, through a maze of twisting passages and winding corridors, getting nowhere but becoming more and more amazed by the intricacy, despite the fact that they get lost multiple times on the way, when Lia spoke up. "You guys, the Inquisition I mean, do stuff like this often?"

"In my experience, yes," Erwine said, "But my experience isn't actually standard."

"Yeah, with all that running around for the past six months…why were you doing that? If you don't mind me asking, it might be personal…" Lia was a little ashamed.

"It is," Erwine confirmed, "I can say I'm no heretic. But it wasn't incorrect what I did." She was firm on that.

"Related to Ishna, I assume?"

Erwine sighed, "Of course, I was…trying to find something. Trying to solve the mystery Ishna left us all with. But I've gotten nowhere so far. I doubt I'll get very far for a while."

"You solved plenty back there at the governor's," Lia commented, "You're pretty good."

"You could say that, but I don't think that I'm a good…" She cut herself off before she could say the last word.

The air between them suddenly awkward, Lia assured her, "Don't say anything, I don't need to know." More minutes of silence passed. Only their steps let them know that they were still in a place where noise existed. Telepathic messages passed between the nine girls, but no one really found anything interesting.

There were regular updates by everyone, but nothing truly worth talking about. It was now twenty minutes since the expedition into the tunnels began. Lia asked something again, "Do you enjoy your job?"

Erwine thought for a minute. Maybe two minutes. She did think. The final answer was something that she was ashamed to say. "Yeah, I love this. I get to at least try and make a difference. That was what I wished for. I haven't got it all yet, as Ishna is still dragging me around on a chain even though she died a year ago. But still, I've done more in this past year than I ever would have been able to do being a little girl on some meaningless hive world."

Before her was a door. She reached out for it. Merely touching it did nothing. Pushing against it did nothing. She summoned her blade. Swinging it did something. The stone crumbled, and she walked inside. Her heart was high on expectations.

There was a coffin inside. It was a large one, fit for a great person. Erwine and Lia moved the lid aside, announcing their find to the others. They looked expectantly at the body inside. It was a magical girl. Her eyes were shut, her body at peace. Below the lid was a stasis casket. The standard way to bury the body of any magical girl.

_She's dead, but the body is preserved. The soul gem must be destroyed, so she's gone for good. _She announced to the others.

_Anything else around her? _Nadine wondered.

Erwine looked about. She and Lia began searching the room. But it was devoid of nothing save runes on the walls. Erwine looked at them, then realized that the pattern of one matched one of the runes Nadine had written on the wall before. So it was the same language.

_A series of inscriptions on the walls, _Erwine said, _alone with some carved pictures of events. Just looks like a history more than anything. Nothing too special. _Her heart dropped.

The others started to come back with reports. Dead ends, nothing but dead ends. The other seven were headed back after doing everything they could. Erwine and Lia searched for a bit longer. Then they turned for the door.

Erwine smiled at Lia. "Well," she said, "We tried." The girl smiled back.

* * *

A massive rumbling shook the entire complex for a second. Then the walls had started collapsing. The ceiling fell down. The floor split and cracked. A massive detonation had been touched off. In a certain area. The mound had sunk into the earth a little. Those outside had seen nothing go in.

But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was the fact that seven people were close to escape. With the walls collapsed, it would be easier to push through to the exit. But for two girls, who had been dutifully investigating, they had a long way back. Especially because the explosion had been above them. Almost directly above.

The five paths had actually gone downwards, and looped about. They ended in the same place, vertically, as they had begun. So the explosion had begun above the space where Erwine and Lia were at the moment.

The thick and tough walls had taken the beating, so the other girls' routes back were not nearly as hard as Erwine and Lia's.

Lia had the instinct to raise a shield, but not in time to protect Erwine. The girl had been knocked unconscious by a rock from the ceiling, so Lia scooped her up and retreated to a seemingly stable corner of the room.

She tried to call the others. She could not. She was being blocked. That meant an enemy telepath. That meant the explosion was set off by an enemy presence.

_There's nothing here. This wasn't valuable. Not valuable, not a decoy, it's a trap! _She looked about frantically, seeing that while the doorway was blocked off, she had to try and move it aside. She summoned her weapon, a small submachine gun.

She aimed it at the door, and six others flashed into existence, floating about her spare arm as her left arm held Erwine over her shoulder. She fired at once, blasting aside the rubble. She was already sprinting as she kept shooting.

A quick expansion of her shield blasted aside the rubble that remained, even as more fell down from above. She jumped and rolled as a particularly massive piece fell down from above. It landed with a thunderous crash, and Lia quickly looked back to the path she had to take. The ceiling was still collapsing, with obvious cracks leading up to the higher floors. She looked for a larger one, and in the midst of this, Erwine awoke. She got into another corner, and let the girl onto the ground.

Erwine opened her eyes, and looked around. "An explosion, the enemy is here," Lia explained. She was desperate, panicking. Her breaths came short and quick, and she didn't realize the moisture on her face till she saw the reflection in Erwine's eyes.

But the younger girl stood quickly. "Come on," she insisted, "We need to get out, right now." She looked up at the ceiling, spotting a way up to the next floor. Pointing, she ran for it, dragging Lia along as she held her hand.

_How is she able to do this? _Lia thought, _she's younger than I am, yet she's somehow better at all this. I guess she's seen more real combat, but still…_

Erwine jumped up, Lia following her. She expanded her shield as they landed on the next floor. It was good that she did. The world exploded around them once again, this time with an array of bright flashes.

Erwine looked towards the source. Two girls stood there. One held a rifle, the other held a crossbow. The point was that they were firing them. Erwine did not recognize either, and they did not reply. The telepathic blocking was stronger now. "Stand down!" Erwine shouted at them, but they did not listen. _Probably have their ears shut off, and now we get to why my power is useless for combat. Which also means that they know who I am. _

Lia began to return fire, opening up with over two dozen SMGs, all but two positioning themselves around her. The magical girls jumped to the side, maneuvering around the rubble as they traveled towards Erwine. Then one was on the other side. A teleporter. The other one was gone. She could be many things.

Erwine's blade was out, and she swung for the teleporter. Her speed, reflexes, and the length of her greatsword may have finished the girl. Had she not appeared behind Erwine. Erwine's soul gem was no longer on her crown. Since she didn't wear the thing anymore, it had been moved to a necklace. But the necklace was covered by the collar of her clothing.

So while a bolt did take the hat off, the girl could not otherwise discern where the gem was. But Erwine did take another bolt to the gut as Lia opened fire on her. The projectile would have impaled her skull had Lia not been quicker.

Erwine grunted in pain, but yanked the arrow out, commanding the pain away and letting her magic start to heal. She looked around, waiting for something to happen. Then somebody grabbed her from behind.

A small crossbow was pressed to her head. It then moved down to the necklace where her gem was. The crossbow in particular was mounted on the girl's hand. _Erwine Braune, _came the girl, _stand down now. _ Lia was held by somebody else. But Erwine couldn't see her.

_Invisibility generator and teleporter. Because we have the tools to fight that combo. _Erwine thought with annoyance. She tried calling out for help, but the enemy telepath blocked her still. Erwine realized she still had something. She looked at Lia and nodded.

Erwine spread her wings. She pushed against the girl's arm at the same time. The bolt skimmed the edge of her soul gem, while Lia knocked the invisibility generator back with her shield. _They wanted us alive, _Erwine realized, _if they didn't, then we'd be dead at the moment. _

Her blade was in her hand. She swung it all around her, hitting nothing. She jumped forwards as Lia opened fire. The room was filled with shots, and several stains of blood appeared before there was nothing more. The two were running again, looking for a way to get up. The room was still packed with rubble, and the place was collapsing still.

The ceiling was close to giving way entirely when Erwine and Lia jumped up, touching down on the next floor, only to find that they were trapped. There was a pile of rubble surrounding them, the two girls in the center. They looked down, the teleporter and invisibility generator were down there. Looking to either side revealed images of girls standing outside the rubble. Two to either side.

Erwine found herself being kicked to the side. Through the pile of rubble. A kick did that. Then Lia expanded her shield as fast as possible. Over six dozen weapons fired in all directions at the same time, bullets missing Erwine entirely. Four weapons fired into the shield. Erwine rolled to her feet, the two girls on this side were in the air, dodging around the shots and deflecting them as they came down at her.

Then Lia was jumping towards them, her shield protecting her. She expanded it, forcing them back. "It's been fun!" she cried, "But you're the more important one here! Get out while you still can, we can't fight them all alone!" She looked Erwine in the eyes, "Damn it Erwine! Go while you still can! May you find what you've been searching for!" her voice slowed down as she touched down beside Erwine," Whispering now, "Have some fun for me, alright?"

Ten million complaints could have issued forth from Erwine's lips in that very moment. But she had only one thing to say. "I will, The Goddess Protects!" she cried, saluting to her as she felt tears well up in her eyes. Lia kept firing as Erwine leapt up to the next level. She ducked aside then went up to the next.

She let the tears go as she made her escape. A pit formed in her stomach. She didn't want the girl to be left behind. But she had to. It was the only way for one to make it out, and Erwine didn't have any shield to hold them off. Barely thirty seconds after her last words to Lia, Erwine was back at the crossroads. She nearly collapsed. Nadine and Estelle were hauling her out of there. Into the main room, up the stairs.

Erwine was still awake. She looked back as she hurried back to the surface. She never saw Lia's last moments. Softly, she whispered. "The Goddess protects."

* * *

The mound, and presumably the tunnels beneath it, had collapsed. A sunken hole was all that remained of the ancient site. Depressions had been dug out elsewhere, explosions leaving their marks in the ground. The pillars of stone were fallen, cracked, and broken.

The bright sun of the afternoon shone down. Calmly, without words, and seemingly without emotions, Erwine stood in front of the ruin. Her wounds were nonexistent. They were all gone. A solemn air, a front of melancholy, had swept in over the gathered personnel.

They were all still there. The six craft. The guardsman. The magical girls. Fifteen minutes since Erwine Braune last laid eyes upon her attackers. They were seen by no one. Only Erwine and Lia saw them, and one of those two would never speak of them.

Everything was wrapped up. The area had been examined in every way possible. The enemy had disappeared, as fast as they had come. A hand fell on Erwine's shoulder. It gently tightened its grip. "Come on," Nadine insisted.

Erwine nodded. She'd had nothing to do. Staring at the rubble had been something. She turned around, her pace quickening to take her ahead of her master as she returned to the shuttles.

Her face should have been downcast. Maybe a few tears should have been shed. She had been the last one to see the girl. To hear her last words. She'd watched as she stayed behind. As the girl Lia, whom Erwine had known for not even a day, died as any magical girl should. For the sake of another.

Estelle was more down than Erwine was. "There's nothing of note here," Erwine said to the girl as she approached, "Don't bother digging it up, or trying to go down there." Her voice was quite matter-of-fact.

"How do you know?" Estelle asked, rather defensively.

"I wasn't attacking you, Estelle. I was stating a fact. I saw all there is to see in there." Erwine stated flat out.

"You found a dead body, how does that mean nothing?"

"It means nothing because the site was incredibly old. Chances are that some Chaos-affiliated group of magical girls, in the ancient past, constructed the place as some kind of memorial for their fallen brethren. I bet that this was nothing but a trap."

"You can't be serious," Justinia shook her head, leaning against the shuttle behind Estelle, "This was rather elaborate to kill one person. Or two, if they'd succeeded."

"They wanted me alive," Erwine explained, "They could have killed the both of us, but they tried to get us alive. I would have died were it not for that fact. I have no idea why, but I wouldn't have come out if it were not so."

"They didn't want Lia, or else she'd have come out as well. Or maybe they captured her," Justinia commented. She shrugged, "Well, I suppose they failed in the end."

The inquisitor agreed. "She's right." Estelle said, then walked away. Nadine had been silently behind Erwine the entire time, not a single word from her mouth as she stood there.

"Anything to add?" Erwine asked. She was hesitating in her movement.

"Yes. Do you really want to hear it?" Nadine asked.

Erwine looked over her shoulder, giving Nadine a kind of look that said 'would I have asked if I did not?' which garnered an immediate reply from the girl.

The inquisitor's spoke flatly, "Estelle is a bit touchy at the moment. From what I can see, she's angry at herself to an extent, for how all of this transpired. Don't push her too hard."

Erwine nodded. "Thank you," she said softly. She walked forwards, entering the craft ahead of her.

"There is no logic behind any of this!" Estelle shouted, "There's no reason for it! They laid a massive trap to try and capture you!" She looked at Erwine. Nadine was ahead in the cockpit, having chosen to not participate. "We don't even know who 'they' are!"

She was pacing about the compartment. Erwine calmly sat to the side, her arms crossed. "Estelle," she said, "I know why you're feeling bad…"

"Shut up!" Estelle raged, "You don't know what it's like!"

"You're right," Erwine agreed, "You think that you keep failing. That you can't hold anything together. I don't know what that feels like. I've never been in charge. All I've wanted is for my fate to be my own, and I've not gotten that. But that only affects me."

Erwine stood up. Estelle was right in front of her. The inquisitor, around three times Erwine's age, backed away from the advancing girl. Erwine ended up pausing where she was, simply looking into the girl's eyes. "Your choices, your decisions, your failures, they affect other people."

Erwine turned towards the cockpit. "Nadine over there hasn't carried that burden for a long time. You're practically in command of all us. So you really have no one else who can relate to you. I truly do feel bad for you, Estelle. But don't treat every life like it's the only one."

"You don't understand-"

"No," Erwine's single word, only spoken clearly, not even shouted, disrupted Estelle. "If a human had perished for me, we would have honored him, but you wouldn't have cared like this. But since a magical girl did…then we are all thrown off…don't you think it should go both ways?"

Estelle gritted her teeth, "We have other things to discuss,"

"I know," Erwine said, "And perhaps we ought to move onto them. I was just trying to make you feel a bit better. It's your choice if you don't want to."

Estelle shook her head, doing her best to beat off Erwine's comments. "Those girls, whoever they are, whoever they work for, whatever they want, are still out there, somewhere. All we know, according to you, is that those ruins were pointless, and that this entire situation has been nothing but a trap. A poorly executed one at that."

"It wasn't a trap then," Erwine suggested, "What if they weren't expecting us to do that? What if…what if they were going to strike, and simply choose that occasion to do so, since we were there? It was by no means well done, but perhaps it was not planned."

"Perhaps," Estelle agreed, considering the possibility. "In that case…maybe they were thinking we would figure out the situation later. Maybe we moved too fast, and they did not have time to set up a full trap for us."

"Likely," Erwine said. "But we still know nothing. Why they want me is…iffy. I am important, given what has revolved around me, but really, why do they want me alive? What can I do?"

"It tells us that you are important." Estelle said, "So we can at least establish that. We should tell Bolton to be careful, we can't let that page of yours get lost."

"Already contacted him," Nadine called from ahead, "There's nothing going on in orbit. Safe for now."

"We went looking for answers, but we just found a whole new stack of questions," Erwine remarked, "Will we ever figure this out?"

"All we can do right now is wait for a lead. I have no idea what we might find out at this point, but it has to be something, or else this case will fall flat. I tried to trace any kind of teleportation, but I was still engaged in combat with the enemy."

"Did you find out anything from her?" Erwine asked.

"That's right!" Estelle lit up. She closed her eyes, wracking her brain to try and remember an important detail. She was knew it was there somewhere. Her eyes shot open, "I thought I had recognized the signature of her before." Estelle explained, "All telepaths have a unique mental signature of some kind…I saw it on Hadiens."

"So we were attacked by girls from Hadiens?" Erwine asked, "For certain?"

Estelle nodded excitedly, "I'm certain I saw it there before. She's not Arietta, or anyone we know by name, but I've seen the signature before."

"You still have Juno on the line?" Erwine asked, "Because I think this would be a great time to inform her of the heresy taking place here?"

"I cannot, and I will not." Estelle declared, "I don't want a witch hunt taking place, where the entirety of the sect is hunted down and wiped out. I think that there are some people at fault here, but we still know nothing. And I know Juno knows that, and she wouldn't move, not against her own people, at least not based on what we have. However, the message might go to her superiors, and she might not have any choice."

"I guess you're right," Erwine said, "But it might be the only choice we have. We know nothing about any of this, and unless Laelia and Celestine give us something to work with, then this cause is hopeless. Have you heard from them?"

"According to Juno's people, silent for over a week," Estelle explained, "Have heard nothing from them. Either they've been caught, or they're in deep. But again, we can't get anyone to move against them, because I haven't been reporting the presence of Celestine and Laelia. If they've disappeared, then I can go and complain to MSOC, or the sect itself, but if they picked them up as spies, then I'm the one at fault. And chances are that the sect would only use the chance to get at us."

"We can't even rescue? Not even try?" Erwine asked. She was astonished. "We are landing soon," Nadine called. "Plan is for us to stay over in the inquisitorial offices. After that, we try and find something to go off of."

The two girls agreed, as Nadine walked from the cockpit forwards. The autopilot was already set to land the craft in its designated spot. Nadine sighed, "I can at least confirm Erwine's suspicion that it was all a trap. I feel like that the people at fault are…working for Ishna, to be honest."

"Why?"

"She told me how to open the doors inside. It was a vague comment a long time ago, but it popped into my head just again. She wanted us there. Perhaps it was a trap that she laid, to be pulled off by people working for her. We know that there are some mage knights."

"Those weren't knights," Erwine commented, "They honestly seemed rather inexperienced. As if she took a bunch of recruits and sent them at us."

The shuttle touched down. "We'll have to stop for now," Nadine decided, "And sort things out with Lia's death. Rather tragic…" Erwine suspected her tone for just a few moments, before deciding that the hint of boredom was just imagined.

Erwine nodded. She was walking out of the shuttle while Nadine and Estelle stood there alone. Estelle was about to move when she was grabbed. Nadine spun her around. "Listen," the older girl said, "Please don't blame yourself. If you had any idea that was a trap, then you wouldn't have let things happen like they did, trust me."

Estelle shuddered, her face twisting in pain as the familiar feeling of failure ran through her. She collapsed backwards, Nadine catching her with her arms. "How do you do it?" Estelle asked.

"The pain of losing them all?"

"Yes," Estelle confirmed as she realized this wasn't an appropriate question to ask.

"Who says that I deal with it?" Nadine whispered softly into the girl's ear. She stood her up, steadied her, and then walked forwards. She looked over her shoulder, lips spreading into a grin as she exited the craft. Estelle was left standing there not sure how to feel.

_She's hiding something-no, not something. Everything. _Estelle turned around, staring at Nadine's back with accusative eyes. _She's hiding everything._

* * *

There was a knock on the door. Laelia and Celestine were resting at the moment. The latter was the first to get up. Opening it, she noticed Rilliana. There was another girl standing there as well.

"Good morning. We were coming to tell you-" blood spattered out onto Laelia. The girl's eyes went wide as she looked out.

An arrow, through the girl's head. Rilliana wasn't soul dead. The other girl had the same thing impaling her skull. A single arrow was in between the two girls. The arrow held a folded paper attached to it.

Celestine was up, and she ran to the door as she saw what happened. The two looked at each other, Celestine hesitating to approach the message. She picked it up, but Laelia hastily grabbed it from her.

The message was unfurled by Laelia. She took a look. Celestine frantically searched the hallway, seeing that there was no one else. She ran back over, taking a look at the message over Laelia's shoulder. Then an alarm started blaring out. It was indicating that the building was under attack.

_To Ms. Aemilina and Ms. Eskae,  
This letter comes from a friend. The identity cannot be revealed, but do not fear. I regret to inform you that you have been lied to. Quite thoroughly, as a matter of fact. We cannot exactly explain things to you at the moment, but the Hadiens Sect has been working for its own goals. You might as well consider them heretics at this point. Liselotte was sent by them, and they are even going to attempt to kill Estelle and Erwine. You have no reason to trust this letter, but I hope sincerely that you do. Should you choose otherwise, then we cannot entirely stop you. I can warn you that staying with the sect at the moment may get you killed. Things are going to deteriorate, their heresy may get out into the light. You will be wrapped up in things if you don't leave now. I beg you, make the wise choice here. _

_We are creating a distraction for you at the moment, so please make your way out as quickly as possible. There is a landing pad two floors up from where you are, and while it is normally heavily secured, the sect is a bit understaffed thanks to their operations. Go quickly, but don't get in a shuttle. They will intercept you. Get into the city, and slowly make your way out of it. After that, two options. One: If you want to leave this behind, and wait till your master retrieves you two, then stay in hiding in the wilderness. They'll have bigger problems to deal with than you two, get to Estelle's mansion. Two: If you want to contribute, then go to the place of new birth. _

_ Sincerely, someone who cares._

Laelia quickly relayed the contents of the message, telepathically, to her friend. _Place of new birth? _Celestine questioned as she shakily stood, _what does she mean? _Laelia shrugged as she put her soul gem back on her uniform. She took the cubes, and found multiple nettings. Equipping them, she placed the box with spares in her pocket.

They looked for the exit. Seeing it to be down the hall in the direction Laelia now faced, they ran quickly. Laelia put up her shield, and then they were invisible. Celestine had her rapier, and Laelia one gun.

The building shook, and the alarm still blared loudly. It was a wild cry, a blaring pulse of sounds over and over again, stinging the ears of both girls till they turned their hearing down. They madly rushed through the halls, avoiding everyone they came across. Not that there were very many at all. They found the stairs. The door, locked tight, was blown down. A short jump to the next level. Another frantic rush through a mess of rooms, all seemingly dedicated to…something. It looked like they were all filled with messy desks, papers and cogitators scattered about. Like it was a massive area for research.

They paid the place no mind, moving on quickly, faster and faster they dashed. The next level. No one there. The doors to the hangar. Locked tight. Minutes past as they were destroyed. Two appeared at the last second. Rilliana and the other girl. Weapons fire, a short clash. The doors were opened.

Laelia jumped backwards again and again, her outstretched arms directing the fire of two machine guns at the doors. Rilliana was beginning a telepathic strike on one of them. Celestine was running for the controls to open the doors. She died pulling the lever. Laelia jumped for her.

Her physical shield held, but she knew that her mind would not stand a chance. Rilliana had spent plenty of time torturing them both, so she knew both their minds well. It was not hard for her to eliminate either one of them. Sprinting hard, Laelia grabbed Celestine's body. She was blocked off from the opening doors by her enemies.

Arrows pierced their skulls. She had no idea who did it, once again. There was absolutely no trace of who had fired the shot. She did not complain, running for the exit with her friend's body in tow.

She jumped off, the cold air and the bright light of the setting sun hitting her like a battleship. She fell into the air, her velocity increasing as she fell. Laelia shut her eyes, merely happy to be finally free.

The landing, even after a fall from hundreds and hundreds of feet, was easily assisted by magic. She was now in the undercity. Just a magical girl. Covered in blood. Holding the dead body of a friend. There was no way that anyone was going to disturb her. But there was also no way anyone was going to help her.

She ran quickly, relying on what she had seen as she fell to take her towards the edge of the city. Despite the damages that had been caused, Laelia was actually heading in the opposite direction of the area suffering the most damage, so that would not help her. She still had kilometers and kilometers to go before she was even close to being safe.

But that did not stop her from moving as fast as she possibly could. She did her best to heal Celestine, who was back up very shortly. The girl stumbled at first, then was moving alongside with Laelia.

They were still magical girls, however. Their speed was immense. They could run dozens of kilometers an hour for basically an infinite amount of time, only being limited by what their bodies could actually do.

And like the wind, they tore through the streets of the undercity, escaping as the sky lit up behind them with the sounds and sights of battle.

It was getting close to evening. The city was in the distance. The two girls appreciated that fact as they rested for a brief while. They leaned back against the same large trunk of a tree in the wood.

Laelia was to Celestine's left. Celestine's left hand was in Laelia's right hand. They were tired, but they could still think, talk, and do many other things. Both were very confused. "What do you think just happened?" Celestine asked. Using telepathy would make a tiny blip. As it was, they would still be found by a search, but using telepathy would only make it easier.

"I have no idea," Laelia replied, "But something very bad is going on. Something that is going to put us all in danger. With Estelle in the warp, we can't get to her…but they will be able to when she's out."

"Don't feel bad," Celestine insisted, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I betrayed them all," Laelia had tears in her eyes, "We were tricked, I can't believe that both of us just fell so easily for what they said."

"We just messed up," Celestine explained, "It actually happens to all of us, so don't go blaming yourself for crimes that you never committed."

"It was a crime." Laelia insisted. "So stop playing nice…please."

"You want me to be mean to you?" Celestine asked, "You really have that low self-confidence?"

Laelia stood up angrily. She paced about for a minute, then stood in front of Celestine. "I have self-confidence. But after that…I put all of them in danger!" she started angrily shouting as her tears began to flow more and more, "Who know what could happen now?! And you're just playing around!"

Celestine stood up. She was smiling brightly. Laelia didn't know why. The purple-haired girl took a step forwards. She pressed her lips gently against Laelia's. The short peck turned into a long kiss.

"I care," Celestine said, 'But we can't lament now. We have to keep moving, and crying about mistakes we've made, no matter how serious, will not help us survive. We have a chance to do something. We just find this…this 'place of new birth'. Do you know what that is? It has to be on this planet, and within our travel distance."

Laelia thought for a moment. Then she leaned back in towards Celestine. She kissed her again. "Yes," she answered, "The mansion where the shapeshifter was. Erwine…Erwine became a magical girl, truly, there. That was the first time she really accepted what she had to do. I don't know how they know that, but…" The pause let concern slip out. "I think that's what they're referring to."

Celestine was hesitant in saying, "So that's where we go?"

Laelia nodded. "Yes." The two girls, one of blue and blonde, the other of pure violet, fled through the forest, and something followed.

* * *

The inquisitorial building on Curia held a large command room of sorts within. It looked like a bona fide command room from a military operation, probably a bit too serious for who was using it, but it didn't really matter.

In the center was a large table, projecting a map of the entire planet for the gathered girls to see. The girl who had been with Lia when they first arrived, Branca, was in charge now. She was shaken very heavily by the death that had recently occurred.

Even when she met the returning inquisitors she had a frown on her face, and the shadow of even more sorrow was there. Erwine commended the girl's strength as she held back any overt sadness for the sake of the goal before them all.

Taking a deep breath, the girl looked across the table at those who were her superiors. "With this attack, should we call in MSOC? The deaths were enough, but I'm debating sending this up the chain of command. Your message after the incident occurred as the only thing that stopped me from calling it in now." She looked at Estelle. "This is more than just a rogue magical girl."

"We can't," Estelle explained, "We cannot send this up to MSOC, or even let it out of the system."

"You want to Reiker, why?" Branca was surprised.

"Lord Inquisitor Eskel is still conducting an investigation related to the Hadiens Incident. We send word of this, accusing the Hadiens Sect, up to MSOC, MSOC sends it over to Eskel. And given the state of the Imperium, and the nature of the incident, she will come down upon them hard."

"Even though it's her own sect?"

"She still will," Estelle promised, "It will make it more painful, but that girl will do it, if she thinks that she has a good reason to do so. We might see a repeat of the Reiker Incident, as a matter of fact."

"So we initiate the Protocol?" Branca asked. A nod was her reply. _Initiate Reiker Protocol. _The message was away. It would be received by all listening in the system.

Once initiated, nothing would go out of the area in which it had effect. If anything came in, it would not be permitted to leave. It had come in handy a lot over the years. "You'll need to sign off on it," Branca explained, "And Nadine as well, as there must be a second party present, preferably."

"Certainly," Estelle said. She looked about, a new air over the room. Once the message got up to MSOC, no one else would be allowed into the system. There would be some arrivals, but at least they could be stopped from leaving, hopefully.

"Are we any closer to finding the whereabouts of the killer, or the attackers?" Erwine asked. "The telepath back there, was she Liselotte?"

"No, the signature I did recognize, but it was someone beside Liselotte. I couldn't have seen her for very long, so it wasn't Arietta either."

"We've actually been working on something," Branca said. "I've had the telepath we have scanning the area. But not for the enemy. After the murder, the killer had to have left in plain sight. She would have hid her mind in order to assure that no one detects her when the telepath starts scanning. Therefore, she couldn't have prevented humans from seeing her."

"So you're scanning the minds of people she might have passed by, or might have noticed her?" Estelle asked, "Clever."

"Yes, but we're not getting anywhere. We're currently trying all the routes to the spaceport, but there are a lot of potential candidates, and we don't have the time. Ifyou could help it would be wonderful."

"I can, and in more ways than that. We need to be scanning the routes to the undercity. Or the area down there in general. I don't think this killer is gone."

"It happened two days ago. She could have easily left by now." Branca said, "But she might not have."

"She would not have. I think the killer, Liselotte, expected us to come in and call a Reiker. She was probably hoping for it. And leaving the system wouldn't help."

"Why?"

"If she did, then we call out that she's a fugitive. The Hadiens Sect gets in trouble, and bad things happen. If she wants her partners in crime to be safe, then she needs to make the issue as small as possible. So she wanted the Reiker to be called. We have no choice, but I think it is what she would want."

"The undercity it is, then," Branca decided. A message was out to change the scanning area.

"Perhaps we might even find the rest of her comrades down there," Estelle suggested, "We certainly need to hunt them down before they strike again."

"Why?" Erwine asked. Branca was about to reply, when she was denied. "No, not why the undercity. Why the killings? Where they were, I mean. Like, we've established that this is about me in some way, but then why kill who they did. Liselotte is smart, and the governor murder left a trail. She's killed random people, completely unimportant, in the past, but now she goes after a high-profile person, why?"

"She wanted a trail to be left?" Nadine guessed.

"Perhaps," Erwine muttered, as she looked at the planet diagram. It had the sights of the murders marked out. "The star…" she whispered. Her head whirled round. To Estelle, "The eight-pointed star!" she shouted.

"What?" Estelle asked. A similar reaction came from everyone in the room.

"There were eight-pointed stars carved into the bones of the bodies, correct?" Erwine asked. "It made me think…" She pointed at the spot of the first killing. She traced a curved line to the second. Then to the third, and so on. The governor was in the middle of them all. A small circle was formed about the site of the governor's death.

"That's no star," Branca commented, "We realized that, but it was a bit of a stretch."

Then Erwine shouted, "Latitude and longitude lines!" They were flipped on. The point in the middle had two lines going through it. "And then," Erwine said, tracing lines from the other points that were not directly connected, but were at intersections themselves.

"It's crazy," Nadine agreed, seeing the surprise everyone but Erwine and her felt, "But it's ritualistic in a way. Seems like Liselotte killed the people in these places to form an eight-pointed star according to the natural lines of the planet. Again, we're stretching it, but it's the best we've got. This means that there was something much deeper going on here then we previously thought."

"But I thought this was a trap, now it's not?" Branca asked.

"Liselotte set a trap, created this pattern, and wanted to leave a trail. She could have killed someone else besides the governor in that area, but she wanted a trail to be left." Erwine guessed. She took a deep breath, then mumbled, "What is going on here?" The rhetorical question was something that she wanted an answer to.

"Got her," Branca said suddenly, "The telepath came back. A man saw her headed downwards into the undercity, jumping all the way." She sent the location to those she spoke to. "We still don't know where she is, but looking in that area should give us some location."

"She'll be shielding herself entirely. We won't find her, but we'll find somebody who saw her," Estelle said, "Especially if she wanted to be found. Give us some time," she continued, "We'll have her soon." At the same time, Erwine couldn't help but point something out.

_I know you think I'm stupid, but I've read the archives, and there has never been a trace of anything like this. Never before has any ritual like this occurred, not something as almost stupid as this. _She said privately to Estelle.

_That's true, but we're dealing with things not encountered before. Need I remind you of the expanse? _Came the reply.

_But this is just absurd. Drawing an eight-pointed star with dead bodies? This is the most insane line of thinking possible. There's no way this is really what's going on._

_Explain. _Estelle insisted

_This is a trap. _Erwine proposed, _they already tried to catch me once. They dragged us here so that they could pull something else off. We've called the Reiker Protocol, and while it was a good choice and it needs to stay, we can't hear of what's going on elsewhere. _

Estelle was concerned by this. _Let's wait until we find Liselotte. Once we do, we'll see what happens. Until then, we pray you're wrong._

* * *

Justinia pulled Erwine aside as she walked out of the command room. "What is it?" the young girl asked as the older one tugged her along.

"There's someone who you need to speak to. Yes, _you _need to speak to." Justinia explained, her voice flat. Erwine played along, till she realized who it was.

"We don't have time for this." She growled, yanking her arm away from Justinia forcefully.

"Hmmm?" Justinia's eyebrows raised.

"I don't have time to talk to a whiny little girl and make her feel better. I have more important things to do." Erwine stated. It was a fact. Even Justinia could not deny it. But was it morally right?

"Then go tell her yourself," Justinia said, gesturing down the hall. They were going towards the rooms dedicated to the visitors.

"This is a waste of my time," Erwine said, turning around. Justinia's hand clamped down on her shoulder. She spun, knocking the hand away. She took a deep breath. "I know pulling rank won't work on you, so just get away. Wei can deal with her own foolish problems."

"You're the one who abandoned her," Justinia pointed her. That was a fact. Even Erwine couldn't deny it. "Don't be like Adrianne now,"

"That was just low," Erwine said. She slowly turned around to face the older girl. A look of disgust was on her face. "Fine, but get away from me." Justinia stepped aside as Erwine stormed past her.

The girl hesitated at the door, taking a long, slow breath as she considered her options. "Damn it," she muttered as she found her hand going for the knob. It turned as she pushed the door open. She didn't want to, but she was.

A last hateful glare was thrown back at Justinia, who was only smirking victoriously. Erwine looked into the room. Wei stood by the window. For some reason, the very layout of the room reminded Erwine of something.

A particular pain came back to her. Some things Adrianne had done just couldn't be forgotten. Erwine turned and locked the door, face turned away from Wei. But that girl was looking out the window, so she didn't see.

"Hello," Wei said softly. She sounded scared. Worried was the word, really.

"Hello," Erwine replied. She hadn't engaged in a conversation with the girl for over six months. Not one on one.

"How long did it take for Justinia to get you in here?" Wei asked without turning around.

Distantly, Erwine said, "About the time it took for us to walk up here, plus about one minute,"

"But what did she have to do?" Wei wondered. Her voice hurt Erwine. Not in the way an insult might hurt someone.

Erwine thought about her reply for a few awkward moments. Then she spat, "Compare me to Adrianne."

Still not turning to face Erwine, Wei questioned, "Do you think it was accurate?"

"Do you want an honest answer?"

Wei hesitated. She hesitated for a long time. "I really don't know…you know what…sure, do it."

"I don't think so, not in this case," Erwine explained, "Adrianne actually hurt me. She broke me down, into a thousand pieces. She raped me, Wei. You know what, that is the first time I've said that single word…ever. I've referred to the incident, but not that accursed word."

Erwine turned around, eyes looking at the girl's back. Wei tensed up, as if she could feel Erwine's gaze boring into her. "Have you been raped, Wei?"

Wei shook her head. "Then shut up," Erwine said, "Have some courage, and realize that just because I promised something, then did not immediately deliver does mean I'm never going to come back to you."

"You were going to come back?"

"I want to find out why Ishna did everything she did," Erwine explained, "Once I have the answer to that question, I shall devote all of my time to doing everything I can for you. I promise you."

"I don't believe you. Didn't Adrianne make herself look so good to you, then end up being bad in the end? All those promises…"

Erwine moved. She moved fast, and it was not even a second before Wei's head was slammed against the window. The window held easily, being strong. Against the speed and strength of Erwine, as well as the strength of the window, Wei's face was not.

Blood came from her nose as she crumpled to the floor. Erwine stood above her, taking long a deep breaths. "Never compare my actions to that girls." Not at all a command, it was entirely a desperate plea.

Wei looked up with shock and fright. "What are you talking about?" Wei asked, "I thought…I thought you forgave her?"

"I loved Adrianne," Erwine muttered. "Like a mother, like a sister, I don't know for sure how. But I did. However, even I understood that she did terrible things. She had a reason, but she still did terrible things. To me, and to other people. And I don't like that." She shook her head, taking deep breaths.

Perturbed, Wei asked, "Yet you still search for why she had to die?"

"She deserved to live," Erwine said, "I judged her and found that she deserved some chance to redeem herself. She did redeem herself, so I decided that she had more time. But she died before she could really enjoy her life. Even more, Adrianne made me into what I am today. She did…absolutely horrible things to me, but I'm better for it."

Erwine broke down crying, "I hate Adrianne, but at the same time I can't help but love her."

"You scare me," Wei remarked softly. Erwine got to one knee, offering a hand to Wei. She lifted the girl up to her feet. Still grasping her hand tightly, she looked into the girl's eyes. "Wei…" she whispered softly, "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. I can't promise anything, lest I be even more like that person who was like a mother. So I ask you to remain angry. Hate me, Wei, because if you don't, I'll only disappoint you in the end."

Wei stood there, not a single word coming from her mouth. She shuddered a little. It was hard for her to speak what she spoke next. "Erwine…I don't want to hate you."

"Why not?" Erwine was mortified. She almost predicted the words that came from her mouth.

"I like you," Wei said, "You're a good person. I don't want to hate a good person."

"How do I make you think otherwise?"

"You can't, not if I know you want me to hate you. I'll just keep on liking you, because you are a better person than anyone else I know in this messed-up world."

"Stop it!" Erwine screamed. She let go of Wei's hand, tearing away. "Stop praising me! What have I done for anyone?! What have I done except hurt you?!" She shook her head fiercely, trying to deny tears. She didn't want to acknowledge the attempt as foolish, so she kept trying to hold back her emotion.

"You forgave Adrianne after she raped you," Wei said, "And after that, you've spent a year trying to find out why she had to die. Do I need to say more?"

Erwine shook her head. She let the tears go. "Do you think I'm weak, because I'm crying?" she asked.

"Stronger than I am," Wei said bitterly, "I doubt I'd forgive anyone for raping me."

Erwine nodded. It only took a few seconds before her legs collapsed below her. She fell forwards, and Wei stepped in. Her arms wrapped around Erwine. She stepped back, carrying the girl as she sat down. Erwine sat on her lap, crying as Wei held her. "Hate me," Erwine insisted with a feeble cry.

"No," Wei refused with soft words. "I have but one reason to do so, and I don't really think that I can justify hating you after all you've been through." She chuckled, "See, I don't think Adrianne wanted you to hate her."

Erwine froze. Her tears stopped. "No," Erwine said, "She really did…she hated herself…she wanted my hatred, in a way…" The realization dawned on her, "I am…I am just Adrianne,"

Wei calmly stroked Erwine's hair, "Then maybe you are. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say."

"Then what happens when I start hurting people?" Erwine asked through her tears.

Wei hesitated without reply. "I'll be here for you."

Erwine couldn't help but try and find some negative, "Estelle was there for Adrianne, then what happened? Estelle betrayed her when Adrianne told the truth."

The girl holding her cracked a grin at the childishness of the act, "But I know the whole truth, right? So don't worry." A short pause. "I'll _always_ be here." Wei promised. Erwine knew that Wei was telling the truth. _But hadn't Estelle been telling Adrianne the truth?_ She thought.

In the end, Erwine couldn't bring herself to reject everything Wei offered her. _If I do that…then I will just end up repeating everything. _She dared only think this to herself, but she did wonder. _Does Ishna want me to become like Adrianne?_


	36. An Untimely Visitor

**I apologize for the extreme lateness with this. A lot of real-life stuff has been getting in the way, and I sat on this one for way too long trying to make it the best it can be. Things will start going quite a bit faster after this, as the story really hits its stride(at least in my opinion), and I need to spend less time editing. **

* * *

The chief problem with Erwine is that there's nothing to restrain her on. It's like Adrianne, technically she's done nothing wrong, and so far, she really hasn't. It's about what she might do, that's what I'm afraid of. The trauma she suffered from that loss has to be massive, and I am certain that when anyone tries to stop her from stopping this imaginary plan, she will lash out. Her life is now dedicated to this task, and I don't think that anything but experience will make her stray from it.

-Lord Inquisitor Eskel to Inquisitor Adramartis.

* * *

_We have her! _The message came from Estelle. _Entered a building the day of the murder, hasn't emerged. We're hoping that this will at least be a decent lead. Erwine, Wei, Nadine, and I are going in on foot. Everyone else be prepared as backup. _

Erwine moved off of Wei's lap. The two girls looked each other in the eyes. "You still like me, right?" Erwine asked.

Wei nodded. Erwine looked downcast. Wei could only have a frown on her face. She grabbed the girl's hand. "I'm here," she said, "Don't worry."

Erwine looked at the hand that held her own. _On my way, _she replied to Estelle. She brushed away the tears in her eyes with her spare hand. "Come on," She said, "Let's go."

* * *

Justinia was nowhere to be seen. Erwine retraced her steps, and found herself in the command room. Wei had to run to catch up. Once the two were there, Estelle waved them out, Nadine following as they hurried to the outside. They actually went towards the landing pad outside.

Looking down towards the undercity, "Wei, make this easier."

"A-a-a minute please," Wei said. She did need a minute to make the program, but Estelle frowned as she looked at the girl.

"Something wrong?"

"N-n-no, nothing wrong ma'am," Wei said. Estelle saw through the thin lie, but didn't ask what.

The glowing rings formed after a minute of Wei putting them together. Erwine was always amazed by how utterly useless a magic programmer was in the middle of combat, but how effective she was in any other situation.

Jumping in unison, they moved downwards at the same speed as they would normally. Hurtling faster and faster towards the depths of the city below, on a journey that would take much longer for a human to perform.

The glow beneath them flared up as they hit the ground, all the force dispersing into nothing as the rings shattered. They would land on the lower city floor. The undercity was not directly accessible from above. They would have to find an entrance down.

"About twenty or so minutes," Estelle promised, "Then we're there."

Sure enough, about twenty or so minutes later, they were at a small little building in the undercity. A long deserted street stretched out before them, the buildings cracked and breaking down.

Wei's arms were glowing as she prepared for battle. Erwine was armed, as were the other two girls. "Still nothing," Estelle said, "Not a trace of Liselotte."

Nadine moved in first, with Erwine right behind her. Wei was behind Erwine, with Estelle in the very back of the line. They entered the broken doorway, pushing aside the rubble as they moved into the shell of what was left.

It took only three minutes to slowly search the whole place. Then there was a small entrance to the basement. Opening it, Nadine moved in. They were all tense. They could only see thanks to their enhanced eyes, the oppressive darkness of the undercity was combined with the lack of light in this space.

A light switch was located. An old light flickered on. Just barely enough to illuminate the room. It reminded Erwine of a light she'd seen before. A light she'd seen every morning for fourteen years.

A girl was kneeling in the middle of the otherwise barren basement room. Liselotte was there. Estelle stepped forwards, looking her in the eyes. "Liselotte Arna, you are accused of nine murders in the first degree, any resistance shall result in that charge being upgraded to treason, how do you plead?"

Liselotte let her mouth spread into a tiny little grin. "Guilty as charged," she said neutrally. Estelle moved in, the girl was cuffed. "Call in the teleporters, get us out of here," she ordered.

It did not take any time at all to get back. Liselotte was now sitting in a cell. Erwine and Nadine were in there with her. Estelle had been convinced to let them try first.

"What did happen to you?" Estelle asked, choosing to not observe the interrogation in favor of speaking to Wei.

"Erwine did. We had a conversation. Things are better between us now…but it was just a bit shocking for the both of us. I'd prefer the details remain unknown, if that's alright with you."

"It's fine," Estelle said. "I just want to make sure you two can work together, that's all."

"We can," Wei promised, "Better than ever before."

Estelle was certainly interested now. But if Wei did not want to share, then there would no point in pushing the issue. It would have gone very quickly into being straight up impolite.

"Do you think this whole investigation will go anywhere?" Wei asked.

"Maybe," Estelle said, "Maybe not. I know that…I know that we have a lot of things to figure out. We have a lot of questions, and no answers to almost all of them. But we have Liselotte now. Hopefully she'll talk at some point. If she gives us something useful, then we can clean up the Hadiens Sect efficiently and smoothly."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then we're in a lot of trouble." Estelle looked down at the ground, considering the possibility. She ended up shaking her head, and walked away. "Tell me when they're done, I just need some time alone."

Wei watched her go, and then leaned back against the wall, thinking to herself. She remembered what had just happened back there. With Erwine. The thought terrified her. She didn't want this. She didn't want any of it. But she also did.

Wei shuddered as the memory, that image, flashed through her head over and over again. The sensation, it kept coming back to her. Wei took a deep breath, then she walked away as well. She wouldn't have any idea, and felt a bit bad for betraying Estelle like this. But she needed time alone as well. Then she stopped.

With nowhere in the building to really go, Wei decided she had to stay where she was. At least she would be alone for the time being. She walked into the observation room, deciding to see what was occurring. The door was shut, and her eyes focused on the events inside.

Wei became a bit happier that Estelle was not watching. She would have had some things to say, entirely criticisms, of the way Erwine was acting in there at the moment. Wei looked at the cool, calm, collected look of absolute anger on Erwine's face.

She shuddered a little, and wondered if Adrianne hadn't really died back in that timeless void.

* * *

"All you have to do is answer the questions that we ask you," Erwine explained, leaning over the table, "And this will go very smoothly, with not any trouble at all."

Liselotte nodded. She sat in the chair, her arms behind her back still. "So please, do tell me why you came here, and killed those nine people."

Liselotte didn't answer. "Did you hear what I just said?" Erwine asked, cocking her head to the side, eyebrows raised.

"Was not a question," Liselotte replied. She shrugged, "Never said anything about commands."

"Touché," Erwine remarked. "Why did you kill those nine people?"

"For a reason," Liselotte replied.

"What did I just-"

"I gave you an answer," Liselotte said, a smug grin on her face, "You never said anything about what kind of answer."

Erwine took a deep breath. "Fine, we'll play it this way." She leaned in closer, grabbing Liselotte's throat. "You will answer my questions. I will decide if I like the answer or not. If I don't, then I will make that clear, and you can try to answer satisfactorily again, understand?"

Liselotte nodded. Erwine released her. She turned around, pacing backwards for a moment, before she stood facing the wall. "So, why did you kill those nine people?"

"For a reason."

"Interesting," Erwine said. She put on a new demeanor. She spun around, eyes boring into Liselotte's. "Why did you kill those nine people?" Her magic was poured into the sentence, and she could see Liselotte wince. But she only winced.

"I am a telepath. Your magic affects the mind. My defenses are still up." Liselotte explained, quite pleased with herself.

"You want to make this harder on yourself?"

"I won't break," Liselotte promised. "I killed those people in order to draw someone here."

"Me?" Erwine asked, "So that you could try to capture me?"

"How can one person do that?"

"You're not alone," Erwine countered, "As a matter of fact, where are those other six people?"

"Six?" Liselotte looked legitimately confused. "I don't know of any others. I came here alone. The ship I came in left long ago. They…they must be under Ishna, perhaps. Or some other force, I don't know."

"Do you have any evidence besides your word?" Erwine asked, "We can't exactly trust your word."

"No," Liselotte said.

"Then they are from the Hadiens Sect, in an attempt to capture me. You killed those people as a trap, but you also wanted to be caught by us. Would you like to explain any of this, or are you going to keep concealing things that we'll eventually figure out."

"You don't know if you'll really figure those things out, do you?" Liselotte wondered, "I wonder if you'll ever break me…"

Erwine spun around. She took just a couple steps. Her arm swung. Liselotte's vision was reduced. Red droplets flew through the air, landing mostly on the table. Splashes of the crimson liquid could be found on the long blade in Erwine's hand.

Liselotte had not moved at all. She did not react. "I see you've maximized your resistance to pain," Erwine observed, "So that won't do anything." The girl took a deep breath. She looked at Nadine, who had been waiting in the corner of the room.

The inquisitor stepped forwards, Erwine taking one back. "Tell me," Liselotte said suddenly. She was begging. "Has the Reiker Protocol been enacted?"

"Yes!" she cried, a satisfied look on her face now. "At least they're safe now."

"You're comrades back in Hadiens?" Nadine asked, "You don't think they'll come to get you?"

"Who said I was talking about them?" Liselotte asked, then pointed out"You still know nothing here."

"We know that you killed those people," Nadine pointed out, "You could get something of a reduced sentence if you help us find the others, and just cooperate in general."

"It's not happening," Liselotte shook her head, "Just get the sentence over with, I know I'm going to die."

"We're not going to kill you," Nadine explained, "We're going to find out what you know. One way or another, because you obviously know quite a lot." She put a finger on the girl's cheek, tracing little lines. "You know, magic is quite effective. You can't even feel this finger right now, you've disabled your feeling entirely."

"But did you know that massive surges of pain, or any sensation, can overcome such sensation. But it has to be truly massive, something fatal. We don't have the time for that." She kept tracing patterns. "There are many chaotic rune languages. Did you know? And generally in terms of these languages, words are power."

She traced something on the girl's cheek. Her finger started glowing, showing the presence of magic. She traced an incredibly elaborate symbol on the girl's cheek. It was something that made Erwine's eyes hurt. Her finger flowed brighter and brighter, more and more magic tracing the pattern.

She had to go over the thing a few more times, but then Liselotte screamed out. Her eyes rolled back into her head for a moment, and her head tipped back, her body starting to wildly shake. It ended after barely five seconds.

Nadine stepped away. She looked at Erwine. "That is something I picked up from Ishna. Being a reader generally means I have a very good photographic memory. She liked using that one on me, disables the resistance to pain."

"Do you know something that can break her mental resistance?" Erwine asked.

"No," Nadine shook her head, "You can't really do that. I'd need some…ritualistic substances, things that we wouldn't be able to get and not look like heretics."

"Well then," Erwine smiled, approaching the girl. "Let's see what you have to say now." For the first time in the entire talk, Liselotte did look rather worried.

* * *

She sat in her room on her bed. Her eyes looked out the window as she lazily leaned over. Her crossed legs, one atop the other, was where she rested her elbows. Despite the general laid-back nature she had at the moment, Estelle was worried.

There were so many thing occurring at the moment, more than she could even come close to understanding. _Ma'am, is this a good time? _Her astrotelepath.

_Yes? _

_A message from the Hadiens system. Sender unknown, but proper codes were used. Forward to you? It came earlier, before the Reiker, but you were wrapped up in what was going on, so I let you have some time, but it relates especially now. _

Estelle thought about it. The fact that she said it was urgent meant that it was urgent. She stood up, still hanging her head as she gritted her teeth and tightened her fingers into fists. _Send it through, _she ordered.

The message came. _Estelle, this is Celestine. I am to relay a message from Arietta, surely you remember her. She is currently in charge of the Hadiens Sect. She created this message to inform you of an unfortunate betrayal that has occurred. Liselotte Arna did go for the Curia system some time ago, but it was not on orders of anyone else. The general belief is that she, for some reason, has gone rogue. Unfortunately, we had to make contact with the Sect, but we explained ourselves and they explained themselves. They are merely attempting to follow the leads they have, which are many more than what we have. I suggest that you get out of there as soon as you can, and try to return to Hadiens with Liselotte in tow. In addition, she was the only person believed to be there at the moment, so if there are any other issues, then either Liselotte is part of a wider conspiracy, or there is a third party present. _

Estelle was shocked. _Correct codes? _She asked the astrotelepath.

_Yes. Not anything about any kind of capture or coercion. Presumably it was relayed to Juno's girl, who sent it over here. _

_Can you confirm that it came from Juno's girl? _

_Yes I can. It carried those codes as well. A very small chance of this being faked. _

_Thank you, keep listening for anything else, but don't give any kind of reply yet, of course. _Estelle spun around, looking at the door now. She hurried towards it, rushing out and heading straight for the interrogation room.

* * *

A gentle knock brought no reply. A few seconds of wait, then another knock. Still nothing. The door wasn't locked, she found as she turned the knob. Her eyes looked to the side to find a form resting on the bed. Sanae nodded, but still stepped into the room. Quietly, the door closed.

She did her best to not disturb the resting girl as she took a seat on the sofa in the room. Crossing one leg over the other, Sanae looked out the window, merely waiting. There wasn't anything to do at the moment. Investigating was not her area of expertise. Nor was interrogation. Truthfully, she was a bit bored.

Given Ayelen's sleep, it seemed the feeling was mutual. A few minutes passed before she stirred. From Sanae's estimate, the girl had been sleeping for a few hours now. Eyes flickered open, and quickly found the girl sitting there. "Oh, good…" Ayelen found the right word in a second, "Afternoon."

Sanae responded in kind. After giving the girl a few seconds to wake up, she wondered, "Bored as I am?"

Ayelen chuckled, "That is the case." She confirmed. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she muttered the question, "Is Erwine done with that girl yet?"

Sanae shrugged. "I don't know, though I am wondering when she will be." Both wondered the same thing. Not if she'd get anything out of Liselotte. But what she'd do to get that information out of her.

"She's going to cause trouble, isn't she?" Ayelen asked.

There was no way Sanae could deny that. "It just depends on how bad it will be."

A sigh came from the brunette. "That girl…" Sanae frowned.

"Didn't you two once work together? I imagine that fell apart after she ran off?"

The other nodded. "Erwine can't stop going on about how much she's suffered. It just feels like she's making excuses for her completely irrational actions." Ayelen groaned and lay back. "And now she's going to bother us for a while."

"I think that she's suffered as well, so don't ignore that just because her actions aren't to your liking?" Sanae recommended.

"Are you on her side now?" Ayelen snapped, half-seriously.

"No, but I think that we need to consider all sides." Sanae looked out the window in thought for a few moments. "Suffering is like any emotion. It's relative. You see your suffering as greater than hers because you experienced it, while Erwine sees her suffering as greater than anyone else's because she experienced it."

Ayelen paused. The room was silent for a few moments. "Which one of us do you think suffered more?"

Sanae took a while to respond. Ayelen had already guessed the answer just from that. "Erwine, honestly. You can at least go to Laelia and talk to her normally. Perhaps you weren't as close, but you're still good friends, and you can still work together."

Only the faint sound of their breathing could be heard, then, "Erwine lost everything. Any image she had of the world was torn up before her eyes, and put back together in the way Adrianne and Ishna wanted it to be. And then just when she reconciled with Adrianne, Ishna took her away. Ishna took everything from Erwine, and then she took the most important thing of them all away. Herself. The only one who could explain to Erwine why all that had to happen." Sanae sighed, "I have to feel bad for her. Erwine thinks there's a reason behind all this, and she won't stop until she finds out what."

"But we were just played with too, weren't we?" Ayelen asked, somewhat rhetorically, till she herself realized, "Well, I suppose we weren't at the center."

"Right," Sanae concurred, "We were just bystanders. Everything centered around Erwine, and in her mind, everything still does."

"Yet, she's not necessarily wrong, is she?" Ayelen pointed out. That was something Sanae could not argue with.

* * *

Sechylia had never liked the city. It had always hurt her. The constant influx of data into her mind had always hurt her from the very start. She had to actually disable her magic in order to prevent anything from reaching her mind at the moment.

She'd never been much help, unless the situation was very specific. And when it was, she always carried the entire team on her back. But otherwise, she got to lounge around and wait. And this time, she was just waiting in her room, for her to be called on. She doubted it, as she was not even effective in combat.

She lay on her bed, facing the wall. A knock on the door. "Come in," she said. Didn't even know who it was, but she figured it would be Justinia. Sechylia had a rather petite figure. She was small, even for the body that a fourteen-year old should have.

Justinia, on the other hand, was actually tall for a fourteen year old girl. She was approaching six feet, and Sechylia wondered if the girl's body was one of an actual adult that she somehow could use magic in, as even her facial features made her seem much more mature than she actually was.

"Anything you need?" Sechylia asked. Justinia shook her head. Then she nodded.

"Sorry, just company. Everyone else is wrapped up in drama of their own," the girl's voice was low, the annoyance quite clear. Sechylia patted the spot on the bed next to her.

Justinia grinned a little and sat down. Sechylia didn't actually know what Justinia liked about her. It wasn't any kind of physical attraction, at least as far as the little girl could tell. Justinia would have made that very clear if it was true, given the way she handled secrets. But perhaps it was just that their personalities matched. They were both quiet people.

Justinia sat there, nothing else.

"Hey Justinia," Sechylia said. She sounded afraid. "Is something different?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've seemed different, for a very long time now," Sechylia said. "I know I've said nothing, but it seems so obvious right here…I just had to bring it up."

"What do you mean?"

"You've been even more quiet and stoic, and even more interventionist, ever since the whole Hadiens Incident...what happened to you?" Sechylia was truly concerned.

"It was…jarring for all of us. But I've been always thinking about the mysteries that had popped up since that…it just confuses me, and I'm running myself into the ground trying to solve them with what little we have." Justinia smiled sincerely, looking at Sechylia.

"You just used to care about Wei and me…but now it's everyone around you…what's going on, for real?" Sechylia was truly concerned.

Justinia looked Sechylia in the eyes. "I'm just worried. Ishna…whatever she planned and set up…it has to be really big. I want to keep everyone together. If we divide now, split up because of personal conflicts, then we can never win. I'm…I'm really worried." She did look sad.

Horror. That was the dominant emotion in Sechylia's mind as she saw the sadness. Justinia was never sad. The fact that she was now showed that she was actually very scared. Sechylia sat up, wrapping her arms around the girl.

"It's alright," she promised, "You'll never be alone." Justinia didn't reply to that promise.

* * *

Estelle burst into the interrogation room. Well, she had to knock on the door first. Nadine opened it. But after that point, she was bursting into the room hurriedly. She froze. What she saw before her was like something out of a nightmare.

"What the…" her words escaped her as she looked at the thing that Erwine stood over. The young girl was covered in another's blood, and the source of that vital fluid could be found right beside her. Liselotte was covered in wounds, big and small, but she was still alive, and mostly conscious.

"Mental defenses aren't down yet," Erwine said, "But you might have an easier time. She refuses to say anything, but we're getting there. I think if you start contributing, then we can figure things out."

"I just received word from Celestine. She conveyed a message from Arietta. Arietta says that Liselotte went rogue, and that no one else went with her. The other girls must have been working for Ishna. I think there has been a huge misunderstanding, and a lot of assumptions on our part." Estelle said, still a bit disturbed at what Erwine had done.

"You certain?" Nadine was skeptical. Estelle took note of how she was untarnished, not a single drop of blood on her.

"Certain, all the proper codes were used. It was an authentic message, and I trust Celestine to be right. Besides, this is far better than what we have here." Estelle looked at Erwine, knowing the girl would be the main source of opposition.

"What if they're lying to you?" Erwine asked, "What if Celestine and Laelia were caught. Did they explain the circumstances? The codes could be gotten out of them."

"Certainly a possibility," Estelle agreed, "But how would they capture Juno's astrotelepath? It came from her. If they captured her, then they are asking for the Inquisition to fully come down on them."

"We just have to question this," Erwine insisted, "We have something right here. I say we break Liselotte, get everything she knows, then present a case to Juno, and move from there. If the Hadiens Sect is already under suspicion, aligning ourselves with them is not going to make us look any better."

"But what if they aren't wrong. We should at least go try and figure this out. We have a lead to go off of here, and we might not be hurting ourselves by following it! Have you gotten anywhere with Liselotte?"

Erwine gritted her teeth. "No, I have not."

"Then why keep trying? She's obviously conditioned herself. She won't break for a long time, and I don't want to tear her mind apart finding whatever is inside. Not at the moment. We should wait and try to figure all of this out."

Erwine shook her head. "I'm tired of you giving me orders." She spat.

"Why is that?" Estelle questioned, anger making its presence known.

The silver-haired girl stared the inquisitor down. "Everyone thinks I'm just their pawn to be ordered around. I'm not!" She suddenly raised her voice.

"It was merely a suggestion," Estelle growled back. She stepped forwards, "Do you have some kind of problem with that?"

"You have no authority over me," Erwine said, as though it explained everything. She turned to face Liselotte once again.

"Actually I do," Estelle corrected her, "I am an inquisitor, you are an interrogator. I do have very real power over you."

Erwine gritted her teeth. "Fine, then watch as I don't respect it."

"Erwine!" Estelle shouted, "Is this what you've gotten from Adrianne, an inability to respect authority?!"

Erwine whipped around. "No, it is not what I got from Adrianne. I got this from having been played with since before I contracted!" She screamed, "I try so desperately to have my own power, but I'm just powerless in the end, aren't I?!"

Estelle had no reply. Her eyes opened wide. "You want to control me, just like Adrianne did! Just like Ishna did! I won't allow it!" Erwine had tears in her eyes, "Do whatever you want to me, but I will solve this no matter what. If you're scared, then I don't need nor want you."

The inquisitor was silent. "Once the Reiker is over, MSOC-"

"Won't be hearing anything," Nadine interrupted. She stepped in to grab Estelle's shoulder. "Come on, let's not do something foolish now." Estelle resisted at first, but eventually conceded. Nadine gave Erwine a harsh look as well, before exiting the room with the inquisitor.

Erwine was left quietly sobbing as she stared at the bloodied body before. "By the Goddess…" She whispered, "I really am her."

* * *

The door quietly opened. A gasp coincided with Erwine looking over her shoulder. "Wei." She said simply as her eyes fell upon the girl there. The dark-haired girl quickly stepped closer to Erwine, before Erwine spoke solemnly. "Do you still think I'm a good person?"

She turned around to face Wei fully. "Do you still think you can forgive me?" Perhaps Erwine did not seek a real answer. She merely wondered how Wei would react. The fact that it took so long for a reply to come told her everything.

"I can," Wei said, though not with the same conviction as before. Erwine walked past her. "Erwine!" She turned around, grabbing the girl's arm. "Don't. Don't just run away again. That's what you're doing right now, is just running away." She was shuddering with every breath, but she wouldn't give up.

Erwine paused. She looked at Wei. "I'm nothing more than a pawn. Wei..." She searched for the right words, "Even if that's not really true. Do you want to spend time with someone as terrible as I am?"

"You're not that terrible," Wei countered, "Else I wouldn't even be here. You're doing exactly what you were doing before, trying to make me hate you because you don't want to feel better."

Erwine sighed. "You really think so?" She wasn't sure herself.

Wei grasped her tighter. "I do," She said, "I really do." Erwine just glared at her.

"You're going to regret this, sooner or later."

"We're magical girls. We're not supposed to regret anything." Wei said. That was the only response she had.

Erwine slowly turned towards Wei. "In that case, then don't leave me until then."

* * *

The wall resounded with the impact. Estelle had half a mind to fight back, but was more interested in seeing how far Nadine took this before truly replying. They stared each other down for a few seconds, before the older one released the younger.

"What was that for?" Estelle demanded.

"You're acting like a fool," Nadine explained.

"And Erwine isn't?!" Estelle cried, "Did you hear what she said? She's acting like some stupid little girl!"

"She's acting like a little girl because she is one!" Nadine shouted. That gave Estelle pause. "She's barely fourteen years old, and she's already been through more than many, many people go through in their entire lifetimes!"

"That doesn't give her an ex-"

Nadine interrupted her furiously. "It gives her every excuse." She didn't move, didn't make a single threatening gesture or motion. She just stood there and stared at Estelle. Still, the girl was shaken to the core. "What happened with Adrianne on Hadiens, and then with Ishna, tore her apart. She was just finished putting herself back together when the two people who could make her whole died in front of her, one by her own hands."

The two fell into silence. Estelle shook her head. "I'm just trying to help her. I just want to see her be happy."

"Your intervention won't help," Nadine said sadly. "Erwine's blind, not because of her own faults, but because she has a legitimate reason to be angry. The world has done nothing but play with her for such a long time. It's only right that she gets a chance to try things on her own."

Estelle nodded, somewhat understanding. "Then what do you think I should do?"

"Try not to intervene as much. Don't get angry at her." Nadine suggested, "You're angry that she's a little girl, then treat her like one."

Estelle sighed, "Fine."

"You owe her an apology, come on." Nadine said, grabbing the girl and pulling her along.

* * *

There was a knock on the door. Wei looked towards it, as did the girl beside her. Both knew who it was. The door unlocked, Estelle and Nadine entered. Erwine looked with annoyance at the former. Estelle met that gaze with a more neutral one.

"I apologize for that outburst," Estelle's humiliation was obvious.

It only increased when Erwine scoffed, "That's funny." She looked at Nadine, "You told her to do this, right?"

Seated on the bed beside her, Wei laid a hand on Erwine's shoulder, and gave her a worried look. "Erwine, are you just going to let what you did go?" Nadine asked in reply.

Erwine sighed. "Fine, I apologize as well for my outburst." She looked at Estelle, "Does that make you happier?"

"There's no need for this." Estelle snapped.

"No need?" Erwine questioned. "Oh, there's a need. You don't understand anything at all. You can't understand me, and I doubt you ever understood Adrianne."

Estelle's eyes shot open wide. "Cut it out, both of you." Nadine's cold voice doused both of the flames. "This is like watching insanity in action. There are more pressing concerns than your little squabble. Are you going to solve them, or keep running around like little children?"

Estelle looked at her with annoyance, but knew she was correct. "Come on, Erwine," She said, "It's time to go."

Erwine looked ready to say something more, but Wei intervened, "Give her some time, please." Estelle didn't argue with that.

As Nadine was about to leave, Erwine snapped, "And I suppose you've just switched sides now? Supporting me for the past half a year, but the moment you get scared for your own reputation you chicken out?" She scoffed, "And to think Adrianne had respect for you."

Nadine didn't say anything as she left. The door shut. "And there she goes," Erwine shook her head with a maniacal chuckle, "Betraying me. People seem to be found of doing that, trying to stop me. I understand how Adrianne felt."

Wei looked on helplessly as the girl lay on the bed. Despite how much she wanted to help, there wasn't a thing she could do. At least from the way things seemed, Erwine didn't appear to be wrong.

* * *

_Incoming vessel!_ The message was passed from Branca towards Estelle and Nadine. _Warp breach in five, four, three, two, one… _The two were already rushing into the command center when the count reached zero.

_It's coming as close as a ship possibly can. _Branca was was faster. This was a serious issue. So it was better to use that method. _Telepaths are directing it…it knows the Protocol is active. _

Nadine and Estelle looked up at the hologram above the table, changing to show the incoming vessel. Branca frantically directed orders at those under her command, a bit of fear guiding her hand more than common sense. _Clairvoyants on the case…it's identified. Imperial vessel, Inquisitorial. Response coming._

Branca frowned as the telepaths sent her the message. She sent it on to Nadine and Estelle. _This is the Inquisitor Theodora Magnissia, I understand that the Reiker Protocol has been enacted, but I come investigating the recent string of murders. I understand that Inquisitor Adramartis has already taken the case, but I believe I have something very important to add. If you would allow me to approach, I believe we can sort things out. _

Estelle's jaw dropped. _Theodora…_she muttered, still talking to Branca and Nadine. _That's the girl we found on Vasillica. She was promoted to inquisitor? Let her approach, I want answers to this now, and she might just be helpful. _

_Are you certain we can trust her? _Nadine asked.

_She is the only person I know of who is still alive and well and was involved in the Vasillica Investigation. That planet, whatever was on it, was incredibly important to Ishna, and we know that some kind of ancient vault was there. So she knows something about all of this, and I wouldn't be surprised if she intentionally came here knowing that it was us who was here. _Estelle explained, _so while we can't necessarily trust her, we can be certain that she has something to add. _

Branca gave the proper permissions, and Estelle turned to face Nadine. She opened an entirely private channel to the other inquisitor. The black-haired girl said, _we need to be careful. Theodora was also tortured by Ishna, so something might have been left in her head as well. I don't know why she might have been given such a rank, but we should find that out first. _

_You suspect her of being a traitor? _

_Against her will or not, there's a good chance, given what happened to her. _Estelle said.

_Then you should apply that same logic to me. _Nadine reminded her.

Estelle sighed as she was reminded of that fact. _We'll handle that later, alright? For right now, we need to deal with Theodora. _

The two waited as Theodora's vessel approached, watching the blip on the hologram like they might watch the approaching specter of death.

* * *

The inquisitor stepped down from the shuttle. Estelle was a bit surprised. The girl looked younger than she expected. Not mentally or in how she carried herself. But physically. Her stature was small. Not like Sechylia's, not that small, but she was just a bit shorter than Estelle was.

Her hair was the same as it had been, her twin tails being just a bit longer. The rest of her head was bare, save for the small; blue ribbons that were tied around the base of the tails. The tails went down to her waist, thinning out as they went. They ran over a blue coat, which reached down to her waist. It was open, unbuttoned, and revealed a bright white undershirt. A long red ribbon was tied around her neck, the bows reaching down her chest.

A dark black skirt covered down to her knees, giving way to dark black leggings. Small shoes, colored white, were on her feet. Gloves of that same bright hue were on her hands. The blue sleeves of the coat fit over the rest of her arms. Estelle caught the way Theodora turned her right hand inwards when she walked. _There's her soul gem, _she thought.

The inquisitor was followed by three other girls, who Estelle did not recognize. But that did not matter, as she was focused on what was the reason that shuttle had been allowed to land.

"Hello," Estelle said, stepping aside to greet the girl. "Inquisitor Magnissia,"

"Theodora works, of course," the girl smiled, "Nothing less for my saviors." Estelle saw the girl wince as she remembered that memory. Estelle herself shuddered, not being able to picture what over twenty years of torture could have felt like.

"You said you had something to add?" Estelle asked.

"Right to the point," Theodora observed, "I can work with that." She nodded, "Yes, I believe that there is something rather large going on here, but I assume you've seen hints of that."

"Yes," Estelle said.

Theodora looked at Nadine, "Ms. Edicossen, I trust you are feeling alright?"

"No worse than you can be," Nadine said with a smile.

Theodora chuckled. "True, true," she agreed. "Where's Erwine, surely she must be interested?"

"A falling out," Estelle explained, "She has a lot to get through."

"Understandable," Theodora said. She started walking forwards, "Where's this Liselotte?"

"I'll take you to see her." Estelle said.

* * *

Erwine lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Though Wei was beside her, she didn't pay the girl any mind. They'd been like that for a few minutes now. Both had turned their links to the outside off for the moment. Wei wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't sure if there was anything to say at all.

"I'm scared," Erwine admitted, breaking the long silence. "Really, honestly scared."

Wei looked at her with worry. Hastily, she asked, "Of what? What are you scared of?" Erwine frowned. It seemed difficult for her to say. "Please tell me," Wei begged.

"Failing Adrianne," She eventually admitted, "Not being able to stop Ishna, and failing." Her voice was down, "I…" She rolled over to face the wall, away from Wei. "The only way I'll stop is if I die, but…"

"Do you even know Ishna has a plan?" Wei asked. "Are you certain of that?"

Erwine nodded, "I am absolutely certain," She said. "And…And…" She could barely talk as she started sniffling. Then she gasped, as arms encircled her. She felt herself be embraced tightly by the girl behind her.

"If Ishna does have a plan, then I know you can stop it." Wei said quietly. "I believe in you. I believe that you can do anything, Erwine. You're strong, and you understand Ishna better than anyone."

A few seconds passed, Erwine relaxing. Then she sat up suddenly. She felt something at the edge of her mind. Like a message trying to arrive. Opening herself to it, she heard, _Theodora has arrived, _from Nadine. _We are speaking to Liselotte now. _

"What?!" Erwine leapt to her feet. Wei looked at Erwine frightfully.

"What's wrong?"

"Theodora. Theodora is here." Erwine said, "That girl, from Vasillica." Erwine took a deep breath, "What is she doing?"

* * *

Liselotte stared at her soul gem. She had been rather worried about it for the past few hours, as it was getting worse as it healed the terrible wounds Erwine had inflicted. The door opened. A girl came in, not anyone Liselotte knew.

"Well, someone important has come to see you," the girl, a healer, said, as she started fixing Liselotte up. "Broke the Reiker Protocol for you."

"What's her name? Who is she?" Liselotte asked.

"…Theodora Magnissia," The girl hesitated in her answer, "Does it matter?"

Liselotte shook her head as she titled it backwards. "Well, did not see that one coming. Guess this will be harder than I thought…"

The healer dismissed the words and went back to her duty. She left right as Liselotte heard others coming down the hall. Three people entered next.

Liselotte opened her eyes, looking first to see that Erwine wasn't there. _Well, the worst has come to pass. Maybe I can salvage things. _"This is it," Estelle said, "She surrendered herself to us, and has already confessed to her crimes. However, she refuses to say anything more."

Theodora approached the girl, stepping around the table. "You were telling me about another incident? An ambush of some kind?"

"Yes, we were attacked by what we estimate to be six other magical girls while investigating what we thought was the objective of the Hadiens traitors. The commander of the local girls was lost there. We believe her to be dead, but that cannot be confirmed. Liselotte insists that she knows nothing else about them."

"You trust her?"

"After what I heard from the Hadiens Sector, yes," Estelle explained further when Theodora turned around, perturbed. "Earlier today, before the Reiker, we got a message from the Hadiens Sect. At the moment, Laelia and Celestine are there in secret, investigating the strange behavior of the sect. Something caused them to come into contact with the leaders, which resulted in them clearing up the misunderstanding. Liselotte has gone rogue on her own. The other six that attacked us have never been part of the Hadiens Sect."

"This is true?" Theodora asked.

"The correct codes were used. Unless they were somehow gotten out of three different people involved in the sending, then it was all voluntary. I am inclined to trust Celestine and Laelia."

"Good," Theodora said, "Then that lines right up with what's going on with my investigation." She started to explain, "I was made inquisitor about seven months ago, by Juno Eskel. I was assigned to the task of hunting down the remaining fragments of what must have been a very wide-reaching network created by Ishna. I came here as soon as I heard of the murders. I was wondering if there was some kind of ritualistic purpose to the whole thing, and it seems that there is more going on."

"You guessed that?" Estelle asked, "We discovered that they do form what looks like the pattern of an eight-pointed star, but there's nothing more than that."

"I discovered other groups of cultists involved in ritualistic murders, and they were tied to Ishna. Btu this is the first case of a magical girl doing it." Theodora explained.

The dark-haired, just a bit taller, girl, nodded. "So you're saying that Liselotte is really involved with Ishna's followers?"

"Certainly," Theodora agreed. She looked at the blonde girl, who was now distressed, "And she is lying when she says that she doesn't know those other six."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well, I am going to request to take Liselotte along with me. I need to move on from here, and you seem to have this job wrapped up. If you could go and investigate the Hadiens Sect, just wrap things up there and retrieve your personnel, then we can certainly begin working together."

"Why not put Liselotte on trial right now?" Estelle wondered.

"She would-" Shouts outside interrupted them. Some people, the girls who had come with Estelle, were trying to deny someone access. And from the sound of the person who they were trying to stop, that person was Erwine.

She burst into the open room, seeing Theodora standing there. She was yanked back by the others. _Let her go, _the order came from the crimson-haired inquisitor. Erwine stormed back in, anger on her face. "You chose to not inform me?" She asked Estelle.

Estelle was about to snap back, but Nadine interrupted her. "We apologize, Erwine. Feel free to say what you have come to say."

"Why is she an inquisitor?" Erwine asked, pointing at Theodora while still looking at the other two.

"Why am I?" Nadine asked, "She went through a situation less suspicious than I did."

Erwine gritted her teeth, "Even then, why trust her? She shows up out of nowhere…what were you talking about?" She looked at Theodora.

"Erwine," Theodora explained, "I was going to take Liselotte with me in order to obtain as much as I can from her. Estelle and you all were going to go finalize things in Hadiens, before we could link back up and start cooperating on taking down what looks like a massive network organized by Ishna."

"You're going to believe what you hear from the Hadiens Sector?" Erwine asked, "Just accept it as truth, despite the evidence you have against them?" She turned to Estelle, "You're just blindly believing anyone who looks legitimate to you!"

Estelle shook her head. "Erwine, please calm down. Don't embarrass yourself." She looked at Theodora. "I think what you propose is a sound plan. I'll arrange the transfer. We were planning to leave tomorrow, for the sake of handling paperwork and official things, do you want to speed things up, given that you're not taking Liselotte to trial?"

Theodora looked at the girl sitting in the chair. "Well, I think we have some time. I want to be sure that we are all on the same page with this issue. In addition, we still need to find those other six girls, who are most likely still here."

"Alright then," Estelle said, "Shall we be going now, we can find some place to talk later tonight, perhaps?" She looked at Erwine.

"Certainly," Theodora said.

Erwine shook her head. "You people aren't listening to me at all…do you ever hear my words?!"

Estelle nodded, "Yes, we hear your words. But you're just one person with all these theories. Do you have anything to back up the idea that Theodora is lying to us?"

"Why would she want Liselotte now?" Erwine asked, backing towards the door as the three inquisitors advanced on her. "I don't know what's she doing, but this seems like a terrible idea. Why not investigate this planet, and find these other six girls that we are still missing?! We may need more than a single day to do that, given that we've no leads on their location. We're rushing through all of this!"

"Evidence!" Estelle demanded.

Erwine shook her head. She stepped aside from the door. "I've none, but if you people want to go ahead and believe the fantasy that you're being handed, then go on and do it already."

Estelle nodded, stepping out. Theodora paused before Erwine, "Erwine…believe me, I'm not lying to you as to what I'm doing, or what I will do."

"But you still have secrets," Erwine stated.

"We all have secrets," Theodora agreed, "But some secrets are not as volatile as others." She walked out, following Estelle. Her other girls followed her.

Nadine and Erwine were left. "I assume you're siding with them?" Erwine asked.

Nadine pulled Erwine out. She shut the door. Then she dragged Erwine into the observation room. The door was closed. "You need to listen to me, very carefully," Nadine said, "You are correct, there is more going on here than what Estelle thinks. But we don't know anything ourselves. We have to keep in line at this point. What do you think rebelling against her and Theodora will get us? We'll be kicked from this case, and do you really want that?"

"I want control of my life," Erwine explained, "I wished for that, if I remember correctly."

"Sometimes your wish doesn't come true," Nadine said.

"Then why do I have to do anything in exchange for it?" Erwine wondered. She smiled victoriously as she saw Nadine realize the validity of the question. "That's the contract, right? We give our souls to the Goddess in exchange for a wish. But my wish has yet to come true, and I don't see it coming true in the foreseeable future. So explain to me, why should I serve the Goddess?"

"You still have a duty to," Nadine explained, "We all do, no matter if we are a magical girl or not."

"Come on, Nadine," Erwine said harshly, "You're nothing. You've only held me back. I can do all of this on my own, and I will. You people can happily dance to the tune of the path Ishna has laid out for you. Do you even realize that? You know that she can see the futures of all of you, but not me. So as long as only I make the decisions, we can break free from whatever line Ishna has drawn." Erwine spat, "I am my own person, and you people…I do not need any of you."

"Erwine!" Nadine snapped again. Maybe it was just to humor her, but Erwine paused, and looked back at Nadine.

Speaking in a low voice, the inquisitor told her. "Remember, I am hamstrung by the fact that I am still under investigation. You have so many cards to play that you could kill another magical girl and only get put into therapy in reply." She smirked a little, giving Erwine a wink, "I warned you that this isn't going to be a pretty path, but if you're prepared to walk it, then I am not willing to stop you."

* * *

It was an expensive bar where the three inquisitors found themselves, along with one other. Erwine was quite obviously not pleased to be there. But she was there nonetheless, and was at least not making a fuss.

They sat off to the side, the staff very aware that they were all magical girls. They were also aware of the fact that they had serious looks on their faces as they sat there talking amongst themselves. So they were extra courteous.

Erwine was mostly silent, sitting there sipping her drink. "So you still have little idea of anything related to Ishna and her plan?" Theodora asked for clarity as Estelle finished explaining everything they knew, or thought they knew, about that girl and what she had been doing.

"Yes," Estelle confirmed, "But do you have anything more to add. Your experience while investigating Vasillica might be vital."

"Well, I can say that I know Ishna's plot, in some way, relates to whatever was there. However, I have no idea what. I went over everything that you learned about that system, and it all seems like one big impossibility. The mantle eruption was definitely caused by warp energy, but by some shard of a starship from another time that opened a tiny warp breach…it doesn't make any sense. However, that vault, it was definitely from the Golden Age. Not Old Night, the Golden Age."

"We figured as such, based on the defenders we found," Estelle said, "But is there anything more you know?"

"I have no idea how Ishna might have gotten through the defenses. It must have taken a long time, but even then, the place didn't seem to be designed to be opened from the outside."

"Matches with what Juno told us," Estelle agreed, "So there had to be something inside controlling it?"

"Of course, but the question is what that thing would be, and where it is now." Theodora said, "I doubt Ishna would have left it there, unless there was something far more important inside that vault. The only way it could have gotten away if it was…on that second ship that took part in the battle, otherwise, there's not a chance."

"We have yet to track that ship down from what I've heard," Estelle said, "But Juno hasn't said anything to me in about a week, so I'm not sure if that's changed. Not likely, however."

"All we can say is that whatever was on Vasillica was important enough to destroy a planet over. And even the method of destruction seems strange. Why have such an elaborate method when they could have just bombed the place from space?"

"That might be explained," Theodora said, "Ishna wouldn't have wanted to attract investigation. If she straight up committed exterminatus, then that would have been obvious. But something like that would be a natural disaster. A terrible one, but nothing worthy of looking into. An exterminatus would have attracted the Inquisition to the planet, who would have found the vault, and perhaps opened it before Ishna could get to it."

"Still, incredibly elaborate to ensure privacy," Nadine commented. "There might be something more, but I can't think of anything at the moment."

Erwine chuckled at the conversation. Estelle was going to snap back once again. Then Theodora cut in, "Erwine, please stop. If you have something intelligent to say, then we'd love to hear it. But don't make a sound if it's not going to be useful."

"You're trying to whip me into shape," Erwine observed, "After what I went through with Adrianne, I don't think that's a good idea. You invited me here so that you could bash on my bad behavior and try to change it, when you don't get that's not going to work."

"Then what would you prefer from us?" Nadine asked.

"Let me leave this planet, take Bolton's ship, and go figure this out myself," Erwine said. "Then I would have some respect for you all."

"That's not an option," Estelle shook her head, "We need you here, Erwine. You are a vital person in this case."

"Then treat me like that," Erwine begged, "Treat me like I'm my own person, with my own wants and needs and goals. Stop looking at me like I'm an idiot who can't think for herself. You don't respect my opinions in any way, simply demanding concrete proof, when you have none yourself."

She took a deep breath, "If you really want me to be your dog that bad…then perhaps you should actually do something. At least Adrianne had the initiative to brutally force me into line. You're trying to gently push me back."

"You want brutal force?" Estelle asked.

"I'd love it," Erwine said, knowing the girl wouldn't carry through.

"Calm down," Nadine said, looking back and forth, "A fight will get us nowhere. Erwine, I suggest you head back, and get some rest. We can keep talking tomorrow-"

"When, when you've thrown me in a bag and are carrying me back to Hadiens?" Erwine asked, "That's not happening. I'm going to get my way here, no matter how."

"Erwine, both you and Estelle are under huge amounts of pressure at the moment. I suggest you take a moment to relax, both of you, actually." Nadine spoke calmly and softly.

"Fine," Erwine said. She stood up. "I'll go back. Nothing is being done here."

She walked away. She exited. The three watched her till she was out of sight. "Where did I go wrong with her?" Estelle asked with regret.

"It's not where you went wrong, or where I went wrong," Nadine shook her head, "It's not even where Adrianne went wrong. Nothing went wrong here, Erwine has just been dragged along on a chain by fate itself for all her life. She's made a wish to try and give herself some leverage. She received none. She has every right to feel agony." Nadine inhaled and exhaled. "It depends on what she does with that agony."

* * *

The two had been staring at each other for a little over five minutes. Their eyes rarely met, but their gazes were always running over each other's bodies. Were it not for everything else about the two, it resembled an elaborate mating dance.

"What will it take for you to tell me what you know?" Erwine asked. She paused when there was no reply. "I think you know something about why Theodora's here, and what she's doing. You know who those six who came after me are, and you know why you did what you did. There's a lot of unanswered questions, and I won't allow Theodora to take you away."

Liselotte just grinned. "Then get me out of here. Help me escape, and I'll tell you everything." She explained.

Erwine nodded. She hesitated, however. "Then…I'll think on that offer."

Liselotte stayed silent as the girl strode out of the room.

* * *

She found Erwine in the observation room. Arms crossed, eyes glaring daggers at Liselotte through the one-way glass. Her face betrayed not a hint of emotion. "Erwine," she said meekly, "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not," Erwine admitted. She didn't turn to look at the girl.

"Are you running away from something again?" Wei asked.

Erwine shook her head. "I'm trying to think of where to go. Estelle won't listen to me. Theodora's arrival is too perfect. She can't be trusted." Erwine narrowed her eyes at Liselotte. "She might be, however."

Wei didn't understand. "What do you mean? You think you can actually trust her? After what she's done?"

"Liselotte knows a lot. I'd say she knows almost everything about what's going on. If I ally myself with her, I might be able to know as well." Erwine mused.

Wei denied that, "You can't. What do you think you can do, let her go and run off?!"

Erwine shrugged, "Perhaps."

"Why would you want to do that?"

A long silence. Then, a solemn reply, "Because I want to be free. I want to be free from the curse of having to be controlled. Sure, I said that everyone else is just following Ishna's plan, but so I am." She sighed sadly, "In the end, we all are. This may be the only chance I have to change something. I don't want to die, so the only other thing I can do is go as far as I can."

"You're just going to become Adrianne," Wei warned her, "Don't you care about that fact?"

"I do. But that's not a fact. Adrianne wouldn't do this. She didn't understand when it was time to be calm. All she could do was rush into things, such was her anger. I'm playing a game against…well, fate itself at this point. I'm going to win."

"Why do you care so much?!" Wei screamed, "Can't you just let this silly desire of yours go?!"

Erwine looked down. "It was my wish." She looked at Wei for the first time since she came in. "I wished to achieve this. To escape from fate. Somehow, I told myself that just wishing for it would work." She shook her head, "But that's not what happened."

"I wanted power, power so that I could have control over my own life. So what does the universe do but throw me into a situation where I have no control whatsoever?" Erwine's eyes were filled with despair. "All I can do is strive to make that wish come true." She walked forwards. "Please, Wei, let me go."

Hesitating, Wei asked, "It's not because of me, is it?"

Erwine shook her head. She looked into Wei's eyes. "I swear, this isn't you. I can't even say it's specifically Estelle, or even Theodora, now that I think about. It's just that I've been holding myself back, trying to be a hero but…" Her words trailed off as she remembered that promise she made to her friend, which seemed to be in another lifetime. "But I can't ever be a hero if I don't solve this now. If I'm trapped in this maze forever, I can never get what I want. If I do something bad now, and spend my life making it up to the world, then I feel like I'll be that hero I want to be."

Wei nodded, understanding. "Don't worry. Erwine, even if you do something bad, I'll know that you're ultimately a good person." The two were quiet for a few moments.

Erwine whispered, "I'll come back, I promise." Both were crying a little, though neither wanted to admit it.

Wei took a deep breath. She took another one. "I'll have to stop you. I'll have to hunt you down. You know that, right?" Erwine nodded. "Then just…" She grabbed Erwine's hands, "Promise to survive. I don't care what you have to do, just please, make yourself happy."

Erwine gripped her hands tightly. "Goodbye,"

"You should hit me, maybe kill me, make it look like I didn't let you go like this," Wei suggested as they stepped apart. Erwine hesitated, then agreed. A few seconds later, Wei dropped to the ground a bloody mess. The door was already closed by the time she passed out.

* * *

"You're certain that you know what you're talking about?" Estelle asked Theodora. They were slowly walking about the outside of the restaurant, looking down at the city below. Estelle was reminded of that time with Adrianne, so long ago.

"I hope I do, at least," Theodora said, "What, Erwine putting doubts in your brain?"

Nadine was waiting alone. She seemed to be lamenting something, and it was not hard to figure out what. "I suppose. I know I ought to be giving that girl more respect, but…it's hard being a leader at times."

"I don't think I can understand. I've been one for not very long. I haven't lost anyone, as I've only dealt with humans so far."

"How far does Ishna's network stretch, how deep?" Estelle wondered.

"Multiple sectors. From the sound of that incident on Hadiens, that grand witch was created with a massive number of cubes, and we're recorded a drain from five sectors. As for deep…well, we had to take out the governor of one planet, and on another, it was a bunch of idiots in the wilderness. We really have no idea when we come to the next planet."

"I wonder why…" Estelle said, then trailed off. She picked up after a second of organizing the thought, "Why Ishna made such a large network. Just for one event seems rather silly, pointless. There has to be more. We know that…well, the other high-ranking members of her group got away. They could still be engaged in some part of the plan."

"We've found no evidence of anything more," Theodora explained, "There seems to be no indication of some wider communication between these groups. There has been a constant of ritualistic killings, but that's all."

"Any actual serious rituals or events?"

"Nope."

"Then what are they doing?" Estelle wondered aloud, shaking her head, "Never mind, you don't have any idea."

They looked at one another, pausing in their walk around. "Well, how do you think things are going to go from here?" Estelle asked.

Theodora paused. She looked Estelle in the eyes. "You're a good person. Don't ever lose sight of why you're a good person. Erwine is a good person as well. Don't ever lose sight of why she's a good person." She smiled, then turned and walked away, leaving the question entirely unanswered.

Estelle watched her go. Her questions about Theodora were growing, but she wondered if the girl was really as helpful as she sold herself as.

* * *

It was dark inside the small room. Not that there was much to do. Liselotte could see anyways, but again, there was nothing for her to do in her current state. Her hands still cuffed behind her, and then those hands cuffed to the chair. She could have escaped if she wanted to, but there was nowhere for her to go.

Besides, if things went her way, she wouldn't have to wait there for long. But the chance of that…_well, there's a good chance now, presuming that Erwine didn't get pulled back by them. Chances are we can…well, where do we go from there? _

_Can't get offworld, unless we can get up to the Rosie. That's our chance. Will be incredibly difficult, but I guess I'll just have to try. _She took a deep breath, staring at the door, counting by the minutes in her head.

Eventually, it opened. A hand flicked the light on. Erwine stepped in, closing and locking the door quickly. She looked at the girl sitting there, "What do you honestly think of the situation at the moment?"

"Theodora…Theodora is entirely lying to you," Liselotte said quickly. She made herself sound desperate, which she was in a way. "She's actually working for Ishna, at least the completion of her plan. She's got Estelle on her side, and if she has Nadine too, then there's not much we can do to stop her."

"Why did you kill those people?" Erwine asked, "Give me the truth."

"We…we recovered a tablet from the asteroid. Juno did actually, and left it with us for further research. We've been working with her, as a matter of fact. Translating what we could, it said that the first key could be found when the nine were dead and the planet was in flames."

"So you killed those nine people in order to get this?"

"No, to draw out whoever wanted it. The prophecy mentioned things related to the Hadiens Incident, at least the creation of something. I think it referred to the fact that my magic mutated, as it did talk about 'new witchcraft'. We were hoping to find out who was looking for these keys, as other parts referenced later keys. We still have no idea what it's talking about, but I think that Theodora is looking for this one key. She's hoping to take me, get you all out of the system, then I don't know, set the planet ablaze and obtain the first key."

Erwine frowned. The explanation was complex. She felt like there were some things that just didn't make much sense. She could tell for certain that Liselotte was lying to her. "Those six girls?"

"Probably working for her, and she is working under Ishna, or whoever has replaced Ishna as leader of the larger organization." Liselotte explained. "If you want to get out of here, we have to go now. We can get up to the _Rosie, _and either convince or force Bolton to get us out."

"Alright," Erwine said. She approached. Her sword was out. The cuffs were cut. Liselotte quickly stood.

"Hold on," she held her hand up as she started to formulate a mental shield around the both of them. It took a few minutes. "Ready," Erwine was running for the door before the word was even finished.

Then they were moving for the landing pad. The nearest one, as Erwine didn't really care which shuttle they took. Her blade was out, as were the swords of Liselotte. They hoped to avoid bloodshed. But there was still a good chance it would occur.

* * *

All they knew was that a shuttle took off. They couldn't tell anything more. Wei already knew who would find her first. Stumbling through the halls, body coated with a bit of blood from the wounds Erwine inflicted, Wei looked like she was a lost little girl.

"Where is she?" Justinia asked. She seemed to appear from nowhere as Wei rounded the next corner. The telepathic network was alive with communications as everyone responded to the situation, but it wasn't nearly jammed up. Justinia just wanted to talk in person.

Wei looked down in shame. "Gone," She said quietly, "With Liselotte."

"You let her go?" Justinia guessed. Wei nodded. She had nothing to say. "Didn't you promise to stay with her, or something like that?"

Wei teared up suddenly, before bursting out into sobs. "I'm not really strong enough. The two of us aren't like Adrianne and Estelle at all. She's so strong, but I'm not strong enough to chase after her. All I can do is watch." She stumbled backwards as Justinia stepped towards her. "I shouldn't even have said anything to her in the first place! If only we'd never met, she…"

"It's not your fault." Justinia said. "Erwine's the one who ran away. Not from her problems, no, she's facing those head-on. But, she ran from you. Because she's scared of caring for you."

Wei didn't understand. "W-what do you mean?" she asked in astonishment, "I thought she said she would! She told me-"

"She's promised you things before. You gave her a second chance and it didn't even take her twenty-four hours for her to break the promise." Justinia said harshly. "It's not time to dawdle about and lament about her cruelty."

Wei wiped the tears from her cheeks, still sniffling. "I still want to be with her," She said, "I want to, but I know I can't."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't have the power! Besides, I can't make her come back-"

"Yes you can!" Justinia shouted. "You can make her come back. Be it by showing her how much you care, or by going and dragging her back by the ear, you can. Erwine's lost right now, and more than anything she needs someone to guide her." Her voice dropped low, "Estelle is the same, and I can't say what motivations Nadine has, but that girl isn't helping anyone." A pause, "You're the only person left who is close to Erwine, and who is someone she still trusts, at least I hope you are. You can do this, I promise you that."

Wei took a deep breath, bringing herself back to a state of calm. Her knees buckled and she leaned against the wall to hold herself up. "Then…" She trailed off into a long silence. "Then let's go. I will make Erwine fulfill her promise." Wei believed in Justinia. She could believe in Justinia more than she could Erwine. And she knew that Justinia believed in her. She reaffirmed the promise, "I will."

* * *

Over the past ten months, you have shown an incredible mental recovery from the extensive trauma you suffered. While this would normally be a cause for suspicion, numerous checks of your mind and body have revealed no signs of taint, nor any interference with your mind. Therefore, this council can only declare you fit for full service once again. Multiple recommendations have come from your comrades as to your elevation to the status of Inquisitor. An official review should be held within the next month to discuss that promotion, but until then, you are free.

-Lord Inquisitor Eskel, heading a tribunal on the Reinstatement of Theodora Magnissia.


	37. Down the Slippery Slope

Estelle frowned. "Erwine's not responding. I can't even find her. She's not…anywhere." Theodora looked as well.

"The only this is possible," Theodora remarked, "Is if her mind has been shielded very well. Not sure why she would do that for any other reason than if…" She let Estelle finish her words.

"She was escaping with Liselotte," Estelle cursed. They were just arriving back to the inquisitorial building. A bright light lit up the night sky as a shuttle craft slipped away and shot upwards.

"Damn it!" Estelle shouted. _Justinia, get the others up. Get in the shuttle get up to the ship. We'll be right behind you, Erwine's broken Liselotte out! _Justinia responded with an affirmative.

Nadine didn't need to ask. She simply walked past the two, chuckling softly to herself. "You saw this coming." Estelle spat.

"I did," Nadine confirmed.

"Why didn't you stop it?" The dark-haired inquisitor demanded.

"That's a good question," Nadine replied, not turning around or stopping, "Perhaps you ought to answer it in regards to yourself."

* * *

"Bolton, this is Erwine, please open the hangar doors."

"Erwine, sorry, but I'm getting some words from people a lot higher than you are to keep them closed."

"Nice," she remarked. She took a deep breath. Her magic was released. "Open the doors!"

"On it," the reply came, artificial sounding. Liselotte swing the craft inside. "Now shut them!" Erwine shouted again. They closed behind the shuttle.

The two magical girls were running out of the craft, "For the bridge!" Erwine cried, "We make it there, and we can get this ship out of the system!" They ran as fast as they possibly could.

Elle Langnesse was not happy at the moment. She had been getting some sleep, and had been looking forwards to perhaps spending some time on the surface the next day. Then a frantic call from the bridge woke her.

Holding the vox in her hand as she hurried to the bridge, she shouted at the caller, "Justinia?! What is going on?!"

"Erwine's getting away with a prisoner. Please stop the _Rosie. _Permission to disable the ship if necessary. Bolton will most likely be under telepathic influence." The neutral monotone came back gently and calmly in response to Elle's frantic shouts.

"Got it!" She shouted as she came onto the bridge. Her first officer already had the engines already, with weapons batteries at full. Slipping into the command chair, she felt herself plug into the ship's mainframe. She took a deep breath, "Channel to the _Rosie!" _

"Captain Bolton, this is Captain Langnesse of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Navy, you are hereby ordered to bring your vessel to a complete halt, and prepare for boarding. You have ten seconds to begin deceleration or we will open fire."

Bolton sent back a stream of curses. "Well whoever is controlling him is angry…" She observed under her breath. Increasing her volume, she barked out, "Prepare lances. Aim for the engines. Knock them out with precision, minimize collateral. Fire on my mark."

She took a deep breath. "Three, two, one, mark."

Bright white beams sliced through the blackness of the void. An equal number of bright flashes light up the nothingness as the shield repelled the lances. "Increase speed," Elle said, as the _Rosie _revved engines to maximum. Both were beginning to slip away from the planet.

"Lances fire at will," Elle ordered, "Prepare torpedoes, wait to fire on my mark."

Spears, packing colossal energy, ripped through space towards the fleeing target. The shield's flashing grew less and less bright and vibrant. "Enemy shields at 25%!" one called.

"Enemy speed is too risky for torpedoes. We might end up doing too much with this level of inaccuracy!" The armsman called.

"Continue with lances, prepare boarding parties, but do not launch till my mark." Another salvo of lasers. The shields popped like a massive bubble. "Hold!" Elle shouted, "Precision!" she reminded them, "Just one shot, end it quick!"

She trusted that the gunner would have the skill required. She knew he did. Being the patron of an inquisitor meant that one got a lot of pocket money lying around. Training crew members, and hiring the most skilled mercenaries, was not too hard.

The single bolt of truth flew like an arrow from the Goddess herself. And like such a strike of judgment, it inflicted the penalty upon the fleeing vessel. A large explosion lit the void as the lance impacted its target.

"Near hit!" came the call, "Engines not entirely disabled, they can still move, but we can close in even better now."

"Bolton!" Elle shouted, "Stop the damn ship or we will break it!"

"One more shot!" The armsman said, "One more shot will shut it all down."

"Careful," Elle reminded them, "What did the last hit?"

"An area which, theoretically, should not have been occupied." The response came.

"Will another hit destabilize the structural integrity? Of the engine area?"

"Possibly. The enemy ship was originally a merchant vessel, so it's not too touch. Seems to have been modified for speed, and some extra firepower, maybe some shielding. Not armor."

Made sense. Weapons from warships could kill continents. There was not much sense having that much of a focus on armor when it could still be cut through rather easily. Only the larger types of vessels could actually have the proper armor thickness to resist even a mild amount of warship fire.

"So yes, another lance shot of that magnitude would endanger everyone in that area. Possibly a few hundred deaths."

Elle nodded. "How far are they from possible warp jump point?" She sent the question to her navigator.

_If they've a good navigator, then they're still about forty-five minutes, maybe an hour away. We have time to catch up. _The soft reply came in a telepathic message.

"Reinforcements from Justinia?" Elle asked.

"Catching up. They won't' actually reach us at our current speed. We need to slow down if we want them assisting."

"If we slow down, can we still get into range, for shuttle launch?"

It took a few seconds, "Yes, but we won't be able to recover. Chances are the shuttles will get in right as the warp engines spin up. It will be incredibly risky. We'll have to pull away as soon as possible, or else we'll be caught up in the warp corridor as it closes."

The information was relayed to Justinia, who carried Sechylia, Sanae, Ayelen, and Wei along with her. "I'll take the risk," she decided, "Decelerate, then catch up."

A tense period of time passed as the chase continued. "Will they catch us?" Erwine demanded, only ten minutes left to warp entry.

"They are gaining on us, but they've yet to attempt anything more. They are in boarding range, but the shuttles shouldn't be able to get to us before we start opening the warp breach." Bolton answered. He felt the strange coercion on his mind as Erwine kept using her magic, but there was not much he could do about it.

"Would they even be able to get on?" Erwine asked.

"There is a hole in the rear of the ship. They could easily board through there and break through the doors, no matter how airtight they are."

"Jump to the nearest possible system, but not in the direction of Hadiens. We can take a more roundabout route. Hopefully they'll keep up the Reiker for the sake of protecting the rest of the sect, which will give us a lot more time to work with." Erwine ordered.

"Liselotte, can you keep handling him?" she asked.

"Yes," the girl replied, following Erwine as they went for the open doors of the bridge. "But only for so long before the warp forces me to shut down."

"Alright," Erwine said. They moved faster and faster for the rear of the ship, expecting the boarding to be there.

* * *

Before the door opened, Justinia ordered, "Take a deep breath. Shield yourself with your magic. You have about a minute before you start dying, depending on how well you can keep your body safe and pressurized. That is, if Wei's program fails. So get moving, very fast."

The program maintained a small bubble of air around the group as they kicked off from the ship. They touched down, and all linked hands. Justinia fired a salvo of rockets, holding her ground. They were on the _Rosie _now. The artificial gravity field was holding them down. The doors were blown open, they rushed forwards. The hallway in front of them depressurized as emergency doors in the middle began to close.

Justinia held them open, the others slipping by before she ducked in. Now standing before the five were two girls. Erwine and Liselotte looked a bit grim at the odds they had to face.

Wiping the bits of smoldering metal off of her suit, Justinia stood. A smile on her face.

"Well ladies, considered surrender yet?"

Erwine had considered surrender, actually. But there was no way she was actually going to do that. She accelerated forwards, her leapt carrying her as she swung her blade in a horizontal arc at the gathered opponents.

The sliding of metal on metal at a speed faster than Erwine could comprehend, and a fast of silver light, preceded a clang of one blade against another. She ended up forced back. Sanae sheathed her katana, spinning away as Ayelen stabbed forwards with two dozen spears.

"Stop it!" Erwine shouted. The girls would have had hearing disabled. But they were nearing the warp. Telepathy was not something that could be used. Ayelen hesitated. Erwine knocked the blades away, swinging towards Ayelen's body.

Justinia sighed, firing a salvo of rockets for the wall. They blew out a small hole. The air was gone. The gravity from the ship held them down. Wei opened a program that began to restore oxygen and pressurize the area as emergency doors closed down the hall, locking the combatants into the small arena.

Liselotte's hand yanked her back, pulling her away as Sechylia opened fire with her shotgun. Wide arcs, and a charged blade coursing with magic, knocked the pellets away, and Erwine leapt back in as Liselotte engaged Ayelen.

Sechylia was right in Erwine's range. Erwine tightened up her grip on the longer hilt of her greatsword, and stabbed in towards the girl. Her blade was glowing a sleek silver-ish sheen as she accelerated forwards.

Justinia stepped in. Her left hand drew something from a pitch black scabbard at her belt. It was a small scabbard, blending in perfectly with her suit. The small combat knife was tiny, not even her magical weapon.

It was unharmed as it was pressed, for barely a second, against the magical field of Erwine's blade, Justinia stepping to the side to intercept the attacker. Erwine's blade was deflected, the parry absolutely perfect. Erwine's jaw dropped in shock at the maneuver. She knew it was possible to have the speed and control to do such a thing, but doubted she'd ever see it in her lifetime.

Her momentum lost, Erwine stumbled. Justinia spun, bringing her left leg up. Erwine was now forwards by a foot, and to Justinia's left. Justinia slammed the heel of her fancy shoe into Erwine's head. Her knife was flipped around in her left hand.

As she spun around again, the knife was flicked ahead. It missed its target as Erwine saw the knife coming and tilted her head back. Instead of finding her eye and going right back into her brain, it found only her cheek.

The combat knife sunk to the hilt into Erwine's left cheek. There was still no way Erwine was going to give up now. Sechylia fired multiple times at Erwine, still reeling from Justinia's assault. Justinia had spun around, planting her left leg and lifting her right. Her stance switched, she kicked out with her right leg at Erwine.

Erwine held her blade with one hand. She choked up on the grip of the featherweight weapon with her right hand, swinging it around wildly to try and deflect the pellets coming at her. Her hardened skin should theoretically help with that issue, but they still hurt when they hit. Luckily, only her legs were hit, and even then, nothing too vital.

Erwine's left hand yanked out the knife in her cheek. She held it out, swinging the point towards the back of Justinia's leg that now came towards her face. With amazing control, Justinia retracted the leg just in time, and planted it on the ground. Erwine's swing missed, and Justinia hinged her left foot inwards, her left fist shoot out from her side with her knuckles facing down.

The hingestep only gave a massive amount more power to the strike, and then Justinia twisted it. Erwine felt her magic-enhanced body groan under the pressure of the strike. However, Erwine was still grounded at the moment. Her legs screamed in pain from Sechylia's shots, but Justinia's closeness prevented the girl from doing anything more.

She held her ground. Justinia's left fist, planted in Erwine's gut, then went upwards. Erwine still held the knife in her left hand, and was moving Nada in her right to cut into Justinia from the side. Erwine swung out horizontally at the level of Justinia's neck with the knife. Nada cut down where Justinia's torso should have been.

The girl bent her head down, while leaning back. This gave time for her right hand to come across her body and block Erwine's right wrist, catching it and preventing the greatsword from slicing off Justinia's left arm as it shot upwards at Erwine's chin.

The uppercut hit Erwine hard, knocking her off balance. Then Justinia came back in, standing up as she stepped backwards with her rear right foot. Her left arm straightened out. Erwine's left arm was still flailing out to the side. Justinia grabbed the wrist, twisting it. The knife dropped. It was taken.

Justinia took her hold on Erwine's right wrist and stretched the arm out, putting it behind her neck. Erwine's sword, however, was quite long. She pressed the edge to Justinia's throat, only pausing because of what was pressed to hers. Justinia wrapped her left arm around Erwine's neck, pressing the knife to her throat. That was where Erwine's soul gem was. The two paused there. Till Erwine realized she was exposed to Wei and Sechylia, both of whom were not involved in any other conflict.

Wei had a rather large program ready to be executed. Erwine didn't feel like getting hit by that. She flicked her right hand. Nada spun through the air, end over end, at Wei, who had to dodge to the side. Erwine moved forwards. She pressed to the side, resulting in the knife cutting into her collar instead of her soul gem.

For a human, this still would have meant death. Perhaps a slower one, but still death. For a magical girl, it was just another flesh wound. The weapon dug in, while Erwine's left hand snaked under Justinia's and pushed outwards. She forced the girl away with the sudden movement as she dragged her off balance.

Erwine stepped in with her left foot as Justinia's left arm was pushed away. Her right arm still held, she bent it as she punched Justinia in the gut. Justinia held her ground. The girl smiled, despite the fact that Erwine had the advantage at the moment.

The knife sunk deep into Erwine's lower back. "Smiling?" Erwine asked, confused. She was about to punch again before yanking her right arm away and finishing the duel.

Justinia's left arm pressed hard against Erwine's hips. It snaked around, and Justinia pulled Erwine tight against her. Her right arm came around Erwine's head and pulled her tight there.

The faces of the two girls were right next to each other. "Yeah," Justinia said, "Because I never wanted to win."

Erwine felt somebody grab her from behind. Arms encircled her neck. "Hey Erwine," Wei whispered. Justinia smiled one last time, before stepping away. Erwine felt the arms lock down on her, Wei slowly bringing her to the ground.

Relaxing Erwine into her lap. Erwine struggled wildly. She couldn't say anything. "Don't worry Erwine," Wei said softly, "I'll help you. I'm here for you."

The last thing Erwine saw before she blacked out was Wei looking over her, a smile on her face. Then there was a sharp crack.

* * *

The _Rosie _slipped into the warp, with its damaged engines and all, as Elle was helpless to do nothing but sit and watch. She sighed, "When can we pursue?" she asked.

_New jump point already found, _Moravia, the navigator, replied. She gave the coordinates. "Get us there," Elle ordered, "As fast as possible. Make the jump. Tell Estelle we'll have to go ahead of her in order to support them as fast as we can. Hours may make the difference here. Do you have a trajectory?"

"Yes, Victoria managed to get it to me before they jump," Moravia used the name of the _Rosie's _astrotelepath, who would be linked with the navigator. "Headed not towards Hadiens, but that's probably to confuse us. Already input trajectory. Can jump in fifteen minutes."

"Then hurry it up," Elle ordered.

Estelle and Nadine stood with Theodora on the bridge of her vessel. There'd been no time for goodbyes back on Curia. They had to go, after staying for not even two days. The stay had been one the most pleasant on a planet for none of them. With Estelle's experience on Hadiens, Nadine's experience on Khyllis, and Theodora's solitude on Vasillica, it was fair to say that Curia was a bright moment.

_Do you think Erwine will be alright? _Estelle asked Nadine privately.

_Most likely. Wei is there, and Justinia is as well. The former has a stake in the matter, and the latter will moderate things. I expect that Erwine will still have a lot of issues when we catch up to them, but not quite as severe as they were now. _Nadine was calm, as opposed to Estelle's fear and nervousness.

_Alright…_Estelle said.

_You're wondering if she was right. _Nadine observed.

_Theodora has said some strange things…not even related to the case, I mean. _

_She might just have her reasons…or Erwine might be right. Only time can tell, and we have plenty of time before we're going to be catching that girl._

* * *

Erwine woke up in a darkened room. Her hands were behind her back. Cuffed. She was expecting that, considering the manner in which she died in the first place. She looked about, realizing that it was her room. She sighed, knowing that things had perhaps gone in the worst possible direction.

The ship was damaged, which was really not good for something traveling through the warp, and she was trapped aboard with a bunch of people she did not exactly like. They did like her, however. Erwine tried to restrain her running mind, trying to make it see some kind of sense.

Time passed. Time kept passing. Erwine lost track.

The door opened. Erwine was not exactly surprised to see that it was Wei. She glared at the girl as she stood in the doorway silently. Wei hesitated. Erwine said nothing. She'd already said to Wei everything she had to say.

"You know this is just you running away again, right?" Wei asked.

That didn't seem to be understood by Erwine. "I don't see what you mean. I'm faced this issue head-on, really, I took control of the situation."

"Not from your problems…" Wei sighed. A dejected look came onto her features as she looked aside. Painfully, she said, "From me."

Erwine sucked in a long breath. She avoided Wei's gaze the whole way through, even as her words followed the exhalation. "I thought we'd already spoken on this." She said.

"We did," Wei confirmed. Teeth chattering in her mouth, she clenched down, steeling herself. "But that doesn't change what you did."

"I wonder what Justinia actually wants," Erwine cut in right at the end, "She seems so insignificant, yet somehow she keeps bouncing you right back to me." Erwine chuckled.

"Don't just shift the blame to her-" Wei started to say, but she was silenced.

"I'm not shifting any blame." Erwine spat. "What I'm saying is that you wouldn't be in here saying these things if Justinia hadn't put them in your head." For the first time, she looked Wei in the eyes. "Right?"

The dark-haired girl's jaw dropped. She just felt herself lose control as the world spun around her for a second. "Erwine…" She started, "You-you really don't care, do you?"

"Wei. I told you, I don't like people who get in my way." Erwine explained, "You're going to come in here and go on about how sad your life is because I ran away from you, and how I should just stop all this for one reason or another." Her voice was ice-cold as she stated, "I will not stop. Not because you whine to me, nor because your sadness is enough to change my mind. I just won't. So why even try, Wei?"

"I want to try," Wei replied her voice determined, "Even if you're not going to listen, I want to try."

"Try to do what? Get me to give you a hug and tell you I'll never run away again?" Wei shook her head. Erwine sat on her bed, her legs crossed. "Then why did you come here? To taunt me? To try and convince me that I'm wrong?" She wondered, "Is everyone lined up out there waiting to come in and try?"

"No, I'm not at all willing," Erwine replied. A sick grin spread across her face. "And here we come to the great dilemma. I want more, to stop being controlled, but the only way to do that is to throw away everyone else around me, become like Adrianne was. I don't want to do that, so I can't do what I want to do."

Erwine laughed maniacally, "Don't you see how beautiful it is?"

"You could just get some backbone, and stand up for yourself," Wei suggested, "You want more power, then go out and get it."

"But as long as I'm wrapped up in this whole issue with Ishna, and whatever she has set up, I can't," Erwine explained, "I have to keep chasing this mystery, no matter where it takes me. It's the reason Adrianne made me, to go do all of this. But if I do, then I can't break away from what controls me, and if I don't, I disrespect Adrianne."

Wei tightened her fists. She gritted her teeth together. She was tiring quickly of hearing that accursed name. "Who cares about Adrianne?!" Wei shouted, her anger suddenly driving Erwine back, "She's dead! She's going to stay that way! Just go and do what you want to, and stop whining about what she might have wanted you to do?!"

"Don't say that about her!" Erwine shot back, standing up from the bed, taking steps forwards, "Adrianne…She meant more to me than you can possible understand!"

"Really?" Wei asked. She walked forwards, the two meeting in the middle of the room. "Is that why you don't want to be compared to her?! Is that why you hate being just like her?!"

Erwine shook her head. Wei saw her crying. "Adrianne…I loved her like my mother. She raped me, she hurt me in ways no one else ever can again, but I…I won't let you defile her memory! Get out of this room if all you have to say is hateful!"

Wei slapped Erwine. There was not much Erwine could do about it, her hands still bound behind her. The slap was hard, knocking Erwine's head to the side. "Silence," Wei ordered, "I am the one with the power here." She was calmer now. "You will listen to me, or I will just walk out of this room. I know you really don't want me to."

"Really?" Erwine asked. She turned around. "Go, I don't care. You represent only an obstacle, Wei." She took a deep breath, slowing herself down. "I know this was all…so very sudden. But please…I respect you, a lot. Stop believing that I'm going to come back for you. I said that one day, this will all be over, and I can live up to that promise I made you. That still holds true."

Erwine looked over her shoulder. Her sad eyes met Wei's. "I'm sorry. I know you don't think I am, but I'm sorry. If saying that word enough times could make all the bad things you did go away, I would proudly say that as many times as needed. But it can't, so go."

"Erwine…" Wei said. She stepped forwards.

"Wei…Let me make this choice for myself. That's all I want. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm the one acting foolish, and being deceived. I probably am." Erwine looked forwards again. "But it's still my choice. Let me have my little moment of foolish freedom. I think that's what you're supposed to give to stupid teenagers like me."

"The difference is that your little moment of foolish freedom might get people killed, came very close to that," Wei said. "A teenage girl's rebellion against her parents doesn't tend to start Inquisitorial incidents."

"Then the comparison was false," Erwine corrected herself, "But it still works in a way."

"Erwine, why are you really doing this?" Wei snapped, anger suddenly flaring, "You know exactly why, and I think you're just scared to admit that's the reason." The room was silent. "I know it has to do with Ishna, but all of this, this firmness of your belief, there's something more."

Erwine looked down in thought. She became serious in that moment, really understanding what was being asked of her. "I've told one person what my wish was," Erwine said. "I'm not sure I want to make you the second…"

"What do you have to lose?" Wei asked. She walked forwards. She laid a hand on Erwine's shoulder, the girl's back still turned to her.

"I wish to become more than I am now, to have the power to make my own decisions, to control my own fate. To be my own person, free of control." Erwine spoke in a soft whisper, reciting the words that had become burned into her memory. "Those are the words I spoke to the Incubator on that day."

Wei winced. She could tell why Erwine was so consumed by anger at her fate. "That…I'm sorry," Wei whispered.

"Don't apologize when you had nothing to do with any of this." Erwine ordered. "Just understand why."

Wei nodded, "Thank you, for telling me all of that." She turned for the door. "Goodbye, Erwine…see you soon I guess."

Erwine only nodded as she heard the door open and close softly. She expected someone else to enter after Wei. No one did. She felt another presence in front of the door, but not that of a magical girl.

She spun around. There had been no sound of the thing entering. But that made sense. It was one of _them. _The white thing sat there, large eyes staring up at Erwine. Its tail flicked back and forth.

"What did you do?!" Erwine shouted, "I made a wish, where is the result?!"

_The result? _The Incubator asked. _I'm afraid that your wish…it just didn't work out._

"You're supposed to grant wishes, right?!" Erwine shouted, "Why did mine not come true?! I made a contract with the Goddess herself, is she not strong enough to enact my wish?!"

_The issue was not with what you asked. The issue was with your ability to enact that. Your potential was not enough to create a sufficiently capable soul gem. You see, everyone in this universe is woven together with dozens of threads of fate, tying them to everything they will encounter in their lifetimes. _

_You are no exception, Erwine Braune. You wished those threads of fate away, which means that there is no set ending for you. This would require a massive amount of potential. Only the Goddess herself would be able to do such a thing with her soul gem. You cannot. The result of your wish was that it failed. You will never get the outcome of your wish. _

"You lie!" Erwine was shaking, tears streaming down her face. "Stop lying to me!"

_But I'm not lying. I can't lie. Why would I lie to you right now? You cannot become as you wish. You still have a set end. You shall walk down the path to that end until you encounter it. You have contracted, so you are still bound by a duty to the Goddess. _

Erwine fell down to her knees. She shook her head, "You can't be telling the truth…please…please make my wish come true."

_It never will come true. _The Incubator replied. Erwine could not detect a hint of emotion in its voice. _Why do you care? You should have been wary with what you wished for. _The incubator warned her. Erwine lunged forwards, trying to lash out at the thing. It was behind her now. _Don't be silly, Erwine. Conserve your energy. _

"I made a wish!" Erwine shouted at the top of her lungs. She stood up. Spinning around, she glared at the incubator. "It will come true, whether or not the Goddess will grant it!"

_You can't. _The Incubator replied.

"The Infinite Potential Theory says otherwise!" Erwine shouted.

_There is no example of that theory save for the Goddess herself. Do you intend to become just like her? _

"If I have to…" Erwine hesitated, before she made her declaration, "If I have to, I will become another goddess, just for the sake of my wish. I made that and left everything I loved behind. I destroyed the life of my best friend for that wish, only to find out that I made the wrong wish…" Erwine took a deep breath. "I will do this, and you cannot stop me."

_I do not intend to. Your own limitations will tear you apart before you get even close to the objective. _The Incubator promised. _The Imperium needs people like you. Smart, competent people. Let go of this fantasy, and just accept the path that is set for you. _

"Never," Erwine promised, "I'll never do that. Not now, nor at any time in the future."

_Well then, _the Incubator said. It turned around. _I have nothing more to say. _The lights flickered. For a moment, a split second, the light was pitch black. Then the incubator was gone.

Erwine was still sobbing. But a new resolve appeared on her face. To do something that she knew, deep down in her heart, that she could not do. She smiled a little.

"I wonder what Adrianne might think if she saw me now…"

* * *

Erwine was pacing about the room when the door opened again. She was wondering who it was. She doubted it would be Wei, and was surprised to find that it was Ayelen. "Hmmm…and what stake do you have in this whole issue?"

"You're still a friend of mine," Ayelen explained as she entered, the door shutting with a soft click behind her. "At least you were. Are you still?"

Erwine shrugged. She stood there with her face covered in tears. "Do I look like I am?" The question was not rhetorical. She was actually expecting a reply.

It took a bit of time for Ayelen to actually understand that. Erwine chuckled, and just kept pacing about the room, practically ignoring Ayelen till she spoke again. It would take a minute for that to happen. "At this point, you seem to be equally distancing yourself from everyone."

"True, true," Erwine agreed, in a crazed singsong tone. She had started pirouetting about, a motion that was making Ayelen back away towards the door, a confused look on her face.

"Erwine…what are you doing?" the question was asked shakily, Ayelen feeling like she was staring at someone descend into madness.

"Just thinking to myself," Erwine replied in an uncannily whimsical voice, "But you're here, so it's rather hard."

"Would you prefer that I left?" Ayelen wondered.

"Yes, but you won't," Erwine guessed perfectly.

"I know that you don't want help…but I just want to talk to you."

"About what?" Erwine asked. She knew Ayelen was just going to disguise her true intentions with words that might be more appealing to Erwine.

"What you've been doing. I want to understand why." Ayelen explained. She leaned back against the door, Erwine still occupying all of the room with her seemingly random movements.

"I guess I haven't told you at all," Erwine remarked. She stopped moving, looking Ayelen in the eyes, "Perhaps you want to know?"

"Yes," Ayelen said.

"I made a wish to gain control over my own fate. That wish…did not come true." Erwine explained. "I just found out it _can't _come true. I want my wish to come true, but I can't make it without reducing myself to the level of Adrianne."

"I see the dilemma," Ayelen said. "But why don't…why do you care so much about your wish?"

"For fourteen years I was nothing more than a tiny piece of a great machine. I made my wish with the intention of wiping away any chance of some unknown force controlling me. But that didn't work. Here I am, still being led down a path by Ishna's plan, towards an end set for me when I was born. My best friend, she hates me for abandoning her back there."

"I need my wish to come true, or else I did it for nothing," Erwine explained. She smiled sweetly. The smile was false. Behind it, Ayelen could see touches of insanity. The same things she saw in Adrianne. "Do you see now?"

"You could-"

"How about we not play the 'you could…' game?" Erwine requested, "I played it with Wei. It didn't work. You have two options. Either keep talking and go in some different direction, or get out."

Ayelen choose the former option. "Why do you still worship Adrianne?"

Erwine chuckled. "Well, should've seen that coming." She spun around, just one rotation. Her feet gracefully came to a stop as she put a smile on her face. "Well, that's a good question, let me do my best to answer it."

"Adrianne made me the way I am today. If it weren't for her, and her influence, I doubt I would have amounted to much as a magical girl. Especially because my wish failed. I respect Adrianne because in the end, she cared for me more than anything else. I failed her in the end, so I owe her multiple debts. One for all the good she's done to me, and one for all the good I have failed to do for her. The last I can do is ensure that her legacy is untarnished, and that the person whom she spent half her life hunting down is stopped forever."

"I don't think you're going to succeed," Ayelen said.

"Does it matter what you think?" Erwine asked, "This is what I think. It's what I believe. You can't make me think otherwise, at least not for now. I will keep watching, searching, until I tear up every part of the mystery Ishna laid out for me to solve. And when that happens…only then can I be truly satisfied."

"You're going to destroy yourself. You really are going to be the same thing Adrianne was. Just a tortured soul blindly searching for redemption. I don't want to see that."

"But I don't care," Erwine said. "I've already accepted all of this. Please, let me be."

Ayelen shook her head, "Erwine, you were always stronger than this. What happened to the Erwine…the Erwine who was able to forgive, not even a day afterwards, someone who raped them?"

"Adrianne had a reason to do that. It had nothing to do with integrity and willpower. She had...she was possessed by her sorrow, her anguish. I did my job of serving the Inquisition there. I won't deny that. This is about getting your wish denied. Learning that your wish failed, and that it will never come true. This means that everything I have done has been for no gain." Erwine shrugged, "I've gotten nothing, which is against the whole point of the system."

"Sounds selfish to me," Ayelen said.

"Exactly," Erwine agreed. She laughed a little, her face spreading into a wide smile, "Perhaps that's way this all hurts me so much. I know full well that I'm just being a selfish fool, unwilling to change." The girl shrugged. "I understand this is all so very foolish."

She sighed. "Well, I'd prefer if you could go now. I'd like some time alone, and it's fairly obvious that you're done as well."

Ayelen shook her head, "No, not really. I care for you, even though we've never been the closest. Adrianne hurt me, Laelia continued, but even I was not as beaten on as you were. I don't understand how you did it, but apparently you just pretended you were fine."

Erwine laughed as the girl walked towards the door. "You think this has to do with some kind of pent up emotions?" she shook her head, even though Ayelen was already exiting, "Well, you're so very wrong."

The door shut. Ayelen either didn't hear, or didn't heed, the words Erwine said. The girl knew that the latter was what happened.

* * *

"Sorry about all the telepathic controlling," Justinia said to the man, standing on the bridge next to his chair. "Hope it didn't cause too much trouble."

"Oh no," Bolton said, his sarcasm quite clear. "It only caused pretty heavy damage to my ship. I'm sure it'll all be fine, especially since we're in the warp with half the engine power we should have."

"Is there anything major we need to be worrying about?" Justinia asked, "If there is, I'd like to know."

"The Gellar field might end up failing if things keep going the way they are. We've run into a strong patch of turbulence. Nothing that would matter normally, but as we are, we might suffer a breach of some kind, even if it is minor."

"What kind of breach? Just the astrotelepath and navigator, or would it spread farther?"

"There's a good chance we'll just lose those two for a bit, about sixty-three percent. But the rest of the chance…well, if the die rolls in that direction, then the humans are not going to be making it out with entirely whole bodies and minds. You all should be alright, provided things don't get too bad."

"Can we drop out of the warp?" Justinia asked.

"Not at this point," that was Melody, using the vox, given that her mind was otherwise occupied. "We're in interstellar space. We could send out a distress signal, but we'd just be floating there. It wouldn't be hard to survive, but I'm not sure it's the best option with the damages we have, as we don't know what might come along."

"What do you suggest?"

"You plotted a course for the nearest system. That is about one day away, maybe a bit more if this turbulence continues as it does. However, the Gellar field is to fail within thirteen hours. We have twenty-five plus to destination. It wouldn't be hard for us to get picked up by someone from that system, but I think it is safe to say that we have enemies. If they know we are damaged, then they could just as easily catch up to us. So we continue going for as long as possible, then drop out at the last second. We batten down the hatches, and prepare to wait out what might be enemy attack while awaiting rescue."

She took a deep breath. "Let me extend an apology for getting you, your crew, and your ship wrapped up in all of this," Justinia said to the man beside her, "I can't imagine this entire incident has been pleasant."

"It has not been," Bolton agreed.

"Has Erwine been acting like this for the past six months?" Justinia wondered.

"To an extent, yes. She was reckless, uncaring about authority, doing what she thought was best for her goals." Bolton said. "What did happen on Curia, it seemed like something just pushed her over the edge?"

"A lot, too much to explain now." Justinia replied, "I should go speak to her, make sure that everything is alright. We can't have her causing trouble. Need to talk to the other one as well."

"May I speak to Erwine as well?" Bolton asked.

"You want to?"

"Do you think it might help in any way?"

"Perhaps," Justinia said, "You can, if you want to. But let me get in there and judge her first. Wei can't be relied upon, and even though Ayelen did go talk to her, I doubt that helped either."

She walked away from the man's chair. Bolton called, "Adrianne really was a good person at heart, you know. Erwine…Erwine respects that woman because of that fact."

Justinia nodded. "I know someone like that."

The remark meant little to Bolton, so he didn't say anything in reply. He kept sitting where he was, merely hoping that this would not end with his soul being a feast for a flock of daemons.

* * *

Erwine was tired now. She sat on her bed, expecting Justinia to arrive before she was going to be able to go to sleep. She did want some rest. Her night had been devoid of it entirely, and she had been awake for a full day now.

Sure enough, the crimson-haired woman, a stoic look still on her face, did enter the room. "I'm sure you've heard all about how Ayelen and Wei want to help you. I'm not here to say that, and I know you're going to take me seriously. I am here to assess how much of a threat you are."

"At this point," Justinia continued, "We are all in this together. Within thirteen hours, the Gellar field will fail. Hopefully we will be able to drop out of the warp before that point. If we cannot, the ship will be breached by daemons. I sincerely hope that does not happen. If it does, we need to stick together. However, I am not going to let you out until that point, unless you can show me that you actually understand what your actions have caused and can explain why you carried through with whatever foolish thoughts were in your head."

Erwine hesitated. She took a deep breath, and seemed to have to force the words out in the end. But she spoke. She spoke of what she said to Wei and Ayelen. But that wasn't everything.

"Is there something more?" Justinia asked. _All that doesn't explain her current attitude. _She thought. "Erwine, you need to tell me everything, or else I cannot trust you."

"My wish failed," Erwine said quickly. It slipped out of her mouth like an accident.

Justinia was saddened. The fact that her cool demeanor was broken for a couple seconds meant more than anything else. "I'm sorry," she said, seeming to understand entirely.

A long pause came before she spoke again. Composing herself once more, Justinia said, "Then, Erwine." She walked forwards. Her hands moved to her sides. Erwine gasped as Justinia suddenly leapt onto the bed, knocking Erwine onto her back.

In her right hand was a key, in the left her knife. She moved her hand to unlock Erwine's restraints, before placing the knife against her chest, and guiding Erwine's hand to it. "I'm in your way," Justinia said, "Now come, kill me."

A beat. Erwine gritted her teeth and tossed the knife aside. "I don't want to hurt anyone." She said, "It was never my intention to get anyone hurt." Her eyes went wide as everything came crashing down at once.

Justinia stood quickly and retrieved her knife. "You technically outrank all of us here. Therefore, I am placing you in command. I am going to speak to Liselotte. Remember, fighting us won't make it easier in thirteen hours." She left the room without another word.

Erwine felt the first tears slipping down her cheeks as she struggled to sit up. _My wish failed. I'm just like Adrianne. Everyone on this ship will die because of me. _The horrific realizations went round and round in her head. She couldn't escape from them. She stumbled forwards, before falling down to her knees. She sobbed uncontrollably as she somehow tried to find an excuse to stand up and keep moving.

There wasn't one. She had done everything wrong. Her soul gem filled with darkness.

But there was still something she had left to do. Even if everything else was for naught, her goal had not changed. "All along, that's what I've been trying to do. Escape from the destiny Ishna gave to me. If that's really the case then…then escaping from all the destiny can't be much harder." She forced herself to her feet, bringing her tears under her control.

"That's right," She whispered, "I still have to stop her. I still have to…" A bit of a grin came onto her face. "I still have to be a hero." She wiped the tears from her eyes as she strode to the door. "I won't give up, at least not until Adrianne, Ishna, and everything they wrought has been laid to rest."

* * *

Erwine was pacing about the hallway in front of her room when she saw Bolton come down it. He was surprised to see her at first, before she said, "I'm in charge, now."

"In charge?" Bolton asked.

"Yes," Erwine replied, "Justinia apparently doesn't want to be in charge. So she released me. I understand the situation."

"She told you about that?"

"Indeed," Erwine confirmed, "Only about twelve and a half hours left till we're fighting for our lives, or just drifting amidst nothingness. Either way…" She just shrugged.

Bolton chuckled as he approached. "So I guess you're feeling a bit better?"

"Perhaps," Erwine agreed. "But no so much, I'd say."

"What do you mean?" Bolton asked.

Erwine wouldn't dare speak to him about the more personal issues. "Well I'm in charge now. Ayelen and Wei gave me some time to think about what I've done…but Justinia made me realize that I really am the odd one out here. The only one believing what Liselotte says, purely because I want to rebel against destiny."

"Maybe you really have some kind of gut feeling, some instinct, telling you she's correct?" Bolton wondered.

"Perhaps," Erwine agreed, "But I don't think so. I'm really more inclined to chalk this all down to some despair-induced bought of foolishness and selfishness on my part."

"What if you're right? What would you do then?"

"I'd consider the whole gut instinct thing, but I don't think I am." Erwine shook her head, "Liselotte…tells a convincing story, but there are plenty of holes. Things that she refuses to entirely explain. She's hiding something, but perhaps getting her out here will make her more inclined to talk."

Bolton laid a hand on Erwine's shoulder. "Adrianne was a good person," he reminded her, "Don't feel bad if you're becoming like her."

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked.

"She was terrible to you, I won't deny that, but remember the times besides that? She was fun a lot of the time, she had a good attitude a lot of the time. Things changed with you because she had to do all those things to you, at least in her head she thought she had to. If Ishna had died on that asteroid, and Adrianne had lived…she would be a wonderful person right now, I don't doubt that for a moment."

"You're serious?" Erwine asked.

"I am serious," Bolton confirmed, "More than serious. She had a lot of potential to be an amazing person if she just let go of her anguish and brightened up. Thanks to you, she would have, were it not for her untimely death."

"Seriously?" Erwine asked. The idea of Adrianne living a normal, happy life was almost an alien one for Erwine.

"Yeah, I don't know if that makes you feel any better. I can say for certain that you're nowhere near as bad as Adrianne was. Breaking promises with one person was nothing like what Adrianne did."

"I know," Erwine said. "But…I just still have my doubts about what I'm doing."

"Then go ahead with what you're doing. Let the consequences come, and deal with them if they appear. Unless you can see the future, there is not much more you can do." Bolton shrugged. He took a deep breath.

"I'll go, you should get some rest." He turned around, walking down the hallway. Erwine watched him go, almost sad the conversation was over. She was lightened by it, believing a bit more in herself.

She turned towards the door to her room, entering inside. She looked at the bed, deciding to make what seemed like a sound choice, and get some rest.

* * *

It was like something out of a dream. Not in the slightest way had it changed since she left it. Her eyes ran over every inch, seeking to find some irregularity, some kind of difference that set the room apart from how she knew it. But there was none. All she could find was the same thing she'd seen for years. Years that had been some of the worst of her life.

Arms crossed, body shaking, her breathes started to become more and more unsteady. A hand fell on her shoulder. Ayelen gasped, turning to face the offender, but calming as she recognized the face. "Ah," She said…as Sanae gave her a worried look.

"Bad memories?" She asked. Ayelen just nodded.

"You know," she said. Her legs collapsed under her, and Sanae stepped in to hold her up. They stood there for a few moments, resting in each other's grips. "I'm scared," Ayelen whispered.

"I know you are," Sanae replied. "But…I feel as though we'll be fine."

"Why do you think that?" Ayelen asked, almost unable to believe such optimism.

"Because I want to." Sanae replied. "There's really no reason more than that." Ayelen nodded, content with the answer.

* * *

Liselotte was cuffed in the chair. Sechylia had been keeping watch on her over the course of the past hour. Justinia now entered. She looked at the girl, whose face shot out an angry scowl.

"Well, Erwine is in charge now," Justinia explained. Liselotte's face turned into something entirely different, now showing total confusion. "She proved that I can trust her. You see, there are zero people accusing her of working for the enemy. However, Theodora is accusing you, and even Erwine isn't sure on what you are."

"Therefore, you are not going to be coming out of that chair until you begin talking, about everything you know." Justinia pulled up another chair in front of the girl. She sat down, crossing arms and legs. "Torture is not going to work, and we've no telepath to get into your head if we could use telepathy anyways, so I guess we'll just have to do this another way."

She looked Liselotte in the eyes. "So far, nine humans and one magical girl are dead thanks to your actions. Now don't start telling me how you weren't responsible for the ruins attack. You were, we wouldn't have been there if you hadn't started all of this."

"For the human deaths, you'd be looking at a full telepathic examination, and possible reprogramming. If you don't get brainwashed into being a better person, then that's over ten years in prison, and penal duties after that. For the magical girl killing?" Justinia shook her head, "That's going to be twenty-five plus years, given that it was indirect. But still twenty-five years."

Justinia leaned in, "Do you want to spend twenty-five years of your life in prison? Do you know what could change in those twenty-five years?"

She spoke in a calm, gentle tone. She held no threat in her voice, just the cold stating of facts. "Do you, Liselotte Arna? Or would you prefer to speak up and save yourself the trouble?"

The girl said nothing. Did nothing. Justinia nodded. "If you really are found to be working for Ishna, then that's going to be considered grand heresy, given who Ishna was. You're getting death at that point. Not a slow death, but still death."

"Do you want to live?" Justinia asked, "Or do you want to die along with the rest of the Hadiens Sect? I control Estelle, if you want me to be honest. She doesn't control Juno, but Juno listens to Estelle. Estelle has eyes directly on this entire affair. Juno will be the one cracking down on you all when this ends. I can probably convince Estelle to convince Juno to not be so harsh on the entirety of the Hadiens Sect. I know you're all in on this. Well, I don't _know. _But I'm pretty sure, and from the way you look at the moment, I'm right."

Liselotte still didn't speak a word. Justinia sighed. She turned around, thinking hard. Her mind ran around and around. _I have to get her to talk. If I can't, then there's no way we know what's really going on. Especially with what's about to happen, this may be our only chance. _

She turned around. Liselotte's confident eyes met her own. Subdued was the cold in them, but it was there. "In a few hours, your life suddenly starts to begin hanging by a thin thread. Your behavior so far has made me think this was no suicide mission. At least a part of you wants to live. Talking now will assist you greatly. As much as I want you to live so that I can know what you know, I also want to live myself." She knelt down, pressing her face within inches of Liselotte's. Her voice barely registered in Liselotte's ears. "What I'm saying is that I wouldn't hesitate to give you up to the warp if it meant saving myself, and people who mean far more to me."

Liselotte shivered. Her eyes widened. Several times, they blinked, as though she realized what was going on. Her teeth bit down on her lip, tugging at the flesh as her eyes darted back and forth in their sockets. "Don't dawdle," Justinia suggested, "From what navigators and astrotelepaths have told me, being taken by a demon is a terrible thing. I wonder what it'd be like to be cast into the warp for eternity." Her lips moved to right beside Liselotte's ear. "Do you? Because I think you might just find out, if you remain so stubborn."

Observing from the corner of the room, Sechylia shivered. Not a single threat had been uttered. Just facts. The cold, hard truth. Laid out in a dramatic fashion, but that pushed it over the edge. Liselotte knew that she only heard what really would happen if she refused to speak.

Her eyes closed. A regretful sigh tinged with fear came from her mouth. Then, she spoke. "The intention was to draw whoever was working for Ishna to Curia. As well as Estelle. We figured she would bring Erwine and Nadine as well."

Justinia looked Liselotte in the eyes, and grinned in approval. "And?"

"If there is a plan, someone has to be carrying it out, right?" Liselotte said. "Part of what we uncovered revealed some ritual had to take place. What I did was a mimic of that, hoping to bring out whoever is assisting Ishna's plan."

Justinia frowned. "So you're saying Theodora is Ishna's agent?" Liselotte nodded.

"That is what the evidence would indicate." She confirmed.

"Good." Justinia stood up. She gestured to the door, and Sechylia opened it. "We shall speak more later. For now, consider if there's anything else you need to tell me." With that, the girl departed. The door shut behind her.

* * *

She was lying down on her bed. Her eyes were finally closed after what seemed like an eternity of painful revelations and harsh conversations. The last thing that she wanted was someone else to talk to. But apparently the world had other plans for her.

Yet the knock…it was different. Erwine had never heard anything like it before. She stood up. The door was locked. She didn't want anyone else coming in. She hesitated before opening the door. It could have been Sechylia, so she supposed that Justinia had something major to tell her.

Erwine was surprised, however, to find that the person in question was not at all Sechylia. Nor anyone else she usually talked to. "Victoria?" she raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the little girl, who had a pleasant expression on her petite face.

"Hello," Victoria said, her voice low. Erwine saw Justinia and Sechylia standing across the hall. "May I come in?"

"I guess," Erwine said. She figured that the girl had something good to say, given that she had to have known that Erwine wasn't in a good mood. Victoria rarely associated herself with Erwine unless she had something good to say.

The door was closed as Erwine walked back into her room. "What do you want to talk about?" Erwine's fatigue showed in the faintness of her voice.

"I don't know," Victoria replied. She went and sat on Erwine's bed. The other girl was still standing in the middle of the room. She hadn't invited her to do anything. But that was how Victoria was, rather assertive for her role, size, and personality as a whole.

"Then why come here?"

"You want company," Victoria replied.

"Really?" Erwine asked.

"Would you have let me in if you did not?" Victoria wondered. She answered the question for herself, "You wouldn't have. It's not bad to have some weakness."

Erwine sighed. "Please Victoria, I've not the time for pointless bantering. I'd like to get some sleep."

"I'd like some sleep as well," Victoria agreed, "I'd prefer to be as rested as I can be before the Gellar field fails."

"You don't expect us to make it out in time?"

"Assuming the worst," Victoria explained, "Generally works better than hoping for the best."

Erwine didn't feel like agreeing with her, despite knowing that it was true. "So you're going to sleep in here?"

"I want company," Victoria said, before laying down on the bed, as if the three words would give Erwine all the explanation she needed.

"Wouldn't you be safer in your sanctuary?" Erwine asked.

"Are you scared of having me in here?"

"Will you be insulted if I say yes?"

"Not at all," Victoria grinned, "I know I'm a major threat to those around me. But I'd prefer to just be in here."

"What's the other motive?" Erwine asked, "I can tell you have one."

Victoria chuckled. "A bit aggressive, aren't we? Don't worry, someone with your experience I can understand."

"You mean that?"

"Yeah," Victoria said. She caught Erwine's eyes in the darkened room. She smiled. "I've watched you over the past year. Everyone else…they don't seem to get what you've been through."

"Not even Nadine?"

"She gets it, but she's siding with Estelle for some reason. I can't actually fathom why. I did want to come here to tell you that I don't blame you for your actions."

"You're serious?" Erwine asked.

"Of course I'm serious. You're not at fault. Many other factors are. But not you, not entirely." Victoria rolled over, facing away from Erwine. There was room on the bed still, but Erwine was going to feel a bit uncomfortable. "I'm not sure if I ought to…" she muttered.

"Oh don't worry," Victoria said. She insisted, "Sleep, you're going to need it."

Laying there in silence for half a minute, Erwine then asked, "Do you think we'll make it through this? In one piece?"

"Certainly," Victoria said, "Too much has gone on for you to die now. If Ishna really did create some big plan, it's not as if she'd let you die thanks to an event like this."

"Do you think she'd predict all of these exact things occurring?"

"Do you think she could have?" Victoria replied.

"There's a chance." Erwine said, "She was very powerful…and I suppose we all have a set destiny."

"Exactly. I think she was a very smart one. Maybe she didn't see this coming. Maybe she did. For all you know, you're just going to dance along to her tune until her final goal is accomplished."

"Can we…can we stop talking about this?" Erwine let her fear guide her words in this moment.

"Certainly." Victoria went silent. After another minute, Erwine heard nothing more from the girl than hushed breathing. She was asleep.

Carefully, Erwine stood. She found the vox in her room, left by Justinia, and lifted it to her lips, clicking it on. _Just one last thing I must do. _She told herself. _Before I embark on this path forever. _

* * *

Wei stared up at the ceiling. Just beyond that relatively thin barrier of a window covered by a might plate of armor was the hellish dimension that would come pouring forth in only a matter of hours. Somehow, she didn't feel scared.

Not because some bravery had been found within herself, but more because she just didn't know how. Her mind was occupied entirely with Erwine. Every thought had to do with that girl had said. _Is Erwine really to blame? _She wondered. _Her wish was made to escape from fate. If she really is Ishna's pawn then...it didn't work, did it? She's just trapped, and all she can do is rage against the shackles placed on her. _

Wei shuddered. _I want to stay with her, but how am I supposed to when she rejects everything in sake of that wish? Of course, wishes are what we're made of. She gave her soul for that wish. If it's not fulfilled then…then her only purpose in life would be to see that it is. Can I do anything at all to change her? _

The vox clicked on. "Wei, please reply." It was Erwine's voice. Justinia had informed them all of her decision, and while Wei didn't find herself agreeing, she didn't find herself disagreeing.

"Erwine, I just want to be left alone," she spoke softly into the device.

"I understand, but I want to apologize before anything starts happening," Erwine explained. The sound of a deep breath came through the crackly line. "I'm sorry, for both what I have done, and for what you have done."

Before Wei could ask for an explanation, Erwine gave it. "You made a mistake, unfortunately. By choosing me, you have dedicated yourself to chasing someone who can't be followed. Or maybe you can follow me, but you won't enjoy where I go." A pause. "It is my intention to break free of destiny. To escape everything that might control me."

With a heavy voice, Erwine said, "Wei, my wish failed. I didn't get what I desired, because I'm not strong enough. Even now, I don't think I'm strong enough. But that doesn't mean I'll stop. I'll keep going till the very end. And that end will be me escaping my destiny." With that, the vox clicked off. Wei didn't know how to reply, so she didn't try.

She just felt herself crying. A tiny voice in her head said that she can still change her. Wei choose to believe that voice. Perhaps she had no power, even in comparison to Erwine. But that didn't mean she couldn't try. She swore to herself. "I'll find some way. Some way to change this, to change Erwine."


	38. Against Death and Destiny

They weren't training in the large practice room. The reason for them being there was entirely because they found that it was not used. They didn't know why, as Theodora's group was disciplined, but perhaps that was the reason why. They just didn't need it.

Estelle paced in a circle around Nadine, who stood in the center, unmoving, not even to follow the girl's movements. "So Erwine ran off with Liselotte…" Estelle said. She'd muttered several facts like this in the past ten minutes of her pacing, and Nadine had not responded to any of them.

Estelle finally changed up her routine with this one. "But why? What did I do wrong? How did I mess up?"

"You beat her," Nadine replied. "Adrianne never did that to her. Even when she raped her, Erwine let it happen because Adrianne gained some kind of pleasure from it. Did beating Erwine, assaulting her, give you any happiness?"

"No,"

"Then it would not make Erwine happy. She is so forgiving, and caring for others. She'll take any punishment, but forgive it readily, because she doesn't want to be held by bonds of hatred or dislike. It would go against the way she lives her life, wanting to be free of control. Hating someone would guide her actions against that person."

"But why won't she forgive me?" Estelle asked.

"She needs time. And Estelle, you don't mean anything to Erwine. From the very start, you were an interloper. You've been trying to exhibit dominance over her from the very start of your cooperation with her. Adrianne was practically her mother, but you're just an enemy. There's a big difference there."

"How do you know all of this? How can you remain so effortlessly calm?" Estelle slowed down, her eyes looking into Nadine's.

"I've been through a lot. This isn't all that much. Erwine will get back on track eventually, just give her some time."

"You're certain?"

"Certain," Justinia said. The ship was in the warp at this point, having slipped in behind Elle's vessel. There was not a chance Erwine would escape once they reached Jincelle, the planet which their trajectory indicated was their destination."

There was a concern amongst them, however. That perhaps the damage incurred by the _Rosie _would render it incapable of continuing on. That would mean it would be stranded in interstellar space. As such, Elle was to drop out of warp halfway through the voyage, scan the area for a sign of life, and then reenter if nothing was found.

If the _Rosie _was located, then it would be rescued. If nothing, then it would be in the warp on its way to Jincelle. Both the inquisitors in the large practice range hoped that the inhabitants of the ship would be alright. If they were not, then a lot would lost.

There was always the slim chance that the ship could be lost in the warp. But that slim chance was increased due to the damage incurred, as well as the turbulence that even Theodora's craft had a bit of trouble with.

"I hate to say such a cliché phrase," Estelle muttered, looking down at the ground, "But I have a bad feeling about this."

"I don't think that can be considered a cliché when it's just a truth," Nadine said, "There's something wrong about all of this. Something that we're not seeing."

"Any ideas?"

'Had I any, you'd the first to know."

"Can we trust Theodora?"

"Do we have a choice at this point?"

"True," Estelle said. She looked up at the ceiling, silently praying that everyone would safely make it through the warp.

However, she really didn't know what that bad feeling was a portent of. She hoped it wasn't too bad. She even prayed.

* * *

Laelia and Celestine were still a ways from the spot out in the wilderness. It had been two days since they were taken. The _Rosie _had twelve days left before it would reach the planet of Curia.

The spot out in the wilderness that had been their destination for so long as a mansion. It was a mansion that had been destroyed around a year and a half ago. No one had bothered to rebuild it, as it no longer hand an owner. So it had been left to decay out there, nature beginning to slowly reclaim its property.

Now the two magical girls cautiously made their way through the woods that led towards the place. Laelia's shield was up. Celestine's invisibility was active as well. Theoretically, nothing was going to be able to find them. At least if telepath was not being used. So that was good.

However, they knew that even a novice telepath could track them down, so they hoped that the Hadiens Sect was somehow still occupied with the attack that had been commenced. Of course, neither girl had any idea who was responsible for that attack.

This really wasn't the time for such speculation, however. Laelia and Celestine had no choice but to keep going, having chosen to get involved in all of this, despite what the letter had advised.

They both froze. There was something ahead of them. A figure. A dark figure, leaning back against a tree. The girl was not looking at them. She didn't even seem to notice that they were there. Laelia and Celestine moved to the side even as they kept walking.

The invisibility field prevented any sound from coming out of the area it covered, and obscured ever other way to sense something or someone. So both girls figured that they wouldn't have to worry.

It was dark out. The forest resonated with the sound of nocturnal animals. Laelia and Celestine froze. They were in ten feet of the girl. She stepped away from the tree. She turned right on her heel to the right. She was in the middle of their path.

Her whole body was shrouded in a black cloak, with the hood raised. She had been staring down at the ground. She looked up. Her face was invisible. Despite the night vision of the two girls that pierce right through the dark, they couldn't make out a single detail. A shadow obscured her face from all sight.

"Greetings," the girl said, her voice neutral. "By sunrise, you will certainly reach your destination. " She did not move. Not in the slightest. "I am afraid I shall not allow you to pass me."

"Who are you?" Celestine demanded, voice uneasy. Her invisibility was still up. She dropped in, realizing that it was pointless. She summoned her rapier. Laelia kept her shield up, a dozen guns floating in a ring behind her, all aimed at the girl.

"None of that is necessary," the girl said in response. "Turn around now. You may return to the sect, or you may find some other place to scurry off to. The details do not matter. But your current destination is not somewhere you will go."

"I assume you represent the interests of the Hadiens Sect?" Laelia asked. A shiver ran through their bodies just at the sound of the girl's voice and her very presence there.

"You could say that," the girl agreed.

"A bit incriminating, that such a girl would be working for them," Celestine commented.

The girl's voice was smug as she replied, still holding that air of aloofness at the same time, "Who said I work for them? I am merely working for their _interests. _And at the moment, Arietta would prefer that you remain on this planet, and in a place where no one can get to you."

"That's not an option," Celestine shook her head.

"That is your choice," the girl reminded her. "Everything that is about to occur will be as results of your choices."

Laelia and Celestine took one look at each other. _We go the left. Activate your invisibility, _Laelia instructed. _We go as fast as we can, put some distance, then try to get closer. I'll be ready to fight if we need it. As it is, we outnumber her. _

They jumped in that direction. Their leaps were long, taking them two dozen feet each time as they propelled themselves with magic. They did not spot the other girl pursuing them, so they continued on in that direction before turning.

Right before they would have jumped in the direction of the mansion again, they were stopped. The girl from before was standing in their way again. "Not going to work," she explained, "It's just not going to work."

"Get out of our way, we don't want to fight anyone here!" Celestine called.

"Then just turn around…" the girl replied, speaking the obvious answer, "Nothing shall be done if you leave now. It's incredibly simple."

_Let's go, there's no chance of convincing her. _Laelia insisted. _We can't slow, lest we be caught ourselves. _

_You're right, _Celestine realized. Celestine dashed forwards, Laelia followed her. The latter girl opened fire her twelve machine guns. The barking sound of them echoed through the woods as the bullet tore through the air.

The girl disappeared. The two came to stop, going back to back as they looked around. She was nowhere to be seen. The woods were silent now. There was no trace. _Teleporter, invisibility, or time stopper. _Celestine said. It was obvious, but it was more of a reminder than a suggestion.

Laelia was facing in the direction Laelia and Celestine had come from. Laelia saw the girl appear in a strange manner. She didn't actually just appear there, like a teleporter might. A strange cloud of dark mist, or something, preceded her appearance in the midst of the dissipating cloud. Face still invisible, the girl said, "I gave you fair warning. You shall not succeed."

Laelia dropped to one knee, her guns following her and opening fire. Celestine spun around. A foot was planted on Laelia's head for a second as she used her to propel away, rapier in her hand. Laelia lunged forwards, her guns flying farther from her body so that they wouldn't hit Celestine.

Laelia spun about as she heard the girl behind her. She barely managed to knock aside a strike from her, which was carried out with a jagged knife, with a serrated edge. The girl disappeared again, and Celestine came back in. They once again stood back to back. Laelia closed her shield in. It now covered only the two girls.

They were also invisible. Laelia yelped out as something stabbed into her foot. Then something into the other foot. The same thing occurred to Celestine. They looked down, unable to spot anything there. They tried moving. Then Laelia felt a sharp pain in the back of her leg, and she fell over. She looked down, seeing that something had sliced into the muscles of her shin, even touching the bone.

Celestine hauled her off the ground, jumping away. She cried out as a wound appeared in her gut. She was in the air, in mid-leap. And before she hit the ground, the backs of her legs were cut out as well.

The girl appeared beside them as they lay on the ground. Laelia fired a barrage from all directions. The girl disappeared. She was in between the two now. "It is not my intention nor desire to kill either of you. Should you continue, my hand will be forced. Please, think rationally before making a decision."

"Who are you?" Laelia asked.

"I already said you don't need to know," The girl disappeared. Neither heard anything more from her.

"What do we do?" Laelia asked, as she sat up to start tending to Celestine's more severe wounds.

"We keep going," the girl replied. "If someone like this wants to stop us from reaching our destination, then obviously it's incredibly important."

"What if she comes back? She has to be watching us somehow?" Laelia wondered, "I'm thinking we should just turn around. I know that there's something much bigger going on at this point…but this is just too much. We can't even come close to doing damage to her."

"You go," Celestine said, "I'll do my best to distract her. You'll make if farther if you can tighten up your shield."

She started running forwards, making long leaps. Laelia got to her feet, running as fast as she could to follow. She expected herself to be struck at any second. There was a flash of light. She paused to see that it was sent at the ground right below here. A few wisps of a dark fog were there, just like the kind that accompanied the girl's teleportations.

"Huh?" Laelia wondered. She leapt forwards, tightening her shield around herself, thinking about what could have done that. Several more flashes of light came out at various intervals. Celestine noticed.

"What are those?!" she shouted.

"I've no idea! Someone is firing all around me. Nothing has hit me, so they don't seem to be aiming at me!" Laelia cried.

Suddenly someone leapt from the tree line. It was another magical girl. Not the one from before. She was dressed in a grey cloak, the hood pulled up so her face could not be seen as she crouched down, staring forwards. A multitude of silver swords levitated around her. Laelia and Celestine paused, before backing away, scared of who this newcomer was.

"Fear not," the girl said. Her voice's tone resembled that of the other's. It was distant, but stern. "I'm not on your side, but I don't want this girl to kill you. Keep going, don't look back. Don't slow down." Laelia realized the swords could have been the things that were fired at her.

She explained this. _She's obviously fighting our enemy. _Laelia said, _but we can't assist, so let's get moving. Agreed. _

The two kept moving, Celestine opened her mouth. "I'm not doing this for you," the girl said, "Don't thank me."

The two continued on throughout the forest as the battle behind them ensued. _Do you have any idea who either of those two were? _Laelia asked.

_No clue, _Celestine replied, _the first one was some kind of teleporter, and the other one can't be identified. I wonder what they had to do with one another. _

_Well, the one in black is working for the Hadiens Sect. Maybe not on their side, but she's doing their dirty work. The one in grey…she can't be working for Juno, or else she would have been on our side. The only other possibility is one of Ishna's, but then she wouldn't be on our side. _

_So there's a fourth, and then maybe a fifth, group involved in all of this…_Celestine sighed. _This is big, isn't it? _

_It is indeed, _Laelia agreed, as they came upon their destination.

* * *

She took a deep breath. Her eyes didn't move. She took another one. Her eyes didn't move. That is how it had been for the past ten minutes. Justinia had just stood there, staring unwaveringly at Liselotte. She didn't move an inch from where she stood.

Liselotte did her best to meet the gaze equally, but there was something about the girl's eyes that made her want to avert her own. Something about what lay beneath the surface, down in her depths, made Liselotte afraid. Of what, she couldn't tell.

Eventually breaking away once again, Liselotte asked with consternation, "Just what do you plan on accomplishing, standing there?" Justinia didn't reply. Liselotte gritted her teeth. "Don't you have something better to do?" It wasn't just the girl standing there that put her on edge.

The fact that this ship was adrift in the warp with barely any power, and with failing Gellar fields was the main cause. She didn't understand why Justinia didn't show an ounce of fear. Perhaps it was just hidden, but she still felt as though it ought to show somewhere.

"You didn't tell me everything," She said, a minute after Liselotte's previous words. "I want to know everything. If you continue to refuse to speak, then we'll have a problem, won't we?"

"What do you want to know?" Liselotte snapped. Justinia shrugged. Knowing that she couldn't pressure the girl into speaking, she said, "I won't talk unless you assure me that my life doesn't depend on my information."

Justinia raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm?" She questioned. Then she cracked a grin, "Ah, I see. So you believe I'll kill you when I get everything out of you?" She didn't wait for a reply. "I can assure you that not talking will play a part in your eventual demise, so you have things a bit mixed up."

Liselotte sighed. "It's your choice." Justinia said. "Besides, I'm sure having your soul devoured by daemons will be an interesting experience." She turned around. "Tell me when you're ready to talk."

The blonde in the chair narrowed her eyes. _I can't stay here. She's right. I have no choice but to talk at this point. _The idea had been to remain captured for the sake of everyone's safety, better to be united against the coming threat then running around chasing her, but if she had to choose between talking and dying, Liselotte knew what to do.

She summoned a blade into her right hand. She was able to slice it down enough to cut off the other cuff. She was free. Striking out with her left hand as she summoned a blade into it was unsuccessful. Justinia slid backwards, barely avoiding the sideways stab at her head. Her right arm came about, swinging in a wide horizontal arc.

Justinia dodged back again, barely preventing the sword from cutting into her. Her knife was drawn from her belt, but she didn't move in. She stepped back again, elbow knocking on the door to signal trouble. Liselotte held her arms out. Three dozen blades formed in the air around her.

She smirked as they fired forwards. Justinia shrugged as she was cut down. Blood flew out at every possible angle as she was turned into a pincushion. She slid down the door, eyes shut, blood spilling from the three dozen wounds. Five blades pierced her head alone. The weapons disappeared as Liselotte approached, having done their job.

Liselotte was wary as she went towards the door, figuring that somebody had to be out there. A series of gunshots fired through the door confirmed the suspicion. She had another dozen swords floating about her, and the pellets were deflected off the wall of sharpened metal.

She flung her arm out, and a storm of cutting edges descended upon the door. Except this time they stabbed. She made sure some were sent to cut the hinges. Then she leapt forwards. She hit the ground, conjuring another dozen blades as she converted the momentum into a slide. She kicked out at the door.

The magic energy she emitted out of her foot pushed the door out of the frame. At the same time, the dozen weapons shot outwards. The door was punctured even more. It slammed into the door across the hall as Liselotte came out into the hall. A chuckle behind her revealed why Sechylia was not crushed and stabbed under the door.

Liselotte's head would have detonated. In the end, she did take multiple hits as she rolled forwards. She decided to get risky, burning a high level of her magic to jump up, spin around and fire a massive cloud at her opponent. Around fifty weapons traveled down the hall at Sechylia, who ducked into the room.

One managed to catch her leg Liselotte jumped forwards as Sechylia turned towards her on the ground. Liselotte threw a scimitar at her, the blade knocking the gun out of her hand. Sechylia was never the fastest. The blonde-haired girl curled her fingers around another sword.

Sechylia died as well. Liselotte took a deep breath, seeing the growing pool of blood that was coming from the combined vitals of the two girls. Liselotte realized Erwine had to be awake now. She ran down the hall right as the door opened. The corner rounded as Erwine looked out.

"What the-Liselotte!" She shouted. Erwine ran to check on the two, ensuring that they were still alive. Their soul gems were completely untouched, so there was that. She turned around, "Victoria," she said, "Make sure these two are alright, please!"

The astrotelepath had gotten up at the same time Erwine had. "You'll be fine?" She asked.

"I'll be fine," Erwine promised. She took a deep breath.

"You sure this is the best idea?"

"Innocent people don't run like this," Erwine replied, "So yes, I think it'd be better to chase her down now rather than later."

"Good luck, then," Victoria said, watching Erwine follow the trail of slightly bloody footprints.

Victoria looked down at the two other girls beside her. "Well, you two aren't doing so well, are you?"

* * *

Liselotte ran for any place she thought would be safe. She knew that she was out numbered, four to one. _If Erwine is really on their side. Chances are she is, so that's not good. I have to get somewhere I can hide. If we really do have to drop from the warp, then I'm in trouble…_

She brushed aside the humans in her way, thinking about where the others might be. _Hopefully Ayelen and Sanae were in that same hallway, probably in Ayelen's former room. That means the only one unaccounted for, if I'm lucky, is Wei. _And what is the chance of running into one person on a ship this large?

She got to an elevator, and went upwards. She knew that telepathy could not be used to find her, so as long as she stayed out of sight or disabled those who tried to report her presence, she would not be found for a good long while.

The elevator went as upwards as possible. The door opened. She frowned. _They say someone out there is fighting for you…but it looks like someone also doesn't like me…_Wei turned around as the elevator opened.

The massive screen above the observation deck window closed, the girl looked at Liselotte, who had spatters of blood on her clothes. Liselotte was about to go back down, but Wei ran towards her. She had no way to immediately strike, While Liselotte did.

A dozen swords flew out at Wei. She barely managed to dodge aside with a side step, but one sword still hit her in the right arm. The elevator door was closing, but Wei managed to leapt forwards again. Her hands caught onto the door right before it shut, her fingers almost getting sliced off by the door closing.

She knew in an instant her attempt was in vain. Liselotte was just going to slice her fingers off. Then the door opened suddenly, Wei stumbling as her force pushed herself to the side. Liselotte grabbed her, pulling her into the elevator. Her right arm was severed before the offending blade was placed against her soul gem.

Wei froze, seeing the action take place. Another chop from Liselotte's left arm cut off Wei's left. The elevator was going down now. Wei couldn't do much without her arms to perform the proper movements to actually create a program.

Liselotte held Wei's throat with her left arm while her right blade was held to the girl's gem. The elevator opened before her, and Liselotte was pleased to find no one was there. She waited a second, before she closed the elevator again, having it head back up to the observation deck. Exiting out into the space, a barrage of blades destroyed the control panel before snapping the cables.

After looking around for other entrances, she was pleased to find seemingly none. _Probably a secret one, but we can find that one later. _She looked at Wei, sitting on the floor, arms still regenerating. "Well," Liselotte said, "Do you know of any other way up here?"

Wei shook her head. "Honest?" Liselotte asked.

Wei nodded. "I guess I'll have to accept that as an answer," Liselotte muttered. She tore off cloth from Wei's clothes, and wrapped it around the stumps of her arms to prevent regeneration. Then the legs were severed at the knees, and given a similar treatment. "Sorry," Liselotte said, checking that Wei's gem had enough magic to keep her alive, "But it's just necessary."

"Perhaps you could just calm down and not act so rashly, we-"

"Shut up!" Liselotte ordered. She walked back over to the girl, balling up a piece of cloth she tore from the shirt itself and shoving it into her mouth. Another strip bound that ball in there to prevent it from being pushed out.

Liselotte took a deep breath. "Alright." She muttered the single word before canvassing the entire room again. She did find a set of stairs behind what looked like a bookshelf. She actually had to punch a hole through the thing to find nothing impeding her.

Beating down the rest revealed a staircase going down to a landing, which then went down to another level. Liselotte looked about for something to block it. Eventually she decided it was pointless. She looked down to the bottom, then she had an idea.

"Actually…" Liselotte realized she had to make a decision of a different sort. She walked back out, looking at Wei. "Well, you don't have the magic. I do…" She turned her blade around, stabbing herself through the chest. She fell down dead in front of Wei.

* * *

"Do we have any idea where she is?" Erwine shouted into the vox at her ear, communicating to Bolton.

"We're scanning the ship now, looking for any lifeforms. Wei is still on the observation deck, she's the only person there. The last time we saw Liselotte was when she was headed in that direction, but the elevator went up, then back down, according to our logs for that. So she probably ran when she found Wei up there. But sorting her out amidst the other members of the crew is going to be hard."

The ship shook massively. Erwine, Ayelen, and Sanae were all knocked over by the quake. The lights flickered, and sparks flew as minor detonations occurred. "What was that?" Erwine shouted into the vox. "Turbulence?"

"The engines!" Bolton shouted. "It's really bad. We're losing systems fast. Power is going down. We need to consolidate everything we have to the Gellar field, get as much out of it as we can, or we won't be able to drop out of the warp when we want to."

"Can we just do it now?" Erwine asked.

"Not at the moment. We need to get crews down there to even get the engines back up to full, or we can't even breach out of the warp!" Bolton shouted, he was frantic.

"Damn it!" Erwine shouted, "Keep the Gellar field as up as long as possible. Turn off everything else. Liselotte can wait till normal space, so don't even worry about scanning. We'll find her eventually!"

"Roger that." Bolton's line went dead as he was pulled away to other duties. Erwine looked at Ayelen and Sanae. "We need to go together. Liselotte is older than any one of us, so we can't take the risk of splitting up. We're going to be methodical and calm in this search, but remember to not waste too much against Liselotte. If daemons breach the ship, we'll need everything we've got."

"Let's go!" She shouted, leading them off.

Victoria tended Justinia back first, knowing she was the more important of the two. The crimson-haired girl came back after about ten minutes of being dead. "Just how old are you?" Victoria asked as the girl came back, commenting as explanation, "That was a speedy recovery."

"True," Justinia said, saying nothing more. "Where is Liselotte?" she looked about, "What happened to the lights?"

"Unknown for the first question. The engines are breaking down as we speak. Power is being lost, and everything is being diverted to sustain the Gellar field. The engines have to be repaired before we can breach from the warp." Victoria explained. She did not sound too grim.

"Damn it, this came at the worst time," Justinia shook her head, "I knew Liselotte would try something, but that was my intention. If I forced her into it, and we caught her, she wouldn't want to try again for some time. I expected to die, and honestly trusted Erwine to hunt her down…with the power out, the job is a lot harder."

"Last known location?" Justinia asked.

"Liselotte went to the observation deck, then went back down."

"Wei's still there?"

"Yes," Victoria replied.

"Then she's wounded, by Liselotte most likely. Get Sechylia up, hold the fort here. If necessary, get Sechylia into your sanctuary and stay there. Any crew member who does not have a vital job is to come with you."

"You're expecting something bad?"

"This ship is going to down," Justinia replied, "IF things are deteriorating at this rate, we're going to lose the Gellar field in about…well, three hours. And if the engines aren't back at that point, which I doubt they will be, then we're as good as gone."

"Save who you can," Justinia said, wiping the blood off of her suit. "But don't endanger yourselves. Good luck."

She walked out the door, before she fell to the ground. Her eyes went wide, her body shook. Victoria saw it occur. "Oh no!" she audibly cried, knowing what this was all a sign of. Possession.

She looked into Justinia's eyes, seeing something else there for a brief second. Then Justinia flailed once, and came out of whatever trance she fell into for a couple seconds.

The girl looked at Victoria, "It's happening, isn't it?"

Victoria sadly nodded. "I may be able to get it out when we get into normal space, but there's a higher risk for me. If I get a daemon in my head, it will only spread wildly from there. I'm sorry, Justinia."

Justinia took a deep breath. "This is a risk I have to take. Get away from me, before you get in danger as well." She stood up, steadying herself. "I've found the parasite, it's isolated, and I'm collapsing the mind it's in…" she sounded sad, tears even coming to her eyes as she said, "I'll have me in roughly one hour and thirty-seven minutes." She looked at Victoria.

Giving the typical magical girl salute, she said softly, "If I don't see you again, then goodbye."

"The Goddess Protects," Victoria said. Justinia ran off, and Victoria added the part customarily given as a farewell for the dead, "May She guide your soul."

* * *

Liselotte woke up quickly after the wound she inflicted to avoid the scans. She then ran towards the secret entrance. Summoning as many blades as she could muster, she fired them downwards. The storm of magical metal, traveling at hundreds of miles per hour, cut up the staircase, collapsing the thing down to the floor, thirty feet below.

It would only delay them, but she hoped that it would give her some time. Liselotte moved Wei to a back corner of the room, where she could keep an eye on both potential entrances. This corner held a small seating area, complete with a few small trees in pots, bamboo it seemed, they were even real trees.

She moved them about in front of her and Wei, while she took a seat in one of the chairs. All Liselotte wanted was to give herself as much time as possible. And now that the power seemed to be out, she knew that she would have plenty of time, maybe even enough to hold out until real space.

* * *

Sechylia woke up. She saw Victoria's face above her. She was being carried by the small girl. They emerged into the astrotelepath's sanctuary. She shut the door, putting Sechylia down on the bed. A few human crew members were following them.

Victoria turned around to look at them, "We have at best an hour before everyone who can get in here needs to be in here. Go out and find as many as you can. Assist those in need, and try to round up some supplies as well, only for yourselves, us two will be fine."

The men and women nodded, before running out of the room, and the various doors blocking it off from the rest of the ship. "What's going on?" Sechylia asked.

"Power is failing," Victoria replied, "Gellar fields will go down in a few hours. This room can hold about fifty people, such is the size, in relative comfort. We're going to have to accommodate them, as we don't know if the engines will be fixed. We need them in working order so that we can breach from the warp. But at this rate, we won't escape in time."

"Where's Justinia?"

"Wei seems to be wounded. She's going to check on her…" Victoria wanted to tell Sechylia the truth. So she did. Withholding it would only hurt the girl later. "Justinia's mind is in danger. A daemonic entity entered it. I barely avoided it, and we're entirely safe here, but Justinia is not. She'll be gone within two hours."

"We have to save her!" Sechylia shouted, leaping up from the bed, "Come on! You can do it!"

"I could try," Victoria said. "But I'm an astrotelepath. The most probable outcome is that I get possessed as well. Then it spreads to Melody. Then the ship has no navigator. And with the Gellar fields already failing, we could do our best to purge ourselves, and would most likely succeed, but with all the turbulence, there's not much of a chance. The ship would be torn apart. As it is, one magical girl is lost. If we try to help, and fail, then we are all undoubtedly lost."

Victoria picked up the vox from the side of her bed. "Melody, when can you disengage?"

"We still have a chance," the girl insisted, "Give me some time."

"Melody, you're a navigator, you know the risks,"

"Exactly, just give me some time. My capsule is resistant to the warp. If anything happens, I'll make it through just as well as you will. Don't worry."

"Fine, but don't push yourself," Victoria looked back at Sechylia. Then she called up Erwine, "Where are you?"

"Currently searching the lower decks," Erwine replied.

"You have an hour and a half. After that point, you are going to come back up and enter my sanctuary. You three need to live."

"Understood," Erwine replied. She did not complain against the orders.

"What about those humans?" Sechylia asked, "What about them? The ones trying to fix the engines?"

"They shall be unfortunately lost," Victoria replied, "We cannot save everyone. We can only save those who are the most important."

"I know…" Sechylia said sadly, looking down with sorrow on her face. "But I wish it…it was different."

"Bolton will go down with his ship, he's dedicated to it." Victoria explained, "But we will try to save the more important personnel. Hopefully, Estelle, Nadine, Theodora, or someone amidst them, will expect something like this, and they'll be looking for us."

"If so, then we won't have to wait long before we are rescued. If not, then we will most likely die of natural causes, but we will at least not lose our souls to the daemons."

"Can we fight them off?" Sechylia asked.

"The daemons? If they do breach?" Victoria asked. She shrugged, "Most likely not. It would be foolish. If we do die, then we'll be lost to the warp. If we somehow fight them off, then I suppose we'll have an easier time. Even if we do manage to exit, chances are there will still be a daemonic presence onboard."

"So what do you want to do?" Sechylia asked.

"We remain here," she replied. "And we wait for whatever card fates deals us."

_What's interesting is that you're trying so hard…_the voice said. It had been talking for just a bit as Justinia walked towards what she knew to be the elevator to the location of Wei. _In the end, you're going to lose. You're even counting down the seconds. _

_Justinia…such a brave, stoic girl. No emotions, but you're still crying. Why? Because you're scared. _It was a hushed whisper in the back of her head. Not a cacophony, not a loud ruckus. Just a quiet, gentle stream of ever-more convincing words.

Justinia didn't listen. She did not even reply. She just kept stepping forwards. She now looked at the elevator. It was damage, inoperable. Calmly, she turned around, walking away. A rocket launcher came into being behind her, aimed at the shaft.

The detonation shook the area, but the shaft was clear. Justinia was about to leap up through. Then suddenly, _you don't need to do that. _Justinia froze in place. Her muscles struggled against some invisible force that was controlling them.

It was like she was moving through tar, everything seemed to restrict her, clamping down as she tried to move. She couldn't breathe anymore. She felt a higher density of warp energy. It had only been twenty minutes since the parasite first entered her.

_At this rate…the Gellar field is deteriorating even faster…I have…some twenty-seven minutes left. _Justinia felt an actual tear come to her eye. She didn't want to die, not now. She had people like Wei left, to make sure they became good people.

The girl had no desire to become a plaything of daemons for the rest of forever, either. But that looked like the direction she was going to take. She could only pray that the Goddess would guide her.

But then she thought of Wei. That Wei had to be wounded. That something happened to her. And what if…what if that girl was possessed as well? Justinia couldn't just let her die.

She struggled against the daemon's control. It took elimination of half of the dozen minds she had left, significantly reducing her capabilities as she had to being centralizing control in one mind once again.

But she pushed forwards. Justinia looked up the elevator shaft. She jumped upwards. Kicking off the wall multiple times brought her to the top. She stumbled, nearly falling as she got there. The ship shook massively.

Justinia felt metal buckle and crack. She looked up at the ceiling. It was breaking down. If it collapsed, then both Justinia and Wei would be hopelessly lost.

As Justinia stumbled, she noticed something on the ground. A red liquid. _Blood. _She looked up. There was something of a trail. She approached the back corner of the room. Some small bamboo trees were arranged in a strange fashion.

Half a dozen rocket launchers were summoned around her body. Liselotte leapt out, firing a volley of swords. Justinia returned fire. The explosion knocked both girls onto their backs. Justinia pulled her knife as she felt the daemon resurge in power, pushing forwards to try and seize control of all her mind.

_If it take me while the ship is still intact…then I might kill everyone on this thing…I could…if I use my rockets, start blowing things up…reduce the integrity, open the ship to the warp. Then we'd all be dead. _Justinia fought back, as Liselotte stood up.

"Come on then!" the crimson-haired girl shouted as she raised her knife. Their eyes met. "Let this be a glorious dance if it is to be my last!"

_I can't go now! _She swore to herself, _Wei has to be here! _She lunged at Liselotte. Flipping the knife into a reverse grip, she swung at her opponent. Liselotte struck out, attempting to destroy the weapon. Justinia twisted her arm to avoid the downwards chop of one sword, then coiled it back in to avoid the swing of the other one.

She recoiled, striking out like a snake with the built up energy. She twisted her whole body into the strike. Liselotte barely managed to step back in time to avoid a knife through her chest. Justinia reverted to a normal grip, before raising her arm and swinging the weapon down at the blonde girl's arm. It was perhaps the worst thing to do with the size of the knife she had.

There was a flash of silver light, and Liselotte's blade removed the arm, the right one, that held the knife from Justinia's body. Theoretically, at least. Justinia swung her right foot backwards, the sword skimming down the side of her suit as she dodge. The knife was now down by her gut, in the perfect position to strike.

Liselotte had to step back again as Justinia stabbed out at her. Liselotte was running dangerously low on magic. Between all the things that had been done to her on Curia, as well as the amount she had to spend in the various fights she'd been in, the girl was low. So Justinia could have an even fight with her.

Justinia lunged forwards, three quick slashes going towards Liselotte. Liselotte tried to retaliate by simply severing Justinia's hand, but she managed to curve around all the strikes. Neither landed a blow on the other.

Justinia jumped backwards, giving ten feet of space between her and Liselotte. The enemy closed the gap quickly, a multitude of strikes coming at her faster than the human eye could actually see. But being an older magical girl, the eyes of the crimson-haired girl were anything but human.

She stepped around half of them, parried another couple, and barely dodged one. It sliced into her left leg, leaving a long trail of red down an otherwise unmarred suit. Liselotte kept up the assault, knowing that Justinia had no real way to actually fight her in a straight brawl.

_She has to keep dodging with that knife of hers. She also looks tired, probably from all that's been going on. Hopefully I can disarm her soon, that's all I need to do to win. _But Justinia did not back down. She kept fighting, stepping left and right as Liselotte forced her back across the room.

However, Liselotte was tired as well. Justinia was still skilled, and fast. Liselotte faltered in a couple slashes, the strikes not as fast and powerful as they should have been. Slicing into the gaps made by these failures was the weapon of Justinia. Liselotte was stunned as she the knife make three shallow cuts on her chest.

This short moment of distraction gave Justinia a chance. She rolled around behind Liselotte. As she came out of the role, her knife was reversed, being pushed towards the back of Liselotte's head. Severing the brain stem of the girl would result in an instant body death.

It was so easy. It would have been, at least, if Liselotte let it be so easy. She did not. She stepped to the left, spinning around to swing her right arm blade at Justinia's gut. Her left arm swung for her head. Liselotte stepped in as she did so, ensuring that the girl would still be hit even if she did dodge.

Time seemed to slow down for Justinia as she stood there. The blades were coming towards her, ever so slowly. _I could jump in, stab her. I can kill her at this distance, hit her in the soul gem. She'd cut me up, however, and that would mean the daemon would take me. Wei has to be in here. I would murder Wei, and then most likely destabilize the rest of the ship by going around blowing things up. Not an option._

_Only other option is to somehow get out of the way. Jumping back would still mean my throat and gut are still cut open. To the right? Yes, to the right._ Justinia's blade flashed a little to the side. With perfect precision, Liselotte's blade was parried just enough so that the girl could roll to the side.

With perfect precision she managed to dodge both blades, getting up to stand shakily on her feet. Liselotte was not going to be deterred so easily, however. She was certainly surprised by Justinia's ability to dodge, but the girl was not in an exploitable position.

_Come on, _a voice in her head said. _You want to win, right? You want to defeat Liselotte? Save Wei, save the rest of the ship…? I can help with that. _Justinia was dazed. The ship shook again, wildly.

The ceiling groaned, and Justinia dared not look up at it, for fear of the cover above the window breaking away, and the warp itself staring back at her. The entire ship moaned, and Justinia thought she could hear something else.

Wailing, moaning. Like a million people were all around her, crying out in unison. It stopped suddenly, right before Justinia felt something dribbling down her face. It was blood. Her left hand, free, traced the source. Her right eye, it was crying blood. _I'm crying? I was crying? _Justinia went to her left eye, the same fluid came out as the right.

Liselotte froze, seeing Justinia in that state. "By the Goddess…" she muttered, "Justinia…is something wrong?"

Justinia wanted to stay strong. She held her ground, defiantly staring back at the girl. She tensed her muscles, raising her knife again as she ignored the things that were going on. "Justinia…Justinia wait!" Liselotte shouted as the girl jumped forwards again.

Justinia felt…something else. It wasn't just her in her head. _Who is that? _She wondered, thinking it was perhaps some telepath intruding. _Maybe Liselotte? _

_Hello there. _It was a voice. An otherworldly one, something Justinia didn't recognize. _I can help you. _

_You can? _Justinia asked.

_Of course I can. _The voice replied, _It's all I want to do, help you. _

_I'd like help, _Justinia confirmed. She felt an immense pressure on her mind. It felt as if a planet was being balanced on her fragile consciousness. Liselotte was frantically shouting at Justinia, over and over again, as she tried to make her stand down. But her attempts to strike back at her did not succeed.

Yet Justinia was becoming wilder and wilder. Her skill, her experience, her calm, her patience, all were seemingly thrown away as she rushed at Liselotte over and over again. Liselotte knew the capabilities of the girl, and knew that she was a clairvoyant who didn't seem to be past her thirties or forties. Yet she was moving faster than she had any right to.

_You can help me, promise? _Justinia asked. A spike of pain rammed through her mind. It didn't come from outside, but from within. She felt something threatening to burst out, a whole avalanche prepared to pour forth into her mind. And in that moment, as a shock that could tremble a primarch ran through her mind, it was not her own.

_Just had things over to me. _The voice replied. Then she felt something else. She had been distracted, wild emotions propelling her. She came to a stop, Liselotte continuing to shout things at her. She raised the knife, a grin coming onto her face.

Tears of blood still dropped from her eyes as she looked up. "Time to die…" she muttered. She leapt forwards with unnatural-for-a-magical girl speed. Liselotte struck down, thinking the girl was still in her ferocious state. Liselotte dropped the blade in her right hand. Justinia had grabbed the wrist, with her left.

She did put it into an effective lock, but the speed and power she had with it had caused the sword to fall right out. Justinia swung her right foot in incredibly fast, her elbow hitting Liselotte's left wrist and preventing that sword from hitting.

The knife rushed forwards, finding a place in Liselotte's chest. Justinia yanked it out. Liselotte's soul gem was on an earring. Justinia did not target it. She kept shoving her blade into Liselotte's chest, again and again. Blood spewed out in every direction, droplets of it staining both girls.

Liselotte was barely alive when it stopped. She was running out of magic fast, but she did the best she could to keep herself awake. Justinia smiled at her, giggling maniacally. The girl stood up, still giggling.

She spun around, looking at Wei. Slowly, she walked towards that girl. "Well hello there…" Justinia cocked her head to the side. Wei was confused. It looked like Justinia was thinking. Of what? _Did she forget my name? _

"Wei," Justinia grinned, "That's your name, isn't it?"

Wei would have cried out in terror if she hadn't been gagged. _That's not Justinia. _She realized. She knew the dangers of daemonic possession, but she'd hoped that it would never occur to someone close to her, much less herself. Something besides Justinia looked at her now.

"She let this happen, you know." The Not-Justinia chuckled. "She let the daemon in, allowed it to take over her body. She wanted to beat Liselotte, cared about you so much."

Justinia knelt down in front of Wei. She put the knife right under her chin. "In less than forty-five minutes, the Gellar field that keeps this ship safe shall fail. And when it does, you shall be shown the true beauty of what lies beyond even your comprehension."

Justinia stood up. _No, not Justinia, _Wei thought, _it's a daemon. It has to be lying. Justinia would never let a daemon possess her. _Not-Justinia looked up. She summoned a rocket launcher into her hand.

She pointed it at the ceiling. "Do you wish to see true wonder?" Not-Justinia asked.

Wei shook her head, hoping that something would get through to the Justinia that she desperately hoped still existed in there. "Too bad," Not-Justinia said. Her finger pulled the trigger. Wei shut her eyes, praying for some miracle.

* * *

The lower decks were entirely clear. Erwine rushed upwards towards the higher decks. "We have no idea where she is. She's not in the lower decks, or near the engines," Erwine spoke into the vox.

"It doesn't matter now," Victoria said.

"Why not?!" Erwine shouted.

"We have less than forty-five minutes. Everything is deteriorating faster than we previously predicted. You need to get here as fast as you possibly can. Don't worry about the others, they'll have to find their own way here. Justinia may not even make it at this rate."

"What?! Why not?!" Erwine shouted. Sanae and Ayelen followed as they pushed through darkened corridors, running up collapsing staircases, pushing their way through raving mad crewmembers.

"A daemon entered her mind. There is a good chance that it will have gained some measure of control by now. Unless Justinia can fight it off, I doubt she'll be able to make it back here in time. That means Wei will be gone as well."

"Wei too?" Erwine shouted, "I can't let her go, how long to the observation deck from my current position?!"

"You cannot do this, Erwine," Victoria's voice was harsh. "Not even alone. It'll take you a good fifteen minutes to get cross the ship, and who knows how much time you'll spend there. The engines won't be repaired before the field breaches. We're not going to make it out of this alive if we don't all get in my sanctuary as soon as possible."

"Shut up!" Erwine shouted, "I am in control of my own life! Don't give me orders, or tell me what to do!" She spun around to face the other two girls. "Get to Victoria. Stay there, don't leave." She took a deep breath, "If I don't come back, then it was an honor."

Erwine ran off in a different direction, hoping that the route she was taking was the correct one. Ayelen and Sanae watched her go, before they ran off on towards their destination. "Do you think she'll make it?" Sanae asked.

"She's Erwine," Ayelen replied, "She was, maybe is still, at the center of Ishna's plans for a good reason. I say she has a more-than-likely chance of destiny favoring her."

* * *

Justinia opened her eyes. She was in a place she didn't exactly recognize. She looked around, struggling to remember where she had just been. Strangely enough, the location didn't come to her.

Everything was white, shining bright white, to the point where it blinded her. She covered her eyes as she stumbled around wherever she was. Then the light began to die. She would finally be able to open her eyes when the blinding brightness went away.

Still having a glimmering sheen of impossible light on them, Justinia saw that the world was something she could begin to understand. She bumped into something. Looking down, as the world came into focus, she saw it was a railing. She looked out, seeing that she was on an elevated space. She saw a grassy field in front of her sloping down towards a shimmering blue lake.

The sky had only a few clouds in it as the sun approached its midday point at the top of the sky. Justinia looked down at herself. She was dressed in a small, light blue dress. Not something she would ever wear.

She turned around, looking out at a terrace. Beyond the terrace was a building, it looked like a small café of sorts. Yet there was only one person in sight. A girl, sitting at one of the tables. She was a magical girl.

The girl sipped from a cup of coffee, leaning back in the seat. From what Justinia could tell, it was a young girl. "Now now, Justinia," the girl said, a scolding tone in her voice, "You've messed up pretty bad?"

"What?" Justinia asked.

"I don't think saving Wei is equivalent to letting a daemon take your mind," the girl said, shrugging, "But how should I know? Not like I know the girl myself. And given the face you made right before it happened, something tells me that it wasn't completely consensual." Justinia looked at the girl.

She wore a dark green coat, over a short green skirt of a lighter hue. The coat covered down her arms save for her hands, which were covered by the same color of gloves. A dark purple bow was tied round her collar. Beneath the coat she wore a green vest. Her shoes were dark green boots.

Justinia felt as if she recognized the girl from somewhere, but couldn't exactly place it. "What are you talking about? What did I do? Where was I? What…what happened to Wei?"

"Well, it's certainly doing a good job, if I do say so myself," the girl said. "The daemon, I mean. At suppressing your ability to think. You were really messed up. The Gellar fields are pretty close to failing. The outside world is, of course, progressing at a thousandth of the speed this world is progressing. We have plenty of time to talk, hopefully so that you can reclaim your mind, and prevent your body from pulling the trigger of the rocket launcher you're aiming at the ceiling."

An image flashed into Justinia's mind. It was of Justinia, the Not-Justinia, smiling as she looked upwards, aiming her weapon at the fracturing ceiling above. "Who are you?" Justinia asked. She felt like she knew who that image could have been from.

The girl looked at herself. "I have no idea what this form is. However, I am Liselotte. The daemon is dedicating itself to controlling you, so I managed to get in. This girl I'm taking the appearance of, she must have been important to you, but I don't know who she could be. I don't know where we are. Your mind is just putting me in a form that will make myself more presentable."

"How do I break free?" Justinia asked.

"Well, right now, we're just in a somewhat nonexistent construct. This whole environment was made to entertain you, most likely with memories of your past, while the daemon fully assimilates you. However, the daemon has to have a presence within this environment, or it can't fully control it."

"So we find that presence, and destroy it?" Justinia asked.

"Correct," the girl, the avatar of Liselotte, said, "But the issue is that we don't know where that thing is. It's going to take you about one more second to pull the trigger, so we have about an hour in here."

"How big is this place?"

"Can you remember?" Liselotte asked, "This is an important memory. The daemon will be suppressing your ability to remember anything, it's trying to make you think that everything past this point was just an imagination. But try to break through. This café," She gestured to herself, "This girl, they were important to this memory. But there has to be more."

Justinia wracked her brain, closing her eyes as she tried to think through it. "I-I don't know," Justinia shook her head, "I can think of that girl…this place right here…but…wait a minute." She turned around, looking out at the lake.

"Something happened there," she raised her finger, pointing out there. "Something happened out there."

"Then let's go." They left the café, waking down a path out onto the field, making their way towards the lake. Justinia looked around, trying to think of where this was. When this was. Why this was important.

Something came from nowhere. Liselotte yelped out. The avatar of her did, at least. Justinia spun to look. A black, formless entity held her. A cloud, a rolling ball of strange-colored smoke, held the girl.

Liselotte struggled as the thing suffocated her. "The daemon…" she choked out, "Get…it…" Liselotte disappeared. The avatar was gone. Justinia tried to summon her weapon. She found that she could not. She looked all around. Her soul gem was not on her body.

"I'm not contracted yet!" She shouted, thinking aloud as the daemon rushed towards her. "This is…" her eyes went wide. "Yes…" She knew when this was now. She looked towards the lake. "That's why that was important…" she muttered.

The seal the daemon had on her memories broke. She watched as the thing stopped in front of her. A pair of flaming orbs came to the front of the shape, staring at her as eyes would. She didn't know why she wasn't being destroyed.

"This is my mind…" she said, as the memories came back to her. She had been tricked. The pressure of the battle against Liselotte, the failing Gellar fields, the daemon had convinced Justinia's defenses that it was not a daemon, and that it should be trusted. So trust it she had. And now it was going to destroy the ship.

"I deny you!" she shouted, "Get out of me!" The daemon recoiled. Justinia had a brief moment of clarity. Suddenly she was looking out at the observation deck. A rocket launcher in her hand. She threw it aside.

Then she was back in her mind, the daemon's form was larger now, more intense. It was drawing power away from controlling her to destroy her entirely, it seemed. Justinia gritted her teeth. If it won this battle of wills, her mind would be shattered, and she would be reduced to nothing more than a puppet, a vessel for the daemon.

She stared defiantly at the creature within her. "Then let us begin." She muttered to herself. The thing lunged. She fought back.

* * *

Justinia fell to the ground, her body twitching as the two beings within fought for control of the flesh. Liselotte stood up, barely clinging to life. She ran for Wei, going as fast as she could to the girl. She ended up stumbling over, barely managing to make it without falling.

She tore away the strips of cloth, and unbound the girl. "I've managed to give Justinia a chance." Liselotte shook her head, pain obvious on her face. "But you know…never use telepathy while in the warp."

"Liselotte?" Wei's eyes went wide.

The telepath shook a little. "I'm going to get out of here. Once you get healed, take Justinia and get to the sanctuary. I'll be worse than she is…don't come looking for me."

Wei watched as the girl struggled to stand up. She saw her soul gem. It was almost pitch black. "Your gem…" she muttered

"I'll be fine," Liselotte promised, "Just get out of here before it takes me too…"

"Liselotte…were you…the good guy all along?" Wei would have frowned at her childish vocabulary. But there were more important things at the moment.

"I don't know who's right and who's wrong. I'm just trying to save as many as I can…" Liselotte explained. She walked away, stumbling towards the entrance door.

Wei watched her go, desperately hoping that she would heal faster.

Erwine went to the elevator. The elevator itself was gone. But the shaft was clear, despite the fact that it was collapsing. She jumped up it, landing on the upper level. She looked around, seeing Liselotte stumbling for the secret opening, Justinia writhing on the ground, and Wei in the corner with her limbs gone.

"Erwine!" Wei shouted, "Help Liselotte, she's about to turn!"

Erwine cursed as she ran towards her. Her sword emerged into her hand as she ran for the girl. She stopped Liselotte, holding had back as she looked into her eyes. Erwine saw the gem. It was close.

She pulled out a box of cubes from her pocket. Grabbing the gem, it was submerged in the box. She sat Liselotte back against the wall. "She was possessed as well!" Wei shouted, seeing this take place. "I think the only way out is death!"

"We need her!" Erwine replied. "Unless she's right about Theodora, Liselotte is the only lead we have right now! If she dies, for any reason, then we lose all the progress we've made, and I'm not giving up now!"

Justinia was standing up from the ground. She was shaky as she got to her feet. Erwine raised her blade, approaching cautiously. Justinia giggled as she looked up at Erwine. "Hello little one," Not-Justinia said softly. "Nice to see you here."

"Justinia," Erwine said, calmly and carefully, "This is Erwine. I don't want to hurt you, and I know that you're in there somewhere. Take a deep breath and relax. Fight the daemon."

"Justinia let this occur!" the creature in Justinia's flesh shouted. "She wanted it. She could have fought it, but she was too much of a fool for that!"

Erwine shook her head. "I don't believe you."

"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not!" Justinia laughed, "All that matters is that what I say is the truth!"

Erwine took a deep breath. She looked at Wei. "We have to disable her. If we can do that, there's a chance we can get her back to Victoria's sanctuary."

Erwine thought about the time in her head. "We have about half an hour to get her and then get back." She shook her head, "Maybe not enough time."

"Wei, I'm going to get you out." Erwine promised. She made to move past Justinia, but the vessel of the daemon blocked her.

"No, not without Justinia!" Wei shouted, "Just take Liselotte and leave if you must! Please Erwine, she's more important. You can't save Justinia at this point, but there's a chance you can be safe in the sanctuary with Liselotte! Go! Now!"

Erwine fiercely shook her head. "Wei, my wish failed. I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be existing for, but at the very least I'm not abandoning anyone now!" She took a deep breath as Justinia bent down, picking up her knife. "I'll save you all if I must!"

"You're mad!" Wei screamed, "Get out of here! Save yourself!"

Erwine chuckled. "I think we've established that fact already." She said. Grinning, "I will not leave without all three of you being safe, I swear to that."

"You're going to lose your soul!' Wei shouted.

"So damned what?!" Erwine screamed, as Not-Justinia approached her, adopting a fighting stance. "My wish couldn't come true because I wasn't powerful enough! I'm just a pawn in Ishna's game." She laughed maniacally, "If that's true, and I'm just a tiny little pawn, then why would my soul matter? All I can do now is pretend that I'm strong, pretend that I'm brave enough and powerful enough to change my own fate."

She stood firm, "Running away here would just be acknowledging that powerlessness." She explained, "Even if I die, I'd rather die dreaming a happy dream that living a cruel reality. But…" She adopted a stance of her own as the Not-Justinia rushed forwards with impossible speed.

Erwine declared with absolute certainty, "Destiny or no destiny, I won't die here! I'll never die until no man, magical girl, or god can make me bow before them!"

"What is going on up there?!" Victoria demanded, shouting into the vox that was communicating to that of Melody's.

"I have no idea!" the navigator replied, Victoria hearing the strain in her voice. "We ran into some severe turbulence, but it was relatively nothing. So I kept pushing forwards, but now we're caught at the edge of something far worse."

"What do you mean?" Victoria said, realizing that her shouts would not help the attitude of the panicking girl.

"A warp storm! It came out of nowhere!" Melody cried back, "Everything was so muddled, hard to see, but I figured it would pass, it showed no signs of seriously disturbing the voyage. But a warp storm just came out of nowhere!"

"Fool!" Victoria screamed, "You know warp storms send out tides!"

"These weren't tides! Tides come and go, pushing the ship about! We were continuing on a steady course, there was just a rough patch of active energy! As I said, there were no signs of a warp storm being present. It's like it just formed from nothing!"

"Impossible!" Victoria screamed.

"A lot of impossible things have happened, a warp storm appearing from nowhere is nothing when one takes into account the nature of the Immaterium!" Victoria could hear tears amidst Melody's words. "I'm sorry I messed up!" the girl shouted, her voice echoing about the space where Victoria stood, "Disengage your mind from my own, you'll need your power when we drop from the warp. We can't have you being possessed, centralize your defenses!"

"I'm the only thing keeping you alive as long as you look out into that mess! Shut yourself down, just wait things out, you'll be safe!" Victoria shouted desperately. "You can't die!"

"I can die!" Melody said, "This storm will rip us to pieces. As it is, if we keep going, the engines will be broken even more! I need to change course, and the only way I can do that is if I am up here."

"The Goddess Protects!" Melody shouted. The vox was shut off. Victoria went silent. The whole room had gone silent. There were a few dozen humans, amidst the four magical girls.

"May she guide your soul…" Victoria muttered. She switched the channel to Bolton. "When can we drop?"

"Never." The answer was delivered immediately. "We don't have the power to do it. We're caught in the storm as well. The crew working on the engines are all insane, possessed, or dead. I'm going to get as many men as I can into the other safe rooms aboard the ship. Melody is going to try and get us out of the storm as best she can. We'll have a slim chance at that point."

"Understood," Victoria said. She shut the link off. She looked around her, at the assembled people. There was terror on their faces. They had every reason to be afraid. "Shut the doors," she ordered Ayelen.

The button was pressed. The series of airtight, blessed, anti-magic, and theoretically anti-warp doors all closed. Each was over a foot thick, save for the last one, which was three feet in width.

It would take a group of magical girls almost a day to cut through. They could only hope that the same applied for denizens of the warp.

_Melody, _she said, speaking over the telepathic link though she should not have. _Don't do this…_

_It's been a good run, _Melody replied, _but the life of any navigator has to end at some point. I apologize, Victoria. Please, sever this link before you too are hurt. I don't want to die knowing that you're coming with me. _

_We've been a pair for…for all our lives, _Victoria complained, _let's just all die together._

_Nonsense. There's something bigger than any one of us going on here. I won't let all of our hard work be for nothing. _Melody telepathically sighed. _Goodbye, Victoria. May you find a happier ending than I. _

The link went dead. Victoria desperately tried to reconnect. She broke down in tears, and Sechylia could tell that she could not be trusted. A sharp blow to the back of the head knocked Victoria out.

"She would have kept trying to talk to Melody otherwise," Sechylia explained, "She would have been possessed…" The girl laid Victoria on the bed, sitting down next to her. She looked about the assembled humans.

A single tear rolled down her face as well. Everyone in the room had a good reason to be scared. After all, their immortal souls were on the line.

* * *

Erwine looked the daemon thing in the eyes. It was not Justinia. It was a daemon. She had become nothing more than a daemonhost. Erwine felt a pang of guilt in her heart, like she was somehow responsible for this.

But deep down, she knew that she was not. _If I get Wei on my side, we can defeat her. Just hold out till then. _Erwine raised her blade, stepping every time the daemon lunged. With incredible speed, the thing leapt forwards.

Erwine held her blade, stepping to the side. Metal on metal as the knife and sword clashed. Erwine tried to strike in as she dodged, to destroy the knife. Justinia twisted her wrist in a way that her bone should not have allowed to pass the blade away. Her left hand struck out, fingers reaching.

Like claws they ripped into Erwine. No, they _were_ claws. The fingernails weren't normal anymore, protruding through Justinia's gloves in twisted constructions of flesh, nail, and bone. Then the girl noticed what was going on with the girl. She had a strange aura about her. A dim crimson and black glow surrounded her body as she leapt at Erwine.

Erwine swung her blade in a wide arc. _I could try my magic. But she's a daemonhost, it would most likely not work. _In less than a blink of an eye, the daemonhost leapt back. Then it leapt back in before the swing was even completed.

Erwine used the momentum to spin herself around, completing a full rotation in order to dodge the initial strike and attack again. Whatever was in Justinia had enhanced her abilities to incredible levels. She was now moving faster than Erwine could actually track, even with her all her advanced eyesight.

Erwine felt cuts appear on her body, from the knife and the claws, despite her best efforts to resist attack. Indeed, she understood that were it not for her defense, she would already be dead.

She spread her wings. Justinia was not knocked away. She flipped right as Erwine summoned the blue spreads of ethereal feathers, landing perfectly even as Erwine rushed back inwards. Three slices with Erwine's great sword missed the daemonhost entirely. Erwine flew back up into the air, above where Justinia could attack her.

The daemonhost cackled wildly, before lunging for the still recovering Wei. Erwine expected this, and swooped in towards the creature. Charging her blade with energy, Erwine swung in at its back.

A knife was embedded hilt deep in Erwine's back. The daemonhost leaned close to Eriwne's ear as it's free hand grabbed her hair. "Checkmate…"

Erwine was thrown onto her back while the daemon held her down. The knife was raised high. Erwine looked into Justinia's eyes. _The daemon's power…it must be a powerful entity on its own, but possessing Justinia it can amplify its power greatly! I didn't even see it move. Didn't come close to seeing it._ The knife was traveling down towards Erwine's soul gem.

Erwine was not going to die here. Panic spread through her boy, but determination surged up at the same time. A massive wave of energy coursed through her body and erupted from her mouth as a thunderous cry, "Wake up!" she shouted at Not-Justinia's face. The knife paused. Erwine felt weak. She was depleted just from that shout.

Shakily, the knife traveled downwards, but slower this time. Erwine already had her sword again. Justinia's right hand fell to the floor. Her left hand followed. Erwine stood up quickly, an uppercut as she stood knocking the daemonhost away. Propelled by her wings, she flew inwards, swinging her blade downwards.

The host's head was cloven in half. Erwine stopped there, not wanting to damage her soul gem. She stepped away, inciting her magic to heal the wounds all across her body, as the daemonhost crumpled to the floor dead. She took deep, slow breaths. She looked at Liselotte, to ensure that she was alright.

She was twitching wildly, her body shaking. Erwine took a deep breath. She'd won. Wei stood up. "Erwine!" she cried, running towards the girl. "You take Liselotte, let's get back down to the sanctuary before things get worse."

"That won't be necessary." The words surprised Wei. Till she, and Erwine, realized that they did not come from Erwine. The vessel stood up.

Both took several steps away as the daemonhost grinned. The head was cut in half, but bits of brain, muscles, blood vessels, they were all going to reconnect with one another, slowly pulling the head back into one piece.

It looked like the normal regeneration process for such a wound, but it was happening too fast. And what's more, the mouth, though the whole head was still in two halves, was still moving. Making sounds. The hands were still severed. "You thought you'd won?" the daemon chuckled, "Silly little thing…"

Six rocket launchers appeared around it. They were aimed at the ceiling, "Ready yourself. For this is how you end."

The projectiles went upwards. Erwine was already flying. Her sword sliced into two. Her wings knocked away two more. Two were left. Then another volley was fired. More and more were fired upwards. Erwine chased down the remaining two, before she had to start dealing with the rest.

Wei was already formulating a program to attempt to deal with the stream of explosive projectiles aimed for the collapsing ceiling. Erwine was tired. The explosions started hitting her. Then the first rocket touched the ceiling. The metal buckled under the pressure. More and more began to impact. "Let's get out of here!" Wei shouted, her program done.

Erwine sighed, then realized she had no choice. She couldn't die. The buckling of the ship under the pressure of the warp storm had severely damage the cover over the window. That window was now gone. Erwine touched back down, running to get Liselotte.

The daemonhost began to turn its weapons on Wei and Erwine. It did not get the chance. Wei activated the program. A bright flash of light preceded a loud bang as Justinia was blown backwards, a hole in her chest. She immediately stood up, but it bought the two girls some time.

Then the world ended. Or it seemed to end for the two girls who were not vessels of daemons. The ceiling broke away right as they leapt out the opening. Like a million souls crying out in anguish, a massive wail spread out. Neither of them gazed upon the warp, but even being in the same area hurt them both.

Erwine felt an intense pressure on her mind, something trying to worm its way inside. She fought it off, the daemon not putting up with much resistance. More and more came, and corporeal manifestations began to occur.

As Erwine and Wei ran through the corridors, nexuses of not-colors formed, preceding the arrival of gibbering masses of flesh. Wei, as they ran, formulated a program to act as a shield. A number of hexagrams rotated about them, driving back the daemons who touched them.

They ran wildly as reality itself began to warp thanks to the warp's touch. The two girls found themselves at the end of hallways when they started down them. A distance of a foot lengthened into a space that took minutes to traverse.

And they could not even find solace in that the thing pursuing them was slowed down as well. The daemonhost that Justinia had become continued walking steadily towards them. That was the part that scared Erwine the most.

Not that a daemon was chasing them, not that the ship was collapsing amidst a warp storm, but that the creature pursuing them was not even moving faster than a slow walk. That told Erwine that the thing knew that it would catch them eventually. It did not need to worry. It would win at some point.

Erwine still had Liselotte over her shoulder, Wei's shield holding firm as wailing screams of anguish and pain echoed around the halls. Erwine couldn't tell where they came from, but they were there. The walls bled as they twisted and warped. Colors that did not exist flashed around, as a stench of rot and decay came to their noses.

Erwine kept her mind strong, knowing that a single slip would result in her losing it. _Something truly powerful must be in Justinia if it managed to get in before the field collapsed entirely. _Erwine shuddered a little, knowing that a greater daemon combined with an older magical girl was going to be completely unstoppable for them.

The mutation of the craft around them continued, and Erwine knew at that point that they were not making it out of this alive. She wanted to live. She'd made that vow. But she could escape and die at the daemonhost's hands, or she could fight now and let the others have more of a chance. She activated the vox. The signal barely got trough. "Victoria!" She shouted, "Wei will be arriving there shortly, with Liselotte. I'll be staying back."

"Why?!" the astrotelepath screamed back.

"I need to slow down the daemonhost. I'll do as much as I can. I don't think it's fully destroyed Justinia yet. This is our one chance to do something serious against it!" Erwine explained.

Wei looked to the side as Erwine came to stop. "I'm staying here as well!" she declared.

"This is my life!" Erwine shouted, "I don't need your help!"

"Tough luck," Wei replied as Justinia approached. "Liselotte's close to being gone anyways. I won't make it in time at this rate."

"So we're going to fight?" she asked, as Erwine paused.

Erwine turned towards the approaching daemonhost. The thing grinned sickly. "Yes," Erwine said. She leaned Liselotte against the wall, "Yes we are." She accepted Wei's assistance. She knew the girl was correct.

"Goodbye," Erwine spoke into the vox, as the link went fully dead. The two girls were now isolated in the tight corridor as the daemonhost approached. "Well," Erwine took a deep breath, "Wei, it's been fun. I'm sorry I wasn't able to deliver on my promises." Her voice spoke of a regret beyond comprehension.

"You're making it out of here," Wei said sternly, leaving no room for denial. "I know you won't go now, but you'll go once I'm dead, right?"

"No," Erwine replied, just as certainly.

"You will," Wei insisted, the words almost a command. "If I die, then you need to get out. I'd prefer to stay here on my own, but if you insist, we can do this together."

Erwine hesitated. She didn't want to die here. It was her life. She wanted to keep living it, to obtain the ending she wanted. "You're serious?" Erwine asked. Her voice was shaky, distant.

"Of course I am," Wei replied, "Get out of here. I will do what I can. Don't worry about Liselotte. Just go."

Erwine took a deep breath. She looked at Wei. "Goodbye," she said. Erwine turned around, facing in the direction they'd been running in. "Given the situation, we won't be seeing each other ever again, unless things turn out really bad."

"Yes, I know…" Wei's voice was distant, far away. She was accepting of what she was about to do. The girl was ashamed of her selfishness as she said sorrowfully, "I'm doing this for you, you know that right?"

"I know," Erwine said angrily, "And I really, really hate it." The daemonhost had paused. She was waiting for them to finish. Erwine took that as a sign that she was going to lose her life here as well, even if she did run from this one fight.

"The Goddess Protects…" Erwine whispered softly.

"That She does," Wei agreed.

"May She guide your soul," Erwine whispered. She started walking. It turned into a run. Wei didn't watch her go. Wei felt herself crying as she walked forwards. Her arms glowed as she started to weave a program, looking the daemonhost in the eyes.

"Justinia…" Wei called, "If you're in there…please, fight this."

The daemonhost laughed. It grinned madly. "Let us finish this quickly. I have more important things to attend to than you, little one."

"You shall not pass," Wei assured the girl. Her voice was shaky, but she wouldn't back down. Not when it was for Erwine. "Not until I am well and truly gone,"

The daemonhost threw its head back, laughing. "Then I shall be passing by you quite shortly, I imagine."

Wei felt a tear slip down her cheek as the daemonhost attacked. _Erwine…I'm sorry._

* * *

**The chronology with Laelia and Celestine's scene is a bit awkward. A lot of stuff was written later on in the original draft, mainly because it's revealed as it is relevant. Given the couple paragraphs near the end of _In Someone's Name_'s latest chapter, I figured I should at least put that scene with Laelia and Celestine into this chapter. **


	39. The Once-Fool, now Enlightened

Behind her, the series of doors closed shut. The pain on her face silenced anyone that might speak a single word. No one needed to criticize her, or even thought twice about saying anything. Her crimes were known to all of them, but her solitary state meant that her loss was known to all of them.

All of them felt a similar hollow feeling in their chests. Like something was missing, when they knew it should be there. Erwine slid down against the door, much of her believing that it wouldn't open again. Tears slid down her face, but no one said a word.

Each person in that room wanted to tell her just how much they despised her, but Erwine already knew all that. It was all she could do to stop herself from falling into despair. The only light that remained was the hope that she could fulfill that wish.

And even then, would the price be worth it?

* * *

Justinia's body, still nothing more than a slave to something else, moved faster than Wei could realistically react to. With the ship open to the warp, Wei felt insanity clawing at her mind, the alien energy breaking through her barriers faster than she could resist. Not that Wei was about to let that slow her down.

She still had to what she could against the daemonhost before it could gain more power. However, the warp energy that permeated the place told Wei that the daemon could most likely corporeally manifest if it truly wanted to. Or maybe Justinia was managing to occupy the thing. Wei had no idea.

Wei still had the shield that had been protecting her and Erwine. She focused the multiple hexagrams in front of her body as she leapt back, arms tracing the complex processes of another program.

A multitude of sounds echoed about the corridor. Overpowering the other noises, the sharp crack of glass shattering rang out. The daemonhost, holding only the knife in its right hand, tore through the shields Wei through up as if they really were just flimsy glass.

Wei had to compromise, decreasing the strength of her attack for the sake of actually getting it off. She knew the speed of her opponent was incredible. There was no way a focused strike would land. She finished the elaborate series of hand gestures, before grounding her stance and whipping her right arm out forwards.

The daemonhost's blade was traveling downwards as the attack went off. The rotating glyph flashed brightly, and energy coursed through Wei's arm. The attack traveled the width and height of the corridor, a large wave of force headed at the enemy. Justinia was knocked back. To Wei's terror, the vessel landed on its feet, barely five feet from Wei.

It had done practically nothing to the creature. "Nice try," the thing commented. It rushed back in towards Wei, knife extended. Wei tried to make another program, but then realized that she'd been foolish in staying behind. She didn't think the daemonhost had this much capability yet.

Wei froze. She kept her eyes open, wanting to look into Justinia's as she died. Maybe it would snap the girl out of it. Maybe, just maybe. The blade embedded itself in Wei. The dark-haired girl fell backwards, her body hitting the ground.

* * *

Justinia ran. She knew what she was running from. It was the thing that she could identify as the daemon that was in her mind. The dark alley didn't seem to have an end. But this was all in her head. Her endurance could last forever.

The formless entity stormed towards her from behind, making not a sound as it rushed. Justinia didn't look back, afraid it would somehow condemn her to her fate. She knew that what was here now was only a tiny fragment of the daemon's power. The rest was controlling her body, using it to do terrible things.

Justinia was dressed in the suit she usually wore, but it was covered with her own blood. She could not remember the last time the suit had blood that was hers on it. The long smoky tendrils of the being reached out for her legs, grabbing at them, threatening to rip them out from under her.

Justinia had a vague idea of what had been happening. She'd managed to temporarily distract the daemon, but it had come at her with full force, driving her back, crushing her back down. And without Liselotte to assist, there was little Justinia could do. It was not like the thing was going to tempt her. She could resist temptation, at least now that she knew something was tempting her. But she could not resist the raw force.

However…that made Justinia think about what the thing was. There was no escape from the place she was in. The darkness stretched on for eternity, tall buildings reaching up to either side of her. "The brute force…it…that's what it is…" She had a good idea of whose servant the thing was.

And that meant she could figure some things out about it. She focused her mind. She was in her mind, after all. The daemon was suppressing her ability to control it, and that was a problem, but at the same time, it was still her mind.

The alley ended. A loud laugh echoed, and Justinia turned to see the daemon bearing down on her. She smirked as the thing came right at her. "Wrong," she said as she appeared behind it.

"This is my mind, after all. You're just trying to beat me down…" she shook her head as she ran back down. Given that it was not a physical space, anything was possible as long as Justinia had the control. She didn't have the control to do everything, but at the same time, the daemon didn't have the control to do anything. It wasn't seeking to control her mind. It was seeking to just destroy her. Which mean that while Justinia was low on power, if she could find the power, then she could do whatever.

"You thought you won, didn't you?" Justinia spoke to herself, but wondered if the creature would hear, "But you haven't. Not even close…"

Justinia saw an end to the darkness ahead. She ran out onto a street. It sloped upwards, but also went downwards. She looked up. The dark sky was highlighted by a bright moon. Dim streetlights shone as well, accompanied by the lights from inside some of the houses that lined the street of this lonely little village.

Once again, Justinia knew that she was somewhere she should know. But it was not possible for her to remember. The daemon was barreling in again. Justinia made a choice. She went downwards. She thought of what happened before. During that bright day, the café, the lake. Maybe the road led down there.

She ran as fast as she could, the daemon struggling to catch her. Sure enough, Justinia could see a dim reflection of the moon upon the lake ahead. She didn't need to breath. She was really navigating a physical representation of her mind.

But she breathed hard, like she was a real, physical person. Her speed increased as her determination did. She went as fast as she could, her steps taking her down the hill, and out onto the open field. The daemon roared in anger, rage, frustration, hatred, as Justinia put more distance between it and her.

Something made Justinia think she was going to fail. She wondered what was going on outside. What the daemon was using her body to do.

Justinia fell over. It was the daemon. It had. Its power had somehow exponentially increased. She was caught by it, the entity swirling all around her as it grabbed her. She felt the life being sucked out of herself. "If this is happening…" she muttered, "Then the ship…it's been breached entirely…oh no…"

That was why the daemon had its power. The Gellar field must have failed entirely. The entity was now a thousand times as strong. The formless shape began to manifest into something real.

Justinia was lifted up by a large hand. Into the face of a devil. She looked at its large body, massive black wings spreading out behind it. "Bloodthirster…" she muttered.

"Correct," the thing said, "But that doesn't assist you." The hand closed around Justinia's body. She despaired, feeling the pressure threatening to snap every bone in her body. Again, it was all just a metaphor. Should her bones snap, should she be broken. Then her mind would be broken.

She did her best to resist. But in the end, there was nothing she could do. Justinia stared into the monster's eyes, intent on remaining defiant. "Where is your Goddess now?" the daemon asked as Justinia cried out in pain, feeling herself about to snap apart.

Then the pressure stopped for a moment. The daemon chuckled, looking down. Justinia followed its eyes. A girl stood by the thing's feet, stabbing a blade into the ankle of the daemon. It was Liselotte. Her mental form was shimmering, and she herself was shuddering. But she was fighting back.

Her mental form had entered Justinia's mind to engage the daemon. The bloodthirster cast Justinia aside. In its other hand was a massive axe. The weapon was raised up. Liselotte stumbled to the side, barely avoiding it. She kept attacking futilely, only distracting the entity.

Justinia stood up. She was in a massive amount of pain. She ran towards the lake, as best she could. It wasn't even that much of a run, but it was the best she could manage at the moment.

She looked back once, to see Liselotte swatted away by the thing. Her mental form disappeared, entirely gone. Justinia shut her eyes. Liselotte had to have been grabbed by something after the first attempt to help. After this second attempt. There was no way she'd be able to resist any longer.

But Justinia reached the lake. The bloodthirster came up behind her. Justinia stared out across the moonlit surface, before her eyes followed the beams of light up to that celestial body in the sky.

Her eyes went wide as she fell to her knees. She remembered everything. The daemon's force, for a moment, was shattered. And for a moment, Justinia had complete control of her own mind.

The bloodthirster had its axe raised. It swung downwards. It was blown away. It would come back in an instant, but Justinia had no idea that she just saved someone's life.

* * *

Wei looked at her gut. There was a knife embedded there. About an inch above her belt. Justinia stood there, frozen in place. Wei realized that she was lucky to be alive. That, if even for a brief moment, Justinia had regained control of her own mind, and averted Wei's death.

Wei could stand up. She grabbed Justina by the shoulders, shouting for her to wake up as she leaned in. She yanked the knife out of herself, tossing it away. She looked Justinia in the eyes, and saw the same thing she'd seen before.

A hand gripped her throat, squeezing down tight. The other hand went for her soul gem. "Causing a bit of trouble, she was," the daemonhost chuckled, "But that's enough for now."

The daemonhost squeezed down. Wei shook as the thing clamped down, its iron grip getting closer and closer to shattering the soul gem. She shuddered, realizing that she was really going to die here. The thing was just taunting her, making it slow so that she could see her death approach.

She was on the ground again. The ship shook. The entire body of the ship seemed to move at once, as if it was being struck by a massive wave. Then the screams, the endless moans, the strange smells, they didn't end. They merely receded.

Then the daemonhost's eyes shot open wide. "I-m-possible…" It forced out, its grip loosening by the second. Wei saw her chance, realizing that this was the last one she'd get. A flailing punch fully forced the thing back as its arms rose to grab at its head.

She heard only a single word from Justinia. It was a desperate cry, but she could tell that it was spoken in a voice that was the true one of that girl. _"_Run," Wei didn't even try to make a program, instead grabbing Liselotte's body and sprinting as fast as she could.

She bolted down the hall as the painful cries of the daemonhost followed her. Wei didn't dare look back. She could tell that the ship had left the warp, presumably thanks to Melody, but that didn't mean anything for her current chances. If she slowed, then she was dead.

Wei only had a vague idea of where she was going. But she didn't slow. All she could do was thank Justinia, and hope that girl would survive till they could save her.

* * *

The shadow of the daemon roared out in an earth-shattering cry. Milliseconds ticked by as the axe flashed downwards towards Justinia. She rolled over, barely able to raise her arms and stop the weapon from annihilating her. Her scream rose up into the air, the pain unbearably immense.

But she held the creature back, desperately holding off its assault. She prayed that somehow this would save somebody back in reality. Justinia felt her arms cracking, and her body ready to shatter. _Please…_it ran through what infinitesimal fragment of her mind that was hers, _please let me save her. _

A terrible pain, perhaps greater than ever she had ever experienced, ran through her body at that moment. Then the daemon roared out, as Justinia felt herself growing stronger and stronger. A field of light surrounded her body, a multitude of images she had no hope of understanding flashed through her head, and the daemons's axe was cast off.

She leapt forwards, punching out at the creature. With a furious cry of rage the daemon stumbled backwards and toppled over. Justinia quickly followed it to the ground, the newfound energy vanishing as fast as it had come. For a moment, she felt herself in control of her body. Her eyes found a wounded Wei, and her mouth could move.

"Run," she said, before the daemon's power surged forth once more.

* * *

Interstellar space. The voice between the stars. There was nothing of note. It was not good to be there. Not close to any life. Radio signals would take a long time to reach any help, given that light years separated star systems. Magical girls had it easier.

And something now exited out of the warp into this dark void between the small clusters of light that star systems offered. However, anything was preferable to the warp, so it was not like it was a necessarily dangerous maneuver.

Elle sat in the captain seat of her vessel, called the _Yslevia. _"Start scanning," she immediately said. To the astrotelepath. "Start sending out signals in all directions, maximum strength. If you know the mental form of their astrotelepath, search for that as well."

Minutes passed. Elle was tense. The anticipation in her body was not positive, as she did not expect anything good to have come of all of this. Then, "Plot a course for Janicelle." The astrotelepath, Maria, called.

"Why?"

"They are there, trust me. Message going to you."

To the navigator, "Find a way there!" Justinia shouted, "Let's get moving, as soon as possible."

Justinia brought up the small screen on her chair. The message was text only, so as to not cause issues if anyone else saw.

_To the Yslevia. This is Victoria, astrotelepath of the _Rosie. _We are currently near the edge of the Janicelle system. We ran into a warp storm, and the Gellar field was breached. We are currently unsure as to how we managed to leave the warp, but it was not by our design that we did. Justinia was possessed, and as of right now, is still a daemonhost and loose on this ship. Wei is alive and well. Sanae is alive and well. Ayelen is alive and well. Erwine is alive and well. Sechylia is alive and well. Liselotte is in a coma, incredibly deep. She may die. Our navigator, Melody, is believed dead. Her soul is presumed lost to the warp. Her efforts are presumed to be instrumental in our escape. I recommend her for an Outstanding Service Award. Please- _

The message cut off there. "Why the cut-off?" Elle wondered.

"The message just ended. Nothing more got through. I cannot contact them again. There does seem to be an active warp storm isolating Janicelle, although it is incredibly faint. The only way I'm seeing it is by attempting to send through it."

"Can we get through?" Elle asked the navigator as well.

"Possibly," the girl replied, "No, wait. There is a path through the storm. However, it seems that it is blocking exit, but allowing entry."

"That's not good…" Elle commented. "Find the path, get us there as soon as possible. Chances are the ship is crippled, and if it is still taking damage from the breach, then it won't last much longer. We have to get them to Janicelle."

"Apparently Janicelle has been isolated for the past three months. However, the storm was expected, shows all signs of a natural storm. It is believed to die down within the next year, but we may not be able to escape till then," Maria warned.

"It doesn't matter. We need to help them. Send out a message to the Inquisition in Sesrio. Tell them to tell Estelle and the others to not follow us. We'll go in on our own."

"The warp storm has been expected ever since the Hadiens Incident. They weren't sure when it would occur, but they knew it would come eventually." Maria explained. "Interesting…"

"Well then, I think this just proves we should get in there. Have we a course?"

"We do," the navigator replied.

"Then let's get on our way," Elle ordered. "Get us there as fast as is possible."

* * *

The only signal they received was the room shaking. It was a massive tremor that shook the entire vessel. All were calmed by the sanctuary holding firm, but that did not mean that they were safe. The shaking could be the ship tearing apart, or it could be the vessel escaping from the warp that tormented it. Within the warp and magic sealed confines of the room, they couldn't tell.

However, endangered as they were on the bridge, Bolton could attest to the ship's state. The vox crackled, and the man's voice came through. "Melody got us out. The ship's out of the warp."

Erwine was already slamming the controls to open the door. She knew exactly what she was doing. Her eyes were intent, focused on only one thing. There was no way the daemonhost was gone, but maybe, just maybe, Wei was alive. It was a vain hope, a stupid hope, and Erwine didn't quite understand why she cared so much about a girl she'd never be able to stay with, but she cared.

Though there were more doors afterwards, Erwine rushed through each one, only to pause before the next. Those who saw it had their judgments shaken. If she truly was a monster worse than Adrianne, then how could she care so much? How could she possibly care?

Everyone in the sanctuary was speechless, even as Erwine came to the last set of doors. There, the girl did look back. "Come on," She said, "We need to clear the rest of the ship. There will be residual warp energy left over, and the daemonhost is certainly still alive. We're not out of this yet."

Silence. The doors rolled open. Erwine sighed, then said, "I understand all of you despise me right now. I don't blame you for despising me. I'm sorry for what I did. But please, may we at least save those who are left, and then go about assigning punishments?" She didn't wait for a reply, running off in the direction of Wei as fast as she could.

* * *

All she could see was a body slumped against a wall. The green of the clothes was covered up by the dark red stains, and beside the girl lay a lifeless body.

When Erwine turned the corner and saw her lying there, the whole world became nothing but that corridor. The Goddess could have been just off to the side, and she wouldn't have cared. She ran down that hallway faster than she had moved ever before. Her wings spread out, and pushed her along, so fast that she almost overshot Wei entirely.

Erwine collapsed to her knees, desperately grabbing at Wei's soul gem. It was there. Blackness filled it almost completely. The body was in her arms, Erwine already burning up what magic she had left to try and prevent Wei from using her own. Then she was racing back down through the halls, knowing full well she left Liselotte there.

All that mattered is that Wei had a chance. And as long as she had a chance, Erwine would try. She'd keep trying all the way till the end.

For the ease of access, and transport of any wounded personnel found, the doors to the Sanctuary were open, guarded by Ayelen and Sanae. Erwine rushed past them, knowing that Wei had perhaps minutes before she hit the event horizon and her death was inevitable.

Erwine knew Victoria had one of the larger stores of spare cubes on the ship in the sanctuary. The astrotelepath looked with annoyance as she heard Erwine rushing through, but then gasped as she saw the desperation on her face and the body in her hands.

The silver-haired girl fell to her knees beside the motionless form as it was dropped to the ground, as Victoria took out a box of cubes as fast as she could. Wei's soul gem was placed inside, and immediately began to clear. "She'll live," Victoria said, relieved, as the healing took place.

Erwine nodded, struggling up to her feet. "Could you…tell me when's back? I'll go help clear the rest of the ship, check on Bolton, make sure the daemonhost isn't an immediate threat." In silence, she walked away.

Victoria watched, equally quiet. Now, the only emotion she could be certain of was hate.

* * *

Erwine paused for a brief moment amidst the struggle. She was tired. So incredibly tired. Between the bare minimum of sleep she got, and the massive struggle to survive she had endured, the girl was not in the mood to do anything more at the moment.

The worst part was that the _Rosie _was still crawling with lesser creatures. Not even daemons of one of the four gods. Just worthless trash. The gatherings of warp energy still had to be cleaned up. Luckily, the fact that the ship was in real space meant that they were going away. However, the ship itself was not in good shape.

The gross mass moved towards her again. Erwine raised her sword, slicing into the mess and cutting it in half. Two more chops broke it down even further. It didn't come back from that. She had been working for the past hour, along with Ayelen and Sanae, to clean things up as the _Rosie _drifted near the edge of the system.

The engines were completely gone. The repair crews were all dead, and the rear of the ship was the most heavily infested. There was no way that they were going to be able to reclaim the entire ship. At least not for a while. Erwine expected the thing would become some kind of ghost ship, unless it was destroyed.

She was vaguely aware of the fact that no one was saying a word to her. At least not Ayelen and Sanae. Erwine just hadn't seen Wei that much since she got to work, given that girl was focusing on handling those damaged by the endeavor.

Even the human members of the crew were ignoring her, treating her like she didn't exist. Erwine didn't need to think hard to understand exactly why. She was the one, after all, who had killed over half the ship's crew, as well as the navigator herself.

Erwine shook her head as she walked along, really just making sure that there was nothing within range of the center of the ship. That was where everyone was at the moment. She found nothing more around, and turned back.

She passed by Ayelen. "Done already?" the girl snapped.

"There are no other enemies who are threatening the bridge." Erwine turned around, holding up her soul gem. "And if you haven't noticed, I'm about to die, so I'd like to resolve that problem." The gem was indeed almost pitch black. She dissipated her blade and headed back.

Ayelen glared at her as she walked away. Erwine would pass by Sanae, but that girl would thankfully say nothing. Ayelen saw Sanae, and approached her. "That girl…" Ayelen muttered, watching Erwine round a corner and disappear. "I'm not sure if I hate her or not."

"What purpose would hating her serve?" Sanae asked.

Ayelen grinned at the typical answer. "Make me feel better. Make me feel like I'm somehow paying Melody and all the others back. Even though I know just hating Erwine is far from what she really deserves."

"That's no way to think, honestly." Sanae said quietly. "She's hurting. What's she's done…it isn't right but we can't disregard what's happened."

Ayelen nodded, giving a long sigh. "Sure," She whispered. "I forgave Laelia, didn't I? In the end, I even found it in me to forgive Adrianne." She said, "I'll wait till all this is over. Not just this journey, but till we reach some kind of conclusion. Only then can I truly judge what Erwine has done."

Erwine stepped onto the bridge, new grief cube nettings adorning her body. Her soul gem softly glowed as they worked to suck away all the grief inside. She saw Victoria standing next to Bolton. Sechylia was there as well. Erwine figured that Wei was with the damaged humans in the sanctuary, as the ship still had a strong warp presence about it.

The bridge was staffed by a skeleton crew, and they were being pushed to their limits. Erwine walked up behind the conversing people. "Well, anyone who can repair things is dead. The bridge crew can't do much, and since most of the rest of the crew is incapacitated, I'd say that we are going nowhere ever." Bolton explained.

"Theoretically, the _Yslevia_ will be here within the next day." Victoria said. "I've attempted to contact Janicelle, but I have gotten nothing back at the moment. There seems to be some sort of interference, but something more is going on no matter what."

"Has the planet fallen thanks to the warp storm around it?"

"Perhaps," Victoria said, "It is the most likely option. In that case, we may just have to leave immediately on the _Yslevia._" She looked at Bolton, "Sorry, but we're going to have to abandon the _Rosie _at this point. Even if Janicelle is still inhabited, we probably won't be able to tow the ship insystem."

"It's alright…" Bolton sighed. "I always knew I was going to lose her at some point. But I didn't think it would be like this." Victoria looked at Erwine, having noticed her previously but not saying anything. "Have anything to add?"

"No," Erwine replied, "I've nothing…but…I'm sorry, for everything I've done."

Bolton chuckled. "As if that solves everything."

"I don't need your acceptance," Erwine replied, "I am merely putting it out there that I am sorry, and I regret what I have done."

"Then get off my bridge. Get off my ship, if you could. Just toss yourself into the void." Bolton suggested. "Though I don't think sending you to the Goddess would be doing her a favor."

Erwine turned around. She acted as if she was not hurt, but it was obvious that the harsh words had touched her. Victoria scowled at the captain of the vessel. "Don't act like this. The daemonhost is still out there, we need everyone at full capability. Erwine obviously regrets her actions. Let her off, you had no problem with Adrianne."

"Adrianne didn't destroy my ship. She gave it to me, but she did not destroy it. She didn't kill my men, she didn't kill my navigator. Erwine has managed to do all of those things in but a handful of hours." Bolton snapped.

Victoria shot back, "That's true, but she's the best chance we've got. Against this daemonhost, we have little chance, unless Erwine somehow finds it in herself to make good on her promises to not die."

"And you're going to trust her?" Bolton asked.

"Of course not," Victoria spat, "But I can't exactly fight that thing, so my only choice is to hand the reigns over to her. Unless you have some better solution." Bolton didn't. He stayed quiet. "There you go. I'll go now."

The short girl stormed away from the bridge, hurrying to catch up to the person she despised. Who was also the person who could most likely save them.

* * *

Estelle sat in the room she had been given on Theodora's ship. It was named the _Carinthia. _Nadine was there. Estelle had noticed that Nadine was following her around. Wherever she was, Nadine was there. Not when she was sleeping, or at least Estelle hoped it was not when she was sleeping.

But otherwise, it was like the other inquisitor was glued to her somehow. Estelle saw Nadine leaning against the wall, as she sat beside a small table, sipping a cup of tea. "What do you want?" Estelle eventually asked, referring to how Nadine said and did nothing, as if she was expecting something.

"To make sure you're alright," Nadine explained. "That's what I'm doing here."

"What do you mean, alright?" Estelle frowned. "I'm feeling perfectly fine. A bit worried, but there's not much that can be done about that."

"I get the feeling that something is going to go bad. I feel like something bad is going to happen to Erwine, or maybe it already has happened." Nadine explained. "I want to ensure that you don't blame yourself."

"What do you mean, 'something bad'?" Estelle stood up.

"I just have a feeling that I don't like. I know you have it too…but I just want to make sure you don't beat yourself up if people die because of Erwine's actions…"

"Why would I beat myself up, it's Erwine's fault, right?" Estelle asked, almost laughing at the idea. Nadine shook her head. She stepped off from the wall, and turned towards Estelle. She looked the girl in the eyes.

"And that's really why I'm here," Nadine said softly, "Because you think Erwine is the one to blame."

"You're saying I am?" Estelle raised her eyebrows.

"In a way. Erwine made the decisions in the end, but you are a major factor in her choices." Nadine explained. Estelle shook her head.

"Look, I know I did some things I should not have, but if they're lost to the warp, that is ultimately Erwine's fault. She was the one who made them continue despite the damage they suffered."

"What about the gunner who fired that shot?" Nadine asked. She shrugged, "Maybe it's all his or her fault. If he'd been on target, then Erwine wouldn't have been able to keep going."

"Nadine," Estelle stepped in close, "I know that…that Erwine doesn't need to be beaten down. But she needs to be treated in the proper manner. The fact is that she betrayed us all. Right now, people could be dying, and it is Erwine's fault. In the end, it's her fault." Her voice was rife with rage. It was the same kind of anger that she used to show towards Adrianne.

"What will you?" Nadine asked. "What will you do when we finally catch her? Will you have her stand trial, and most likely be imprisoned or executed?" There was a beat of silence, but before a stunned Estelle could speak she was cut off. "What would you have done to Adrianne?"

Estelle froze. She opened her mouth, trying to find the words. However, Nadine could see that she was not going to find such words. "That's what I thought," Nadine chuckled. "You really think that you know everything. That everything is under control when you're there."

It seemed to take physical effort for Estelle to force the words out of her mouth. "It's different," she insisted, eyes going to the side. Her breathing sped up just a little.

"How is it different?" Nadine asked, "Adrianne betrayed you, Erwine betrayed you. What differentiates these two people?" Her tone wasn't angry, nor even truly ice-cold. It was the knowledge that the tone conveyed, the idea that Nadine knew exactly what she was doing and said every word for a certain purpose.

It reminded Estelle of someone who had died. But what really was death in this world? An intense glare tried to return Nadine's cruel, analytical eyes. "It's-" Estelle almost shouted, "It's different."

"How so?" Nadine asked. She took a step close, though they were already close. Somehow she seemed so much bigger than Estelle though they were about the same height. Faces inches apart, Nadine asked slowly, like a mother speaking to a disobedient child, "How is it different?"

Estelle crumbled. Like a dam collapsing and letting loose a great tide, she burst out in a loud cry. Her eyes were shut and her face averted as though it was a shame to say, "I loved Adrianne." Then there was quiet. Estelle's eyes opened.

She stared down at the ground to the side, breathe caught in her throat. Nadine's breathing was barely audible. The room was eerily quiet. But Estelle's eyes, opened up wide, seemed to indicate a realization. "I was so angry at her." She said quietly. "So, so angry for what she'd done. She'd run away from me, from everything, just because of someone that was long dead."

Her head turned. Eyes that overflowed with remembrance of painful memories met Nadine's. Yet those of Nadine did not relax in their intensity. Nevertheless, Estelle continued to speak. "I hated her." She shook her head in disbelief, like the emotion wasn't something she could come close to comprehending. "I really did hate Adrianne."

A tear slid down her cheek, though she wouldn't have wanted it to. Her lips parted and closed again and again as she tried to say something. Finally she found the words. Voice filled with sorrow and regret, she spoke them. "But how could I say that, even to myself, about someone who I desperately desired to protect?"

She felt her legs shaking. A shiver ran through her entire body. "How could I have gone up to Adrianne, the girl who I had tossed away everything for, the girl whom I still loved, and tell her that I hated her?" Her teeth clamped down. The shuddering ceased.

A short breathe, then she said with new determination. "Nadine, that's what makes this different. I loved Adrianne. And that's why I'm trying to help Erwine too." She cracked a sad smile as she said, "Isn't it funny, how I'm always running around in circles chasing after Adrianne or whatever she has wrought?"

Then her eyes closed, and she turned away. "That's what makes this different. Erwine isn't as important, she's someone that I can say I hate." Estelle spoke with confidence as she said, "So, in a way, my mind is only clearer when it comes to her."

Nadine said nothing. She took a few steps back, and turned around. For a few seconds, Estelle hoped she'd leave. Then she spun smoothly round on her heel. From her mouth came a cold tone. "But in reality your mind has never been clear, not even close."

Irritated by the new assault, Estelle snapped her head up and spat, "What's the problem now? What am I possibly doing wrong this time?!"

"It's what you've been doing wrong this entire time." Nadine explained. Her voice was one suited to speaking simplicities. "You see Estelle, you've never wanted to protect Adrianne for her sake, or help Erwine for her sake or even Adrianne's sake." Now it was clear why she'd stepped back. The few steps she took forwards put Estelle on edge, almost making her cede ground.

"You did it for yourself," Nadine said. Estelle's protest went nowhere, completely silenced. "Estelle, you wanted to save Adrianne because you loved her. Because you wanted her to love you back, rather than run off elsewhere, you practically admitted it yourself. And Erwine, you run after because you know you failed to help Adrianne, and the only thing that makes you sleep is by telling yourself that _somehow _what you're doing to Erwine is helping her."

Estelle didn't freeze. Rather, her eyes blinked multiple times, her fingers twitching a little, as if she suspected it to be merely a dream. Then, like locks were released, her jaw dropped downwards. It struggled to produce words. "Y-you-you…" She whispered. Her eyes shut, and her jaw clamped back together. A shudder of anger ran through her body.

"I do care!" She shouted, "I care about Erwine, I cared about Adrianne! But nothing I do works! Nothing I've ever done in my life has helped anything at all!" Her legs felt weak now. Tears were running down her cheeks free of her control. Now, she was quieter. "Why do you have to come here and tell me that not only are my actions worthless, but so are my reasons? Am I just worthless? Am I nothing more than a tagalong in this game?" She stared at Nadine, waiting for an answer. When none came, she said forcefully, "Tell me. If you have an answer then tell me."

Nadine looked saddened. Her hand reached out to Nadine's face, fingers brushing along her skin stained by tears. Carefully, the girl wiped away every trace of moisture. A "Shhh…" slipped from her lips, like a mother coddling her child. Estelle didn't reject the treatment. "I'm not angry, nor am I trying to make you feel bad. It is my goal to make you see the truth, Estelle. That what you've done here is wrong. It's not entirely Erwine's fault, but it is also not entirely your fault."

The next words she spoke had a fateful tone to them. Similar to what she said before, it sounded as though she know the truth behind them. "In time, everyone responsible for what has occurred will get what is rightfully due." It was a promise. Estelle didn't doubt the words for a second.

Nadine turned around now. She started walking to the door. "Estelle, please don't hate yourself. You have done more than you think. You will continue to do more." A crackle from the vox disrupted her. "Oh my," Nadine whispered as the voice spoke.

"A warp storm!" the speaker cried, "We're going to be skirting across the fringes of a warp storm. It doesn't seem to be right in our path, rather, it seems that the center is around another point. Still working on figuring that out." Theodora was the one talking, from where she was on the bridge.

Nadine froze briefly. Estelle had heard the reply. "If we're running into a warp storm…" Nadine whispered. She spun around, looking Estelle in the eyes, "Then Erwine had to have run into one as well."

"And with the damaged ship," Estelle finished, "Then they would be…"

"It doesn't matter now," Nadine decided. She spoke into the vox again. "Can we make it through safely?"

"Certainly," Theodora said. "It's the only the fringe, and we have something of an advance warning. We'll make it through just fine, that's for certain."

"Get us to Sesrio as fast as possible," Nadine said, "The _Rosie _was probably hit by this storm as well. And with their damage…let's just get through as fast as we can."

* * *

She wasn't sure how the astrotelepath caught her. But somehow, their paths had perfectly converged. The girl strode out from around a corner, seeming to have been looking for Erwine. Her face was devoid of life as she stared up at the girl.

Erwine came to a halt. For a few seconds, they stared in silence at one another. "You killed her, you know." Victoria said quietly. "Melody's soul was lost, and it's your fault."

The silver-haired girl understood the weight of that. Cowed by the silent fury in Victoria's eyes, she said, "I know. But I won't let anyone else die."

"How do you expect to do that?" Victoria spat. "How can I even trust you? How can you even trust yourself, when you're the one who lead us to this disaster in the first place?!"

"I do trust myself. Right now, I cannot lose, or I'll die without a reason to have ever existed in the first place." Erwine explained. "I'll keep the rest of us alive, I promise."

"That's your reason?" Victoria asked. Erwine nodded.

She took a breath, shuddering as she sucked the air in. "It is my reason." She confirmed, "I'm sorry that people died, but the least I can do is ensure that no one else will suffer."

"Then bring Melody back," Victoria said, "But no, you already used your wish. No, not used, _wasted. _Wasted it on a pointless desire that has brought you and those around you despair." She shook her head. Victoria slid past Erwine, walking away. "Save this ship. I might even thank you when you're done. But I'd rather see you burn than fulfill your hopeless dream."

* * *

With the area around the sanctuary and bridge cleared, the crew had taken up arms and set up guards around the various locked and sealed corridors. None of the dredge that filled much of the ship could get through, and they'd only dissipate with time, but if the daemonhost came, then they wouldn't stand a chance. But at least they were enjoying a relative state of safety for the time being, especially with Ayelen and Sanae still patrolled the halls.

Wei was awake once again. She sat against the side of Victoria's bed, eyes cast down at the ground. Liselotte's body lay atop the body, motionless. Recovered from where it lay, there wasn't a hint of demonic possession, though no one could tell what was wrong in any way beyond the most surface of levels.

Erwine halted in the doorway. Wei looked up. For a moment, Erwine just wanted to run away. That moment dragged on without Erwine meaning it to, as she realized it would be so easy. She didn't need Wei, right? That girl had nothing to do with her desires.

Slowly, her eyes closed. It was to conceal the sadness. Or maybe it was happiness. No matter what, something about Wei touched Erwine's heart. They shot open. Erwine stepped forwards, collapsing to her knees beside Wei. Her arms reached out and wrapped around the girl, whose surprise was too immense to be described.

It took a few seconds for her arms to reach up and even start to hold Erwine. And even then, they barely held on. The two girls sat there. Neither budged an inch. Neither wanted to move an inch. Erwine found herself talking first. "Don't do that again." She whispered.

"I thought you didn't care about me," Wei said, humor only vaguely present. Other than that, she was serious.

Erwine swallowed down the lump in her throat, calmed her heart, and spoke as best she could. "I guess I do." The answer seemed dismissive, cold, but it was the only way Erwine could put it. She hadn't actively tried to make herself care, or convinced herself. Somehow, it had happened.

"So you won't run away from me anymore?" Wei asked. She was on the verge of tears. What Erwine said next would push her over, but she could go two directions. Either tears of sadness or tears of happiness would pour out of her eyes. With the way they were at the moment, Wei didn't see how the answer she received could lead to the former, but in the strange world in which they dwelled, anything was possible.

But it seemed that this time, fate favored her. For Erwine spoke sweetly, "I won't. You…you mean more than I ever realized." A moment of hesitation, right as Wei started to choke up and cry, then as the tears burst forth Erwine whispered, "Thank you."

Then Wei cried. And Erwine held her. It would have been terribly cruel to promise to make such a promise and then turn right around on it. Erwine wasn't that cruel. She wondered if she was cruel at all. But such questions didn't matter to her, and ultimately slipped away in a matter of seconds. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Erwine's own fate ceased to be as important as the fate of someone else.

And through all of Wei's sobbing and weeping, Erwine held her. Till her shoulder was drenched with Wei's tears, and even past that point, Erwine kept her head pressed close to her. She wouldn't let go. Just as she wouldn't let go of her own life, she wouldn't let go of Wei's.

They only thought of breaking apart when footsteps behind them called their attention. Erwine looked as much as she could over her free shoulder, and saw Ayelen first, then Sanae and Sechylia. The trio patiently waited, respecting the privacy of the two.

Erwine lightly tapped Wei on the shoulder, then whispered. "There's still things we must worry about, come on." Wei slowly detached herself from Erwine, sharing one last glance, then stood up with her friend.

The silver-haired girl took a deep breath. She looked at the girls arrayed before her. "If we're going to take the daemonhost down, there's only going to be one chance. There's not many grief cubes left, and while it's enough to give us full gems, a failed encounter will burn everything we have." Erwine sighed, "And since we can't rely on help coming soon, we have to act on our own."

The others agreed. Erwine looked to Wei, "Do you have any idea where the daemonhost went? Did it leave you alive, or did you escape?"

Wei replied, "I managed to get away. Justinia managed to stop it for long enough to the point where it couldn't follow. I imagine departing the warp did some damage to it as well. I eventually passed out from exhaustion."

Sanae picked up from there, "We have to assume that this daemon is not one that merely wants to destroy us, else it would just finish off the engines and rip apart the entire ship. Therefore, it probably wants to fight us directly."

Ayelen nodded, and added her own idea, "It probably hasn't come already because it's been weakened. It's certainly nor destroyed nor gone, but it'll need time to collect itself after leaving the warp, especially because the possession happened during a Gellar field breach."

"So it's still out there, and it'll want to fight us directly. We can't fight it directly, so perhaps we could make a trap?" Erwine proposed.

"Possible, but we'll need bait." Sanae said. They all looked around at each other.

Wei gulped, "I can do it. I can protect myself the best out of anyone here. If I weave enough programs before going in, I should be alright to lead it a little ways."

Erwine silenced her own protest, but a quiet "Wei…" still slipped past her lips.

The girl she feared for spoke softly in reply. "I'll be fine Erwine, I promise." There wasn't much choice in the matter. Soon, the plan was decided.

"But can we save Justinia?" Sechylia chimed in as they concluded.

As though all the air was sucked out, the room went quiet. "It's possible," Ayelen said. "If enough damage is done to the host body, and the daemon is struck with a magic charge and some sort of telepathic attack, and if the host is alive and well, then it's possible. Given who Justinia is, I'd say that we have a chance."

But that's all they had, a chance. And like for so many things, the only thing that could be done was pray.

* * *

Wei walked slowly through the halls of the ship. Her steps were slow, wary of what might be lying in wait for her. She was surrounded by a thick layer of hexagrams, bright blue in color, spinning in silence. There wasn't much resistance from the blobs of warp energy made flesh that were about the ship. They were dissipating anyways.

The real trouble came from the fact that further breaches could occur, and daemons could become further rooted within the vessel. Despite the fact that they had every intention to abandon the ship when rescue did arrive, more problems would only decrease their chances of making it out.

Wei took slow, deep breaths, her steps making very little noise. Her head turned from side to side, warily scanning every possible angle before she took another step. Her body shook, but she suppressed her fear.

There was not a single noise to be heard anywhere, besides her feet. No, that wasn't true. Wei wanted it to be true. She so desperately wanted it to be true. If it was true, then Wei she was crazy. If it wasn't true, then she was incredibly scared.

There were another pair of footsteps. Yet Erwine and the others were half a kilometer behind Wei. Their feet could not be heard. And these footsteps could be recognized by Wei. They were orderly, a neat rhythm to them. Not too fast, not too slow.

She knew Justinia was out there somewhere. As well as the thing that had dominance over her mind and body at the moment. Wei could only pray that it had yet to fully take her soul. The footsteps had been echoing for the past twenty minutes. They came from the distance, but they were getting closer. Closer and closer.

_Step, step. _Closer. _Step, step. _Closer. A perfect rhythm. Wei began to shake. Every time she rounded a corner. Every time she blinked. Every time she looked at a door, her body filled with fear, dread as she wondered what might be there.

Wei wanted to just break down in tears, scream for someone to save her. _Step, step. _That wouldn't help. Wei kept stumbling down the corridor, knowing that the corner was right there. She would have to turn it.

_Step, step. _Wei took another step forwards. Dread rose in her heart. Something was there. There was that noise. _Step, step. _She wanted to scream out. Yet that would reveal herself and her fear. She didn't want to-_step, step. _

Wei took another step forwards. The corner was there. She shut her eyes, took a deep-_step, step. _Wei stepped around the corner. She swore her heart leapt up her throat right there as something smiled back at her.

The red-haired host was there, stepping in a neat rhythm. Her mouth was curved in a sick grin.

Wei rolled backwards, the knife traveling at an insane speed downwards, barley skimming the outer layer of her shield. Justinia rounded the corner, a rocket launcher appearing in her hand as the vessel cackled wildly. The projectile was away as Wei leapt back again, then again. She pulled in her shields tight, bending backwards. Her flexibility allowed the rocket to skim over her head.

It detonated against the wall ten feet behind her. The explosion engulfed her, but she was already backflipping through the air as the other rocket came at her. It went under her this time, being aimed at the way she bent. It too struck the end of the corridor.

Wei rolled as she hit the ground. Five feet from rounding the corner, which was now a flaming mess of wreckage. She jumped, kicking off the remains of the wall to start herself down the next hallway.

Right as she did so, she saw the daemonhost open fire with half a dozen weapons. The resulting salvo didn't shake Wei as she ran as she fast as she could. She looked back as she heard the enemy moving fast. The daemonhost ran behind her, gaining on her rapidly.

Wei knew that she was most likely going to lose in such an extended chase. She steadied herself, continuing to go forwards as fast as she possibly could. Wei looked back again, seeing around twenty launchers floating about the vessel as it ran.

The corner was right ahead. It was an intersection. Wei needed to go right to get back on track. She couldn't dodge such a massive volley of weapons. The rockets fired. She turned around, projecting one of her shields. She left the hexagram in the hallway as she ran forwards.

Before Wei turned round the corner, the shield shattered with the sound of broken glass. The resulting detonation ripped up the corridor. The daemonhost was hit by the wave of its own explosions, surprised by Wei's quick move.

"Ah yes!" the shout echoed about the halls, "This is going to be fun, little one!" Justinia's voice was deeper, different. Wei didn't pay attention to that anymore. She kept going as fast as she possibly could. She put more distance between herself and the enemy as she continued straight down the corridor. Wei still had to go a long ways to get to her destination.

Wei was a substantial bit ahead now, and she knew that the daemonhost was tracking her well. Besides, the thing could see her running down the long corridor. Wei had no way to dodge in the tight space, so she would have to rely on her shields if the enemy attacked her as it had before.

Wei looked over her shoulder. She could not immediately count the number of weapons she saw at the moment. She kept running, waiting for the sound of them firing. As soon as that sound appeared, she spun about. Releasing two of her shields, she kept going. The shields shattered, but Wei kept hearing rockets.

Around twenty had been fired at the shields, the rest, around forty launchers, had been kept in reserve. The cloud of projectiles that made their way towards Wei was something she could not handle in any way.

She spun around, putting four of her shields out. She kept running, increasing her speed. She burned magic to start weaving a new program as fast as she could. She realized that while she was supposed to conserve it, the daemonhost wasn't expected to do things like this.

Wei looked back as the detonation occurred. There was a hole leading down to another deck, and a hole going up one deck. Wei felt something start sucking away. _No! _she cried. The upper deck was depressurized. Wei started hearing emergency klaxons, and she saw a door ahead of her closing.

She leapt, reaching out. Her fingers grasped one of the closing doors, and she quickly pulled herself in, right before they shut. Wei took a deep breath, backing away from the door. Then she turned around and kept running. If that thing could fire so many missiles, then it would be trivial for it to-her thoughts were disrupted as the bulkhead door exploded with a massive wave of force.

Wei then knew that she had to keep the daemonhost ahead of the next set of closing doors. The hallway they were in now was long, but there was an intersection up ahead. The doors were closing right before it. Wei sent two shields forwards. She had only two left around her now.

The shields held the doors as Wei backed slowly up. She knew the daemonhost wouldn't want to just depressuize the ship. It wanted to kill them all in the thick of battle. "Come on!" Wei shouted, through the fading air, "I know you want me!"

The thing smiled. It leapt forwards. Wei leapt back. Through the intersection she flew, crossing her arms so that her two barriers blocking the doors came in in front of herself. She added to those the two she still had.

The daemonhost easily cleared the doors. Wei had her other program half-complete, floating around her head. She brushed aside the shields, and moved the new one in front of both her outstretched arms. Her arms bucking back as if she fired a gun, the circle of runes flared up, before loosing a series of beams of light.

It was intended to deal with the rockets, but due to the fact that the daemonhost was a single leap away from contact with Wei and her shields, she decided to waste it. The multitude of beams scorched away the suit of the creature, burning at its flesh. But they failed to slow it down, despite the substantial burn wound in place of the thing's left eye.

She leapt forwards as Wei focused all her shields behind herself, and kept running. She'd gone about a fourth of a kilometer. She had some time left before she would be relatively safer than she was now.

The daemonhost kept cackling as it chased after her. It fired off a few more shots, breaking down Wei's shields. She didn't look back, doing the best she could to wave another program as she ran. She took deep breaths, focusing her mind. She couldn't let Erwine down. It wasn't about herself.

Wei thought of that girl, that girl who had done many things to her. _She's not Adrianne, _Wei decided. _She's not better or worse. She's different. The fact is that I know she still cares about me. And I won't die until I see her wish granted. But…it's not just that. _Wei wanted to believe that she wasn't just some little girl who could only follow Erwine around. _I…I am my own person. _

Wei's final shield broke. The daemonhost struck out at Wei's back. She tripped over. Not accidentally. She rolled as she went towards the ground, landing on her back. In her hands was a bright circle of light.

The daemonhost stood above her, the knife coming down at her head. The circle flared brightly, increasing in intensity. Then there was a massive flash. A wave of force blasted out at the creature. The program was powered by Wei's desire to survive, for Erwine's sake. By her desire to free Justinia. By her desire to prove that she could do something.

The daemonhost was knocked into the ceiling, eight feet above the floor. The thud made by the impact only signaled its descent. Its body was almost straight as it fell down. Feet were going down first, and the torso was a perfect target. Wei jumped up.

She came straight up, right in front of the girl as the daemonhost came into alignment with her right fist. The punch was perfect in every possible way as she threw her entire body into the blow. Doing it to a human might pulverize their heart. The daemonhost's torso flinched backwards, driven by the power of the punch. Wei's left arm reached out.

She wrapped around the thing's right wrist. She pulled it up and over herself guiding its head down towards her right knee. She struck up with that knee as the daemonhost came down. The daemonhost's skull cracked against her knee. The body came back up as Wei pulled it over. The head now faced the ceiling as it came down towards her left knee.

She released the grip she had before striking up with her left knee and down with her right elbow. They struck the exact same points on opposite sides of the vessel's stomach. Wei's left arm was coiled back, ready to do more. But she was not in a good position to strike with it, balancing on her right leg.

So she moved her right arm back, grabbing the host's right knee as she quickly planted her left leg. She pulled on the right knee, dragging the body back towards the other side of her body. She struck upwards with her right knee, hitting the vessel in the spine again. She quickly retracted her right knee, planting it as she turned.

The daemonhost's upper body was slightly higher than the rest due to the knee strike. Wei turned to full face the body, before sliding forwards. She struck out with her left hand. She slammed the heel of her left palm into the back of the daemonhost's neck.

But as Wei slid forwards, she also crouched and angled her left arm. That meant the body was being driven downwards. The strike carried the daemonhost's body into the ground. Its face was not hit. Its head was already bent up, so the chin was driven upwards, and the neck stretched out as Wei kept pressing down. She heard bone snap and flesh tear as the neck and its muscles were moved and stretched in ways that were never intended.

If a human did this to another human in the right location with the right force, the neck would be snapped. As it was, with a magical girl hitting with a massive amount of force, Justinia's neck tore until it popped right off. Wei's hand hit the ground as the head popped off like a cork off of a bottle. The head rolled to the side, Wei's stomach churning as she herself was disgusted at what had occurred.

She stood up quickly, turning around to look at the body. She considered her options as the headless body began to move, arms reaching out and legs straightening. _I can try to kill her now…maybe use a powerful attack…no, I'm low on magic, and if it fails, I'm done for. _Wei stepped forwards and planted a kick in the thing's body, it was knocked back several feet before Wei ran. Justinia's soul gem was on one of her fingers, but she couldn't get to it. The body was already moving, and it would have been very risky, especially since the daemon could use the chance to jump into her mind.

Wei looked back once as she put plenty of distance between herself and the recovering daemonhost, seeing the thing running towards her, its head half on, held together by still healing bones and muscles. "That was fun!" the abomination shouted, "That…that was the first time something like that's been done in a long time, so fast I couldn't even tell what was going on! But it looks like that's all you've got, or else you would have kept going. What, afraid to hurt your little friend?"

Wei also knew that destroying the soul gem wouldn't help. It would only hurt. As it was, the daemon was actually controlling the body. Destroying the gem would remove Justinia's ability to try and fight. Wei focused on her speed, mainly increasing it. The daemon didn't fire any more rockets. Wei didn't know why, but assumed it was because the daemon was having a fun time.

If it was bored, she'd be dead by now. However, the thing was gaining on her. She estimated that she'd make it in time, but got a bad feeling nonetheless. _It could catch me, but it's not. Which means it might know that there's an ambush ahead…which means that we may not be able to win. _

Wei saw the doors into the cafeteria ahead, but the daemonhost was about ten feet behind her. A single jump from the thing could end her right there. She kept going, confident that her comrades would be there.

She leapt through the doors, turning around as she did. The daemonhost emerged through the doors at a run. There was the sound of metal on metal. Something clanged against the ground, bouncing across the floor, then another. These three sounds came in the same split second. Then there was another sound of metal drawing against metal. One second passed.

Sanae was standing beside the daemonhost, both unmoving. Wei watched as the thing's left arm fell to the ground. A wet thud accompanied the arrival of the severed forearm. Sanae's katana was on the ground. As was Justinia's knife.

What had severed Justinia's arm was Sanae's wakizashi. The first blade of hers had been knocked from her hand, but she'd also knocked the knife from her hand. So she'd drawn again. The daemonhost was still facing towards Wei, Sanae to her left. Both waited for the other to move

In a split second, Sanae was hit, knocked back onto the table as she spun about. The hit was not direct, her head tilting to the side just in time to prevent a solid hit that could have crushed her skull. As it was, her right cheekbone was crushed and she was spun about, falling onto the table.

"Good attempt," the vessel commented as it attacked. Then from above came a rain of javelins. Several dozen weapons came in towards the daemonhost. Wei began to formulate a program as best she could, using up almost all the magic she had.

The daemonhost flipped out of the way, but the javelins tracked. Ayelen fell down to the ground from the height she had jumped to. She'd went up there when the daemonhost first approached, slowing her descent to allow for the timing to be right.

She held a javelin in her hand, and she used its relatively good length to strike at the daemonhost as her other ones swirled around it. Indeed, the thing was pierced like a pincushion, around fourteen rods of metal finding their marks, despite the others that were batted aside.

Ayelen ran her point into its chest, skewering it fully. It merely laughed, despite the javelin in its throat. It projected its own field of energy, forcing the javelins out. Ayelen kept hers in, but the right hand of the host wrapped around it. It pushed her out, actually shoving Ayelen backwards. It fell back to the ground before lunging forwards.

Ayelen had her katana back in her right hand, and her wakizashi in her other, and was now ready to strike again. The daemonhost lunged to grab its knife, and as it came out of the roll it blocked Sanae's strikes. Its movements were fast enough to deny Sanae any chance of actually landing a blow against it.

Ayelen came from behind, but it easily jumped back as she struck in with her weapon. Ayelen sent another volley, but the daemonhost's left hand was back. Flipping the knife between both hands, it easily deflected the wave that was sent at it.

Javelins were knocked aside, flying away in all directions. Ayelen was like a machine gun as she sent the weapons at the enemy close to the speed of sound. The ones that missed entirely continued down the hall for a long ways before embedding into the wall. Sanae circled around to attack from behind.

She had sheathed her swords, and was ready to draw. Ayelen continued her barrage as Sanae struck in from the back. They both expected the daemon to somehow block the incoming attack, but both knew that there would be an opening no matter what.

Sanae struck out. As she drew her blade, lunging forwards, the daemon hinged with its left foot. It almost went in a full circle as it moved in a split second behind Sanae. Its right hand grabbed her right wrist, and her left hand grabbed the back of the girl's neck.

It turned her towards the incoming volley of javelins. Ayelen hastened to stop them. One found a place in her gut. It didn't hit the host. As it dropped to the ground and kicked out with both legs. Sanae was knocked into the air by the massive power of the sweep.

Then the daemonhost stood up. Its right hand went upwards in an uppercut towards her back. Its left hand went to grab Sanae's left. It was going to hit Sanae while pulling her down, then spin around and put Sanae in the direction of the javelins as Ayelen restarted their movement.

It didn't get the chance. Instead, its left hand fell to the ground. Sanae had managed to draw her wakizashi. She struck out at the enemy's hand as it went to grab hers. So instead, she was only punched. Sure, the punch broke her spine, but the enemy had no shield now.

The javelins punctured the daemonhost, driving it back as it struggled to regain its footing. Just as it would have forced out the javelins, something else hit it. Sanae drew her tantou, and threw it to strike the daemonhost in the forehead. The blade, carrying more energy than a single one of Ayelen's javelins, drove the thing back more.

A beam of light shone out across the room. It was a bright flash of force that hit the vessel of the daemon in its chest. The runes preceding Wei's massive program disappeared, and the daemon fell backwards to its knees.

It screamed out in rage and anger, struggling to get to its feet. "Erwine!" Wei screamed, "Now!"

Wei had been lying in wait further down the cafeteria. She now leapt out, her sword glowing a bright light. She ran forwards, taking a deep breath as she did so. Her wings flared out behind herself, driving her forwards even more.

Her wings were massive as they stretched out behind her, and the intensely bright glow of her charged blade was blinding as she came forwards. Aiming it towards Justinia's chest, she launched herself forwards in one final attack, shouting.

"In the name of Her Holy Majesty, The Goddess of Hope! I command you! Leave this world, and never return!" Her magic poured into the shout. It was the only way to strike telepathically, but her passion was behind it. Right now, it was either do or die.

She felt the actual wave of her command's magic slam against the daemon's existence. It was like a flood slamming into a floodwall. But all that was needed was one crack…and there it was!

Erwine knew it was Justinia's own struggle that provided that little crack. But with that crack, the wall broke, and with Erwine dumping practically her entire gem into the assault, the daemon was scorched from its control, only barely hanging on in a few places.

The daemon could be heard screaming throughout the entire vessel as Erwine's blade entered the chest. It went all the way through, Erwine lifting the body up. "Leave!" Erwine screamed, "Be gone!"

The body writhed around as the energy coursed through it. The flesh around the chest lit up with silver-colored fire as Erwine let the body slide off of her sword. Justinia's body thumped as it hit the ground. The room was silent as the body lay there. Everyone waited for it to move.

Then Justinia's eyes shot open.

Justinia looked up at the dark presence. It towered above her. She knew without a doubt that it was going to end her. She'd run as far and as fast as she could. But she was tired of running. She wanted to fight, despite the fact that she knew she had to buy time for the others to get away from this thing.

The towering form of the daemon chuckled as she defiantly looked up at it, her body bloody, her clothes in tatters. "I defy you," she said. "You could have caught me a long time back, but something's distracting you. Having some trouble on the outside?"

"Silence, you surrender yourself here, so you shall…" the daemon turned its head to the side, as if something was coming at it. Justinia could hear vague screams. It sounded like Erwine. She felt a strange sensation, as if something was bending her will.

"Erwine…" she muttered. Then she smiled. "Get out of here." She said it simply, but she leapt up, rallying the last vestiges of her mind that she'd saved for this occasion. With a roar, the daemon's body was knocked back a step, and then a massive wave of force struck over it, obliterating it entirely.

Justinia took a deep breath as she watched it go. Things seemed to be over. Her mind was her own once more. A few seconds of eerie quiet passed, then the world around her melted away into a great white light. Her eyes opened.

A voice was pushed out through the lips of the body on the floor. "H-hello?" Just from that alone, they knew that Justinia was back.

Wei was the first to rush to her. Her hands ripped the girl's soul gem from her body. It was dark. Entirely black. Wei rushed to her own netting, ripping off grief cubes only to find them used. Erwine did the same, tearing off her own as they tried to restore her own magic. Ayelen and Sanae rushed forwards theirs.

The cubes were piled all around the gem, and though they knew that by doing this they doomed themselves in face of future peril, they did it anyways. Slowly, the cubes began to darken, and the blackness faded away from the gem, exposing hints of crimson.

Wei held onto Justinia's hand the entire time, gripping so tight that she almost crushed it. Justinia's eyes flickered open and closed, as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She was still fighting for her life, even with the daemon gone.

The gem had been on the edge of the event horizon. Only a couple seconds more and she would have irreversibly slid towards witchhood. But now, a smile started to spread across her face. Her hand moved in the grip of Wei, trying to reply in some way.

"Good job…" she whispered, before her head lulled to the side and her eyes shut. Everyone collectively gasped, instantly looking to the gem, but it wasn't deteriorating.

"She's just sleeping," Sanae said. A grin spread across her face. Smiles appeared on the other three as well. They'd done it. Against the odds, they'd won. Hints of exhilarated laughter and chuckling spread amidst them. Even after all that had happened, even after all the loss, even after all the suffering, they'd emerged alive.

Their laugher would only die, and even then only slowly, when they heard word from Victoria. _We have contact from the planet. I sincerely hope the daemonhost problem is removed. _


	40. In the Eye of the Storm

**A bunch of IRL stuff happened over the past few weeks, so this being late was completely unexpected. So I decided to make this one a bit longer, and the next chapter of In Someone's Name, which should be out this week, will be a longer one as well.**

* * *

The mansion was indeed in ruins. The moon gazed upon the long-forgotten place, its rays gently lighting the landscape. Nothing else provided a hint of luminescence to the ruined building. Strolling up the slope to the plateau upon which the place sat were the two girls.

Wary they still were, as they knew not what else might lurk in the woods. The fact that nothing else had come both comforted and terrified them. As they came to the top of the hill, they saw three girls standing there. They did not recognize any of them.

Laelia and Celestine came to stand in front of the three as the desolate ruin of the mansion gazed down upon them. The three were arranged in a near triangle. The lead spoke first. "Greetings, I apologize for the difficulties you may have encountered. We were unable to assist you, we were quite busy dealing with the sect."

"Who are you?" Laelia asked, "Why are we so important?"

"Those are good questions," the girl said. "I hate to say something like this, but they'll be answered in due time. I wish I could explain, but you might want to turn around."

"We're not turning around now," Celestine assured her, "So if you could please explain yourselves…"

"Well, I suppose that we can." The girl said. "I am here on the orders of the-" There was a loud sound from above. Laelia and Celestine looked upwards, craning their necks towards the sky to see something shooting down from above.

Somebody jumped from the craft that shot down from the sky. The three girls stepped back, taking up fighting stances. The figure came to a stop, slowing her descent with her magic.

A spear was in her hand. She faced the three girls, flipping the weapon around to point it at them. "By the command of Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition, these two girls are now under the authority of the Deathwatch. Step away, and do not interfere in their retrieval."

_Trust me, _the newcomer said, _I do work for Juno. _She rattled off a massive string of numbers and letters, which both girls knew to be what any of Juno's agents were to contact them three other girls spread out, moving to encircle the and Celestine backed away as the shuttle came down. The girl with the long spear was backing away as well.

_Get in the shuttle, I'll be right behind you. Hopefully. _The girl rushed forwards. In less than a blink of an eye, she was clashing with the leader of the three girls. The leader had drawn a pair of broadswords. The girl with the spear launched a series of untraceable thrusts, such was their speed.

A girl came at her from the right. She swung a large warhammer in one hand, the flames in her left hand revealing her to be a pyromancer. A tongue of flame reached out towards the spear-wielder, who jumped to the left. As she did, she spun to face the approaching pyromancer and struck backwards as she flipped about her spear.

The point of her spear caused the girl behind her, who was a teleporter, to flash backwards. Then she appeared to the spear-girl's left, as the one with the broadswords came around from behind, and the pyromancer swung in with her blazing mace.

The shuttle hovered above the ground. Laelia and Celestine leapt in, waiting for the one with the spear. The attacks of the three girls all converged on her. She had no time or ability to dodge.

She dropped to one knee as she held her spear up with both hands, the weapon somehow stopping the blows of all three girls. A brief struggle ensued. Then they were on the ground. The shuttle closed in as the girl leapt in, the opponents getting up to give chase, but had no way to do so.

Had one slowed down the combat incredibly slowly, they would have found what had occurred. The girl with the spear had two broadswords pressing down from the left, a gun pointed at her straight ahead from the teleporter, and a warhammer from the right.

The girl had decreased her strength in the right, letting the warhammer start pushing down. Then she kicked off the ground, driving the end of her spear into the ground, assisted by the hammer, to give her support. She used it to swing her legs into the pyromancer's. The girl fell backwards, swept away by her high speed.

Then her legs knocked over the leader. The teleporter was standing too far away for this to work. The spear-wielder yanked in her legs, bending her knees, and jumped off the ground. She struck out with her spear, the point hitting the girl right between the eyes. The skull was pierced, and the girl bodily died.

Still in the air, she retracted the spear. Then she touched the ground, and leapt away into the nearby shuttle, only ten feet in the air. The shuttle door closed as it shot off into the sky.

The girl looked at Laelia and Celestine. She held her hand out to shake. Both girl shook it. "Yuki Sayaonaella,"

The girl had light brown hair. A short thin ponytail curved around her neck to run down the front of her chest. Her skin was rather dark, but not by very much. She wore a bright red coat on her body, with dark grey highlights down the middle. It was buttoned up, and the high collar covered part of her neck.

Dark brown gloves were on her hands. A long red and grey skirt, alternating evenly between the two colors, went down to her heels. It seemed that she wore brown boats.

"Laelia Aemilina," the blonde introduced herself.

"Celestine Luminesce," the violet-hair introduced herself.

"Thanks," Laelia said, "But…who were those people?"

"Presumably Ishna's agents," Yuki explained, "Juno would prefer that you people don't fall into their hands. They were tricking you, and I'm happy you believed them. They mounted some kind of assault on the sect to get you out, so retrieving you would have been very hard if you stayed there."

"Someone tried to stop us from getting to them," Celestine added, "She was an incredibly powerful girl, with a power we could not identify."

"How'd you get past her?" Yuki asked.

"We didn't do anything. Another girl came in. She did not identify herself, and we didn't know what she was either. But she engaged the other girl, and at least held her off from getting to us. You should really be thanking her, if you know who she is." Celestine explained.

"The girl who tried to stop us. She was wearing black. She said she represented the interests of the Hadiens Sect." Laelia added.

"I don't know anyone who is on our side, and operating on this planet. So the girl who helped you is unknown." Yuki explained. She looked up front, where the pilot was. It was a human. "How soon?" she asked.

"Ten minutes now," he replied, "We're leaving as soon as we dock, right?"

"Yep," Yuki confirmed. She looked at the two. "We're going to be getting you two to Hadiens. I'll be coming along. Juno wants me to assist in any way I can." She shrugged, "I mean, I thought this was going to be one long investigation, but if I'm going to be meeting people like those ones back there, I think I'll be fine."

"Not a fan of investigations?" Laelia asked, then she remembered, "Ah, you're Deathwatch."

"Bingo," Yuki said, "From the Fallen Angels," she explained.

"The Fallen Angels?" Celestine asked, she looked over the girl. "A bit bright. So you're not a bunch of melodramatic, brooding, crybabies?" she chuckled a little as she said it.

"Nah," Yuki shook her head, scoffing at the idea, "That's the Blood Angels." She chuckled, "Anyways," Yuki said, "Did you two find out anything useful?"

"The Hadiens Sect may not be all bad," Laelia said, "But you have to know that, or else you'd have stormed the place already, right?"

"Not entirely. Juno has been holding back for the sake of preserving lives that my not need to be lost. We figure that something is going on, but we really can't know what, not exactly. And until we do know more details, like the depth and scale of the heresy, storming in would just result in a lot more problems than solutions. We don't want another Reiker, after all."

"The sect wanted the codes to send a message to Estelle. We already relayed the message to the astrotelepath. We intend for her to send it, despite what has occurred, I hope you agree? Estelle is in the warp, but we can just send it ahead to Curia."

"Why?"

"Because it may still be true. They insist that Liselotte has gone rogue, on her own. The fact that you identify the people who said she's not as agents of Ishna makes me think that the sect is telling the truth. Even then, I don't want anything bad happening to the girl for now."

"Sounds good to me, I'll allow it. I mean, technically, Celestine is the interrogator here, she outranks me," Yuki shrugged.

"What rank were you in the Fallen Angels?" Laelia asked.

"I'm a sergeant, and before you ask my age, it's one hundred and eleven." Yuki explained.

"With that age, and your apparent skill, I don't think we'll need to worry," Celestine commented.

"Don't jinx things," Yuki advised, "I've had people say that to me before. Then everything has gone wrong."

"Sorry," Laelia said, "If I hit a nerve."

"Oh no, no one died, nothing truly bad happened, it's just that things went worse than they could have." Yuki shrugged again, "I don't know, maybe I'm just deciding that correlation equals causation."

"Well, I hope that you're ready to dive into something that makes no sense whatsoever," Laelia said, grinning, "We still have no idea what even happened a year and a half ago."

"I've read all about it. I was on leave at the time, but a friend still in the Deathwatch wouldn't shut up about it in her messages back home. No, not home for her. She was a Blood Angel, who aren't that broody, by the way. Nevertheless, I didn't pay much attention to what she said about it, only to find that I was stuck on the case when the Grand Commander decided to reactivate my assignment to the Deathwatch."

"Have any opinions of your own on the matter?" Celestine wondered.

"Not exactly." The pilot called up from the front that they were docking with the vessel. "It'll take us about two weeks to get to Curia with this ship. It's fast, but there's still a distance there. If you're wondering when I came in, it was on a merchant vessel. It was intended to be clandestine, and I was picked up by the crew of your ship here."

"Not ours," Celestine corrected her, "It's still Juno's."

"Meh, she'll probably give it to you when you make inquisitor," Yuki said. "She's got quite a lot of power these days. We're all lucky serving under her in some way."

The shuttle touched down softly. Yuki walked towards the door. She had been carrying her spear idly the whole time, and she now dissipated it. Laelia and Celestine followed. "She's been fully reinstated, despite the fact that she's still incapacitated?" Celestine asked.

"Certainly. She's a wonderful commander. Her assignment to Hadiens was simply because of the fact that she was suffering some mental difficulties as well. They gave her some time to ease back into it, but now that she's all back, she's been given full command of these few sectors. Rumor is she might even make it to the Segmentum level soon."

"That's good," Laelia agreed, "I have to give it to her, she was good at her job."

"Yeah, she was even better back when she was at full power. But things happen." They exited the hangar.

"You served with her?" Celestine asked. The three girls began making their way through the corridors of the vessel. Yuki was headed somewhere, but the others didn't know where. They were interested in her, so they kept following.

"Indeed," Yuki replied, "We were good friends. _Very _good friends." That word had a strange tone to it. She took a deep breath. "Yes, if all else fails, Juno can probably bail everyone else out."

* * *

_I believe that something guided us here intentionally._ Victoria explained, _given that I now have a good idea of the conditions of the planet below. _

_Why say that? _Erwine wondered.

_This has to do with Curia, perhaps with everything. _The girl explained, as Erwine and the others moved quickly back through the ship towards the bridge. _I am currently in contact with a telepath amongst the remaining girls on Janicelle. _

_And? _Erwine asked.

_Hold on, receiving confirmation now. _Victoria said. A second passed. _Yes. Two and a half months ago, this warp storm settled in. At the same time, _

Erwine froze in the hallway. The others were hearing the same conversation. Erwine turned around, seeing the shock and confusion amidst the others. _You're serious? _Eriwne asked.

_Why would I lie? _Erwine started moving faster. The others ran to catch up with her.

_Get me in contact with the planet! _Erwine shouted, _we need to know what's going on there. _

_They can give you a better assessment than I. _Victoria said. The telepathic link was connected to Erwine's mind by the girl. Erwine received it, continuing to link to the other girls.

_This is Interrogator Erwine Braune, _Erwine said, _who am I speaking to? _

_Paella Antius, ranking telepath for the Janicelle department of the wider Marcostas Sect. _The voice came back. It sounded strained, distant. The telepath must have been struggling to project out.

_What is the situation on Janicelle? _Erwine asked.

_We are not in good shape. This all began two and a half months ago, the same time the warp storm settled in. It was expected, and the prediction was that it could not be very bad at all. Supplies were of course stockpiled, and the sect assured that we would be fine. They were even ready to assist if the storm got worse. Just to make sure…the storm isn't any worse, to you guys when you were outside, right? _

_Correct, _Erwine said, _we were knocked into this system by the storm, despite the fact that we were nowhere near it. However, it only follows a series of other events that imply we came here by design and not accident. But it has not expanded or worsened in any way as far as we could tell from the outside or now…why? _

_Because it has gotten worse in here, _the girl said. _There have been multiple manifestations of daemons. No greater beings yet, but we've had hordes of lesser daemons attack. Our forces are spread thin, and we've had to consolidate back to the larger cities. Almost half the security force is dead, we're having to recruit new girls and send them right in. Over half the human population is gone as well. _

_Do you know who's doing all this? _Erwine asked.

_The day after they began, a ship came into the system. It was a Mage Knights strike cruiser. But it didn't identify itself, so we assumed it was a heretic vessel. We were broadcasting a distress signal, but the storm was already setting in. They have not directly attacked us en masse, but we know they're on the surface, and they are striking at us. We don't know what their ultimate goal is, as they could have easily overrun us before, but they're just running around the planet seemingly aimless. _

_We have attempted to send out subsequent distress signals, but we've been entirely unable to. The enemy vessel also destroyed all of our ships, so we've been unable to get out. The storm is blocking anything out of the system from our current position. You should be able to have better luck due to you being at the edge, in fact, you're rather close to the storm itself. _

Erwine came onto the bridge, still engaged in the conversation. _Alright, _she said. _I want you to stop trying to find them. In fact, cease any offensive operations if you have any running at the moment. Stay safe, we should be there in about twenty-four hours. Our ship is disabled at the moment, but there is another coming to recuse us. We'll head insystem as soon as we can. Do you know where the enemy vessel is now? _

_We're not sure where it is. The planet's highly concentrated with warp energy, our astroclairvoyants would be endangering themselves and the rest of us if they tried to find it. _Erwine took a deep breathe, her heart heavy with the pressure she found herself under.

_Then goodbye for now. Good luck, stay alive till we get there. We've evidence this is all related to the Hadiens Incident, so I think Lord Inquisitor Juno will be able to assist. _

_Good. Hopefully see you soon. _The link cut off. Erwine looked at Bolton. "Shut down anything that might be sending out a signal. Any system that is not a vital life-support system and might be traced by a scanner needs to be shut down right now."

Bolton didn't hesitate, "Victoria, terminate all links with the outside," Erwine ordered, "No one talks to anyone outside of this ship until the _Yslevia _arrives. We go completely dark."

She took a deep breath as she started to seal her own telepathy, not wanting to accidentally broadcast. Justinia came up beside Erwine. "That class…" she muttered.

"I know…" Erwine replied, her voice just as low. "It was the same one back then, that ship that got away…."

"Then what did all that to Curia?" Justinia wondered. She figured that Erwine didn't know either, "If they were focused here."

"Curia _was _a trap after all," Erwine supposed, "They were focusing their efforts here. They merely drew us away from the main event."

"Or maybe they didn't," Justinia replied, "Because the only reason we're here is because of Curia. If Curia didn't occur, then this system would have been taken by a warp storm, and it would have gone down as a standard sort of event."

"You're not saying…" Erwine looked at Justinia, "They expected me to run away, the ship to be damaged, and the warp storm to miraculously blow us into this system?"

"I don't know," Justinia shrugged, "But Ishna...you know her better than I do. Could she have predicted that?"

"Technically a diviner, given the power, can predict as far ahead and as accurately as they want. But no one should have that power…save for a god." Erwine then corrected her mistake with a mutter. "But that's what Ishna was just one step away from, wasn't she?"

Justinia had nothing more to add than a nod. Erwine's gaze lingered on the girl for a few seconds, sensing something more than just that. But forcibly prying out such information wasn't beneficial to anyone at the moment. She continued. "We're here now, and we don't know why. We don't know what's going on here. We don't know what events brought us here."

"Would it take divining, though?" Sanae asked from behind. The two turned.

"You mean?" Erwine asked.

"Erwine, you were driven here because why?" Sanae asked, "Why were you driven to run…what was the underlying cause?"

"My wish…" Erwine said, "I didn't know that it could never come true yet…but it was because I was seeing no effect…because it didn't really come true."

"Exactly. Since you made that wish, would it not be possible for Ishna to predict that you would break down because of the fact that you would meet with Estelle, and she would try to control you, because your wish didn't come true?" Sanae wondered.

Erwine shook her head, "Impossible…meeting with Estelle…going to Curia, knowing when and where she would find me…those are factors you can't control. She could have read my mind to figure out my wish…and then figured that out…"

Sanae looked at Justinia, "Why did Estelle do what she did when she did it?"

The quiet girl replied, "It had been six months on that day. Estelle had chosen to respect Adrianne's memory by giving Erwine some time before she would intervene. It was six months. So she went to get Erwine six months to the day after Erwine set out on her own." She then rolled her eyes, "Of course, t how would Ishna know when Erwine set out? Knowing that Estelle would give her some time wouldn't be too hard for one of Ishna's intelligence, but the exact time?"

"The investigation lasted six months." Erwine said, "There was a lot to dig through, so it could be assumed thsat the investigation would take that long."

Justinia took a deep breath. Then came her usual dry and factual tone to crush their hopes, "We might be getting somewhere, but this still makes no sense. We don't know _why. _Even if we assume that this is all correct, Ishna predicted all of these things using logic, but _why? _Why ensure that we're in this system at this exact time. Do we even know Ishna was behind all of this?"

Erwine's eyelids rolled shut, a sign of some suppressed anger, but Justinia appeared to not even notice. "I know that speculating about this has been done enough, but the evidence is starting to mount up. Whoever these traitors on Janicelle are, they're not trying to take over the planet, they're waiting for something. Why would we, why would _I_, arrive here safe and sound to run into them, after all of that?"

"A coincidence," Justinia offered dryly, but Erwine just gave her a harsh glare. "Then do explain to me how she knew everything would happen as it did."

"Stop running around in circles," Erwine spat, "We know how powerful Ishna was. She knew exactly what she was doing," The girl assured, "I know…it sounds crazy itself, but that girl wasn't some insane maniac." Erwine argued from the bottom of her heart, "Somewhere in there, she knew what she was doing."

The room was silent. Everyone who could take their eyes away from their activity laid them on Erwine. Suddenly feeling smaller, the silver-haired girl looked down, avoiding their eyes. "That girl cried in front of me. Believe me, I can't speak for her intentions, maybe even she couldn't, but she had a plan of some fashion."

It was to everyone's surprise when Justinia nodded. "Assuming that cannot hurt us. Believing otherwise would just mislead us when the truth could be in front of us. Let's go with that for now." Erwine smiled a little.

"Thank you," She said, feeling as though a weigh had been removed from her heart and mind.

"So now, we just wait until the Yslevia arrives?" Sanae asked.

"Indeed," Victoria said. "About ten hours now, hopefully. However, we can't be certain that they'll even make it through the storm safely."

"Let's not think of that possibility," Erwine said, "It's not something I'd like to entertain at the moment."

She looked out towards the viewscreen looking in towards the rest of the solar system. Janicelle was only a twinkle in the distance from where they were. She could only pray that the people were there could survive until assistance came.

She took a deep breath, looking back at the others. Her gaze fell across all of them, one by one. "Hey," she said, "Do you think…do you think I really messed up?"

They all glanced at one another, before Ayelen spoke. Her voice was harsh, honest. "Erwine, you don't deserve death." A beat. "Wanting you to die would mean forgetting all that has happened. But that doesn't excuse you." She shook her head, "Just remember who Adrianne was."

* * *

"We've something strange," the girl said to Branca, seeking her attention. "We've certainly confirmed the disappearance of the presence before."

"Really now?" Branca asked. Ever since the attack that killed Lia, the telepaths had been scanning the planet tirelessly for the aggressors. They'd actually located something that seemed to be a signal. It had been a series of transmissions. For only a few brief seconds, but it meant that the enemy's telepathic shroud went down. They kept tracing the location for some time, but then it was gone.

The logical thought was of course that the shroud went back up. But when investigation teams went out to the last seen area, nothing was there. The entire planet had been combed, from top to bottom. And there had been readings on a few electronic sweeps as well, before the disappearance, but no more afterwards.

And after this latest round of cohesive checks, it was confirmed. "They disappeared when Theodora left, right?" Branca confirmed. The girl nodded. "Send a message to the Sesrio. Inform them that those six girls are most likely on their ship."

* * *

Erwine looked at the viewscreen, her body frozen in shock. The hololith depicted the ship approaching from a long ways away, slowly making its way towards the _Rosie. _The other girls, standing around Erwine, were similarly worried.

It was the same kind of cruiser that had gotten away. The ship that Erwine had seen before. She looked at Bolton. "We cannot move?" Erwine asked, "You're certain?"

"Unless you can magically fix the engines, then we cannot do anything," Bolton confirmed, "We are nothing more than a sitting duck."

"There are still craft in the hangar, right?" Erwine asked.

"Yes," Bolton confirmed.

"Then prepare to abandon ship," Erwine said. "If that ship fires, then we are going to get out of here. Raise shields while you're at it, I think they've found us by now."

"You can't be certain," Bolton countered.

"Why are they heading in this direction?" Erwine asked, "They have to have spotted us somehow. They probably picked up the warp signature and are coming to investigate. They'll find us one way or another, so get the shields active, increase to full."

"On it," Bolton said.

"We can just wait for now," Erwine said, watching the cruiser approach. They sat there, like a dying man watching death itself slowly approach him, scythe raised.

"Attempt to contact it," Erwine ordered, "Telepathy, electronics, it doesn't matter. Just try."

"They are still refusing everything," Bolton said.

"I cannot reach them," Victoria said. "Sorry."

The ship was in weapons range. "They have a target lock," Bolton confirmed, "Weapons are warming up. If we're going to abandon ship, we need to do it now."

"How far away is the _Yslevia_, theoretically?" Erwine asked.

"Six or seven hours," Victoria said.

"No other ships detected," Bolton said, "No one is going to be helping us anytime soon." He looked up at her. "Erwine, we need to go now!"

"Do it," Erwine said. Bolton gave the order. Alarms sounded off throughout the vessel, and the crewmembers began rushing for any means of escape. Erwine stared at the monitor, then said, "Wait!"

The ship had exposed its broadsides to the _Rosie. _The ship was gently floating through space. It was an easy kill. So why didn't they fire. Why did they start to turn away? Why did Erwine watch as the enemy ship powered down its weapons?

"Reverse the order!" Erwine shouted, "It's turning away!"

"Impossible!" Bolton shouted, "Why?!" He did as Erwine said anyways. The enemy cruiser exposed its rear to the _Rosie_, turning about and flying off towards Janicelle. Erwine's face was twisted in disbelief. "Why?" she asked, her voice filled with shock.

"Does it matter?" Justinia asked, "We're saved, for the time being."

"But why? They had us in their sights. There was no reason to not destroy us right there!" Erwine shouted.

"Remember those six who attacked back on Curia?" Justinia asked.

"Of course," Erwine replied.

"Well, those six may have been Ishna's agents, right?"

"Yes,"

"They tried to get you alive, right?"

"Exactly," Erwine said.

"Then perhaps they want us alive," Justinia said.

"Then why not board us?" Erwine asked.

"Presumably, they don't have the manpower." Justinia replied. "They could have intercepted the transmissions between us and Janicelle, and Victoria, you did say how many there were aboard the ship, right?"

"Yes," Victoria said.

"Then if they have people on Janicelle at the moment, then they may not have the force to take this ship, and come back with Erwine alive." Justinia explained. "It's a safe bet that they need you for something, but you have to be alive. I think it's a solid advantage we have over them."

"If you say so," Erwine said, "But still…" she took a deep breath. "I hate being stuck like this. Can they get back in time with more forces before the Yslevia arrives?"

"No," Bolton said.

"So we can count on that," Erwine said. "I pray that Elle has the best damn navigator in the entire Imperium."

* * *

Estelle looked out at the planet far ahead of them. "They're nowhere?" she asked. "Not even a trace? You've confirmed with the local girls? Local administration?"

"All of it," Theodora said, "The _Rosie _has never been to this system. There is absolutely no trace or record of any warp breaches before us that were not routine, scheduled stops. But the local girls did get messages from two places. The _Yslevia _and Curia."

"What?"

"Indeed. The latter says that the six girls who were on Curia, the ones who attacked you, are gone. They disappeared at the same time this ship left. Which means they suspect them of being aboard this vessel."

"That doesn't matter," Estelle said, "What about Elle? Did they get to Erwine?"

"They did not locate her in the void," Theodora explained before Estelle could panic. "But they did find that her vessel is at the edge of the Janicelle system. It is very close to here and to Hadiens. We can make there in about a day's time. Elle is already on her way. The ship was knocked into the system by a warp storm they hit. They suffered heavy damage."

"Anyone dead?" Estelle asked with terror.

"Only the navigator," Theodora said sadly. "Amongst a large number of humans, most of the crew it seems. Justinia was possessed and was turned into a daemonhost, her status is unknown at present. Liselotte is in a coma."

Estelle cursed. "What has Erwine done?" she growled.

"What she thought was right," Nadine explained. "And remember, you drove her to this." Nadine used a certain kind of harsh tone on the girl. Estelle snapped back into line.

"Sorry," she muttered, looking back. Then she looked at Theodora. "Then we need to get there as soon as possible."

"The system has been cut off by a warp storm for almost three months. It shall be very risky, but the attempt shall of course be made. I think we should be able to get there, but I can't say if we'll be able to get out." Theodora said with a sense of wariness.

"We have to," Estelle said.

"I agree, unfortunately," Nadine said, "I don't think we have much of a choice. There's not much Elle can do to help if there's a daemonhost roaming about. We're the ones who can provide the most support."

"Should we call in extra help?" Estelle asked. She looked at Theodora. "Juno, possibly?"

"That's something to consider," she agreed. "The message said that they don't know how the warp storm knocked them into the system. It seemed like it should not have occurred. It makes me think more is going on here. I'll send something to alert Juno, but she already has someone coming our way."

"Did she get to Laelia and Celestine?" Estelle asked.

"Yes, they are coming here. It would take a while, normally, but they're riding in something very special Juno gave them. They're running double navigators with what might be the fastest ship out here," Theodora explained, "Mainly because of who else is with them."

Estelle waited for a reply. "Yuki Sayaonaella," she said, "She's coming,"

"Her?" Nadine asked, "Well, I'm impressed. We've managed to make enough of a mess for Juno to send in one of her best."

"Indeed," Theodora said. "They were headed towards Curia, but apparently they'll just miss us. We'll be back in the warp by the time they get out in Curia, but I'll send instructions to Curia to tell them to head to Janicelle. And once Yuki gets there, I think our problems will exponentially decrease."

"Agreed," Nadine said, "You ready to turn this ship around?"

"I am," Theodora said. The order was given. She smiled, "And so, we are away."

* * *

"Incoming warp breach!" Bolton shouted, "About two hundred kilometers to port!" Erwine prayed that it was the person she hoped it was.

"Preparing to contact!" Victoria shouted, "Give me ten seconds!"

"Identifying ship!" Bolton shouted.

The vessel shot out from the warp, going a massive speed, before it was instantly the target of every possible transmitter onboard the _Rosie. _The electronic link was made.

"This is Captain Elle Langnesse of the _Yslevia. _I presume I am speaking to the _Rosie?_" The voice came loud and clear across the speakers.

"Yes," Erwine replied, speaking for the others, "The ship is still disabled. We need to be retrieved."

"Is it safe?" Elle asked, "The daemonhost is still there, yes?" She sounded sad at that fact. Erwine didn't know why, considering the fact that Justinia was the host. _She barely connects with magical girls, I don't see what she would do with humans. _

Justinia walked forwards, hearing the sorrow in Elle's voice. "I am well," she said softly. "The ship is safe, presuming that it doesn't fall apart on you."

"Justinia!" Elle shouted, then she calmed herself. "Understood…we'll be right there. Prepare everyone to leave the vessel. I presume you mean to abandon the ship entirely, given its state?"

Erwine looked at Bolton. The man took a deep breath. He looked around. "All good things must come to an end," he said, "This place has been over twenty years of my life…but yeah, I think it might just be time to say goodbye."

The conversation was heard by the other ship. "I see," Elle said. "We are approaching as we speak. Prepare for docking. Take anything you still have onboard."

"Alright," Erwine said. She looked at Justinia. "Can you handle this?" she asked, "I need…" her eyes widened, "Oh no…oh no, oh no, oh no!"

She ran towards the open doors. "Handle the transfer!" she shouted back at Justinia, "I need to get something, give us some time, we need to get something rather large from my room!"

Wei ran after Erwine, worried about the girl. "Wei!" Justinia shouted, as Erwine sprinted down the hall. The dark-haired girl froze.

"Yes?"

Justinia shook her head. "Never mind," Justinia grinned, "If she means that much, then go chase her down."

Wei blushed, but started sprinting again. Justinia looked back at Bolton, "Do you know what she means?"

"She had me create a large space in the wall of her room, large enough for some pretty big objects. I know she has something important in there, very important, maybe even more than one thing, but I don't know what. However, I do know that it's important enough to be preserved at all costs."

"Understood," Justinia said, "I'll do my best to handle it."

She looked at the others. "Ayelen," she said, "Do you have anything?"

"I took everything of mine off," She replied.

"Then start rounding up the wounded, make sure they all make it there safely," Justinia ordered. She took a deep breath. Her lips curved up, relief flooding her heart. It was a good feeling.

* * *

Erwine raced towards her room, legs carrying her as fast as she could go. She knew for a fact that Wei was coming after her. Her wings spread out behind her, pushing her forwards, giving her extra momentum to avoid her pursuer.

She was desperate to keep her secret. She didn't know why. Erwine couldn't say for certain that it would hurt Wei. But she just didn't want anyone to know. It was _her _secret. _Oh no! _she thought, stopping before an armored bulkhead. She knew that the space beyond was depressurized. _Is there any way to get around this? _She asked Justinia.

_You'd have to go down a deck, then come back up around your room, _Justinia said, before she started giving Erwine directions. Erwine went backwards, moving quickly to try and prevent Wei from catching her. She turned a corner. The stairs downwards were forwards a bit and then to the right.

Wei came to a stop as she saw Erwine. She immediately guessed her objective was the stairs. The two girls didn't move. "What are you doing?!" Wei shouted, "What's so important."

Erwine took a deep breath. "Nothing you need to know about," she said calmly. She took just a couple steps forwards then leapt to the side. Wei followed as Erwine made her way down the stairs.

It was a mad chase between the two of them, Erwine's superior maneuverability winning in the end. Wei was still tired from the fight, and she'd yet to truly recover due to a lack of grief cubes with which to heal. She could only watch as Erwine pulled ahead. Only watch as Erwine shot up the stairs to the next deck.

She could only look in sadness at the locked and shut door of Erwine's room. She knew that no amount of banging and shouting would actually make Erwine open the door. It was a pointless endeavor, really.

_Erwine! _Wei shouted, using telepathy. Erwine still didn't reply. Wei shook her head, taking a deep breath. She took a step back, resolving to using force to blast down the door. _Erwine please, open the door, or I will open it for you!_

The door opened. Erwine glared at Wei, even as the girl lunged forwards. Erwine's hand was out. Wei was pushed back by the outstretched arm. "Go away," Erwine insisted. "I'm not in the mood for this. I know what I said to you before, and it still stands. But this is something…something more personal."

The door was shut. Wei saw the determination on Erwine's face. She thought it foolish to try and counter that, to break through. She tried anyways. _Erwine, _she sent, _you've said things to me that you've never been able to say to anyone else. I think I can keep something secret for you. _

Wei could almost feel Erwine pause, such was the force of her realization. The metal swung again. Erwine looked Wei in the eyes. She stepped forwards, getting closer to the girl. "If you tell anyone else about this…" Erwine left the sentence unfinished.

Erwine turned around, the door open for Wei to enter. The girl warily walked in. She looked at the corner of the room where Erwine had gone back to as she closed the door. The girl was in the midst of opening a large safe, within a hidden compartment in the back of the wall.

"How was this place completely untouched?" Wei asked, "It was close to the actual breach in the hull."

"I have no idea," Erwine replied, "But I think it has something to do with something that was taken from Ishna." Wei approached, and Erwine gestured to the side of the safe, within the compartment. Wei saw a large black box. It looked like a massive storage unit for a cogitator.

"What?" Wei asked in shock, "What is that thing?"

"Some kind of advanced cogitator. I found it on Ishna's ship. I figured the breach would have destroyed it, but it's functioning fine, and I get the feeling that it somehow saved this whole area from being wiped out," Erwine explained.

"How would it do that?"

"That's a wonderful question, isn't it?" Erwine rhetorically said, "Shame I don't have something that comes close to a legitimate answer to that."

"What's in the safe?" Wei asked as Erwine opened it up. Erwine took out the parchment within. She presented it to the other girl.

"Nadine found this within the cavern where Ishna and Adrianne died." Erwine explained, "It is written in a language that even Nadine's magic can't recognize. We have no idea how to read it. That is all I know about it."

Wei took the parchment as Erwine closed the safe. It was bolted into the floor, but she sliced through those restraints, and dragged the thing out. "What are you going to do with it?" Wei asked.

"Take it with us," Erwine replied.

"Sure, but you'll just keep it on the _Yslevia?" _Wei asked. "Why is this even so secret? It seems rather harmless, if you don't know what it says."

Erwine whipped her head around, staring Wei in the eyes. "You don't understand," she said, "This is the one lead we have on what Ishna's actual plan is."

"What if it's nothing?" Wei asked, "What if it's pointless?"

"Then why would it be there? Why would it be written in a language that is so old and powerful that even magic cannot read it?!" Erwine snapped. "It has to be something serious, and I'm betting it has to do with Ishna's actual plan."

"That's what you think?" Wei asked, "So you don't want anyone taking it for themselves?"

"Exactly, it is very important to me because of that fact. I don't want anyone knowing about it, or else someone else will want to get their hands on it. I don't want that," Erwine explained.

"Fine," Wei said, "But what about that cogitator thing?"

"It's coming with as well. It has to be important. It can read souls." Erwine explained.

"That's incredibly ancient technology," Wei commented, "So what do you think it actually is?"

"If I knew, I feel like I would be having far fewer problems than I am," Erwine said. "If you could take the safe, it's not too heavy, I'll try to do something with the cogitator."

Wei was going to say something about the practically of that idea, but then she paused. She was looking down at Erwine, a sorrowful look in her eyes. "What is it?" Erwine asked, frowning as she saw Wei.

"I don't know…" Wei said. She went over to the safe, her arms reaching to pick it up as Erwine placed the parchment back inside.

"Wei," Erwine said, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry I ran from you. I'm sorry I kept this secret…I guess I shouldn't-"

"No, it's not about the fact that you don't trust me. I can understand that." Wei said. She stepped close to Erwine. "It's the fact that I care for you…and I guess I'm just realizing that you don't want that favor returned…"

Erwine thought for a moment. She went silent, but not motionless. She started pacing around the room, a heavy look in her eyes. It was on perhaps the fourth time around that she would come to a stop. "Wei…" she whispered, "Before…I threw you away because I thought it was the only way to make my wish come true…"

She shook her head, "I now see that the only way to make my wish come true is to become so powerful that I rise above everything else. So that not even fate can control me. "

"That would require becoming a god," Wei pointed out.

"I know that," Erwine said. "And I know for a fact I'll never reach that point. But I'm going to strive to, to at least be the best person I can, and assure that I make my own choices for myself." She looked up. Her eyes looked empty. "If you're ready to be with that kind of person, then I welcome you."

Wei embraced Erwine. She held her tightly, arms locked around the girl as she refused to let go of her. "Erwine…" she whispered, "I think you know my decision."

Erwine shed a tear. "Don't do this, Wei. Don't condemn yourself like this. I made a mistake following Adrianne, continuing to do so even when she gave me the chance of leaving. Or maybe I didn't. I can't tell. But I know that staying isn't the right choice."

Wei broke away from Erwine. She shook her head. "Erwine…your wish did not come true because you were not told everything. The very fact that you are able to come to grips with this and dedicate yourself to succeeding anyways tells me that you are stronger than almost anyone else I know. You made the right choice staying with Adrianne…she made you this strong."

She grinned, "It would be my pleasure to see a new god born,"

"I don't think that's going to be a good thing if it does occur," Erwine said, sighing. She reached her hand out. Erwine and Wei gripped each other's hands tightly, "But if you insist," the girl grinned, "Then yes, let us fight fate."

There was a knock on the door. It was Justinia. _Erwine, do you need any assistance, Bolton said you might need to do some heavy lifting? _

Erwine froze. She looked Wei in the eyes. "You can most certainly trust her," Wei said. "She's not going to be telling things like this." Erwine opened the door.

"Please don't tell anyone about what you're about to see," Erwine said, before giving her the explanations for what was inside the room.

"Interesting," Justinia said, "So that's what you were doing for a year. You weren't chasing ghosts, you were chasing ways to translate this parchment."

"Yes," Erwine confirmed, "But for as far as I got, I might as well have been chasing ghosts,"

"Wei is to take the safe," Erwine explained as she placed the parchment back inside. "We'll find a safe place on the _Yslevia _for now. If you could help me with the cogitator."

"Certainly," Justinia said. She helped Erwine pick the massive thing up. "Now we just need to get it back." They could both hold if comfortably, and the lift provided by Erwine's wings made it easier for the large box, about five by five feet, to be hefted into the air.

The journey across the ship back towards where the _Yslevia _docked was a long one thanks to their luggage, but it wasn't exactly a tough one. The other magical girls looked at what the girls held, "What is that stuff?"

Justinia gave them a glance telling them they did not need to know, and she was not going to tell them. They accepted this, and walked away. "Excuse me," Erwine said, "But…I need to go back for something," Erwine explained, "Well…really just to say goodbye. I have some memories…I need to come to terms with them."

"You have an hour," Justinia said, "But then you're being left here." The girl grinned, the hollow threat rather obvious. She turned around, calling over some crewmembers of the _Yslevia _to assist with the heavy objects from this point on.

Wei looked at Erwine. "I assume you want to be alone?" She asked.

Erwine shook her head, much to Wei's surprise. "Not at all," the girl countered. In fact, she smiled. "It would be an honor to have you along for this walk down memory lane."

She spun around, her brisk pace speeding her up as Wei followed her. Erwine didn't look back as she made her way across the ship, as Wei came up beside her. And for some reason, Wei's presence made Erwine feel just a bit more confident in her impossible goals.

Erwine entered into Adrianne's room. It was unlocked, having never been closed after Victoria and Sechylia left it. "You know…I never went in here till a long time after I contracted," Erwine said. The room had been used by Nadine for the past year, but she'd left everything untouched.

"We would always talk in my room," Erwine said, "Because I would always be the one running away, and Adrianne would have to come make me feel better. It's funny," Erwine tried to grin a little, "Because when I finally came in here, it was to make Adrianne feel better."

Erwine looked around. "I never really looked at the things she enjoyed. Maybe it was a part of me, a childish one, who wanted to imagine that Adrianne was some heartless villain. Despite the fact that I came in here knowing that Adrianne had real feelings."

Erwine looked across the hall. The door to her room was left open. Wei was silently following her, simply listening. Erwine liked it. It made her feel better. Having someone to listen to the words she would say anyways. She stepped slowly across the hall. "My room hasn't changed, you know? It's stayed the same for the past year of running about. Despite the fact that it's the one place I can get real rest, I haven't bothered to change it." Erwine almost burst out laughing.

"It's funny…one of the reasons I contracted was to escape from a life of monotony, of things always being the same. Yet here I am, looking at the same room I've seen for so long." She took a few steps forwards, tears slipping from her eyes and down her cheeks.

She fell to her knees, "It's been such a long time since I've thought about my home…" she muttered, "I can't believe I haven't even considered what the others might be doing now." She thought of Nada, "I wonder where Nada is…probably a bit better off now…that's good."

"And the others…" Erwine thought aloud. "Who were they?" She stood up, wide eyes staring into Wei's. "Who were they?!" she asked, raising her voice. Her hands grabbed onto Wei's shoulders, shaking the girl fiercely, "Who were they?! What were their names?!"

Erwine broke down into a fit of tears, moisture streaming down her cheeks as she violently shook her friend. "Tell me!" she demanded, "Tell me who they were!"

Erwine collapsed, falling forwards into Wei's arms. The girl held Erwine there as she let her sorrow out. Erwine kept going as Wei gently stroked her hair. She removed the girl's hat, tossing it away. "You look better without the hat, you know?" Wei asked.

Erwine looked up. Her eyes went wide as she registered the comment. Despite the fact that her face was still stained with tears, Erwine was amazed. "I said that same thing to Adrianne…the day after she raped me…it was the first nice thing I said to her after that happened."

She looked down at the ground. Then up to Wei's astonished eyes. Almost speechless, Wei breathed, "Erwine…I'm sorry if that hit a nerve…"

"It didn't…" Erwine shook her head, "It reminded me of the fact…the fact that I can never forget who Adrianne truly was."

"And who is that?"

"A girl, scarred by a traumatic event, seeking revenge…and only managing to destroy the lives of others on the way," Erwine took a deep breath. "If I could have saved her…I would have, I swear. But...she had to die, didn't she?"

"I know," Wei said. "Don't blame yourself."

"Do you blame me for anything, Wei?"

"For running off for a year while not keeping a promise, yes," Wei replied, wanting to be honest. She brightened up then, "But you've already apologize for that enough." Erwine just nodded, collapsing into Wei.

"You're sure you want to stay around here?" Wei asked, "I don't think it's going to help you much."

"This place could be considered the last physical reminder of what transpired at the beginning of my journey," Erwine said, "A journey that I now realize has been simply seeking the way to realize my wish. But also a journey to unravel a secret that has no knots to pull at."

"It's going to be lost after this," Erwine said, "But…but that doesn't mean I'll forget it. I just want to make sure I don't forget it. It would be terrible if I actually did so."

"I understand," Wei said.

"Wei," Erwine said, "You really believe in me, right?"

The girl didn't hesitate in affirming that. "I do, Erwine. I really do."

"Enough that you'd stand against Estelle, or anyone else?" Erwine asked, frightened a little.

"For you, of course," Wei said.

"That's a promise?" Eriwne asked.

"I'm not sure a promise is the best choice at the moment, given our history with promises" Wei shook her head, "…but sure, I'll make one. I promise you, I will stand by you no matter what."

"Truly?" Erwine asked, "What if I were to become a true heretic?"

Wei looked down. "I don't know how to reply…"

"I know the answer is no," Erwine said quickly, cutting her off. "Don't worry. It's easy to tell somebody you will always be there for them. But it's much harder to acknowledge that your devotion does not reach suicidal levels, or levels where it goes against your ideology."

Wei nodded, taking the words seriously. "But Erwine, don't be so quick to forgive everyone. It's easy to forget about someone's bad deeds, and pretend everything is fine…it's entirely different to remember their deeds and accept you won't get over them."

"Ah, but there's the thing," Erwine said with a twisted grin, "I vividly remember every single bad thing Adrianne has done to me. And I forgive her, even praise her, anyways." She took one final look around the room, breathing in deeply, before breathing out deeply.

"Do you need some more time?" Wei asked. Erwine just shook her head.

She was confident as she said, "It's time to say goodbye."

* * *

As the _Yslevia _pulled away from the wreck of the _Rosie, _the magical girls all stood on the bridge of the cruiser. "What do you want to do with it?" Elle asked. Bolton was amongst them and he looked at Erwine for the final idea.

Erwine took a deep breath. "It's been a very long journey with that thing…but I think everything has to come to an end at some point. And while not everyone can go out with a bang, let's give this one a chance."

"Understood," Elle said. "Gunner, target the _Rosie. _Give us broadsides. Prepare to fire everything we have."

"There's not a living thing left alive on that ship, right?" she asked Justinia.

"No," the girl replied.

The lock was acquired. Erwine forced herself to keep her eyes open. "Erwine?" Elle asked, deferring to the girl for the order to fire.

Erwine snapped into attention, before performing the magical girl salute. The other magical girls performed this in unison. "Fire," Erwine said, her voice low, ashamed of her actions bringing things to this point.

She watched on the screen as the full payload of the _Yslevia _was unleashed. The first to strike were the lances. The shields were kept up.

A brilliant light show ensued as the bright white beams of destruction were resisted by the barriers of energy before them. The columns of heat reached their target in an instant. With a blinding bright flash, the shield shattered. The afterimages of the brief exchange, lasting less than a second, stayed with everyone as they watched.

Then the ship shook as the ballistic weapons were away. Massive shells, as large as Baneblades, were flung through the void. The massive casings of explosives first ripped into the hull of the craft.

The ship was built sturdily. Yet the shells were made to kill other starships. Through the layers of armor the shells dug, before several new bright flashes bloomed in the dark. Like the first flowers of spring, they bloomed amidst the darkness and cold of space.

"Goodbye…" Erwine whispered, keeping her eyes open and fixed on the scene before her. "It was an honor."

The _Rosie _was torn to pieces in an instant. Shells kept detonating amidst the rubble, operating on timed fuses carefully planned and set. The rubble was blown apart till nothing larger than a car floated through the void. The _Yslevia _turned away quickly, its engines driving it fast as the reactor of the ship ignited brightly, and the light of a star flooded the blackness for a brief few seconds.

The _Yslevia _was only pushed along by the bright, beautiful sphere of light, annihilating all that it touched. Erwine watched as the cameras were blinded by the bright light. She smiled sadly, her eyes finally shutting.

She took a deep breath, seeing the interior of the Janicelle System beyond as the viewscreen switched to a forward view. _Forwards we go, _she thought, _for better or for worse._

* * *

The _Yslevia _made its way insystem. Justinia was able to get some time away from her captains seat. She made her way back to her cabin. She took a seat at her desk, knowing that she'd have to prepare another report of her own after all of this was done. That wasn't what concerned her.

It was the fear she felt. Real, tangible fear. Her ship was going forwards into a system surrounded by a warp storm. She knew not what lay ahead, only that it was the enemy.

There was a knock on her door. She was tired of being disturbed. She went to open it, hoping it could be resolved quickly. Then she actually opened the door, and saw the distinctive crimson-haired girl standing there.

"Justinia!" she shouted, leaping forwards. Her arms wrapped around the girl as she yanked her inside. The door was shut and locked, Elle making the decision to not bother with anyone else.

She held the girl tight in her arms for a moment, "I thought you were really gone!" she cried, actual tears coming from her eyes, "When I heard you were possessed! I thought…it was terrible…"

Justinia nodded embracing Elle back. After a moment, however, she showed an intent to break away. Elle let go of her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I hate to rain on your parade, Elle," the girl said, "But I'm really not the perfect person you think I am."

"What do you mean?" Elle asked.

"I need to talk to somebody about this, so don't go telling Wei, or Erwine, or anyone, alright?" Justinia said as she looked the girl in her eyes. "I was scared when the daemon was inside me…but I had to stop Liselotte, I thought she was trying to kill Wei. The ship was already opening up to the warp…Liselotte was pushing me hard, what with the daemon trying to restrain me…"

Elle, seeing sadness in Justinia, stepped forwards. The girl took a step back. "Don't come near me…" Justinia said, "Don't associate yourself with a weak mind."

"What?!" Elle shouted, "What happened?!"

"I forgot about it!" Justinia cried, "Whether it was Liselotte, or the warp breaching the ship, or the daemon's own intent, or it was just my fault entirely, I forgot! I started hearing some voice, promising me power if I just let it in…" She let Elle finish for her.

"And you did," Elle said, "And that's how you were possessed…"

"They can and will," Justinia said. "Were I possessed in any other way, if the daemon had actually forced me down, then yes, they would not. In fact, I would be commended for surviving. As it is, I let it in. There will be some kind of repercussion."

"Didn't you resist it at all, even after you let it in?" Elle asked.

Justinia nodded. "I did, with all my might."

"Then why blame yourself, idiot!" Elle shouted. "You say that you resisted, add in the fact that there were multiple other external factors, and there's nothing that they can hold against you!"

Justinia nodded. "Then you're right,"

The magical girl took a step back as the captain took a step forwards. "Why are you staying away from me?" Elle asked. Justinia merely looked to the side, not entirely content.

"You look like you're embarrassed," Elle observed.

"I messed up," Justinia said, "The others don't realize how badly I did, but I know in my heart that…that all of that really was my fault, in a way."

"You have massively high expectations of yourself," Elle said, "You seemed to be able to not care about all that Erwine did. She got us into this situation, yet you don't mind. Somehow, however, you can blame yourself?"

Justinia nodded. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to yourself. You haven't done anything wrong. Yes, people died. Yes, bad things happened. But you can't fix that stuff now, not by blaming yourself, like some idiot would do." Elle snapped. Her voice was harsh, not apologetic or kind in the slightest.

"I understand," Justinia said. She looked towards the door. Elle was between it and her. Justinia walked forwards. Elle tried to stop her. Justinia brushed her aside as the girl grabbed onto her arm. The captain laughed loudly as Justinia reached out to open the door.

"If you really wanted to leave you could have brushed me aside before I even moved," Elle said, "Stop being so passive-aggressive. Just say what you want."

"I'm realizing that I'm going against my own logic," the magical girl said. Justinia looked over her shoulder, a sad look. "I don't like making friends. Making friends tends to bring a certain kind of sorrow in this business. So I don't make friends, I get other people to want me to help them in some way, really just become partners of a kind. But that doesn't mean we have to be friends."

"You care about Wei, and Sechylia. Both of those people are easily friends to you. Don't lie to yourself," Elle said.

"They're magical girls," Justinia shrugged, "You're a human."

"I understand what you're getting at." Elle said. "But…but…never mind. Do what you wish, you're the one who's going to have to live with the consequences, for longer than I, hopefully."

"You never know," Justinia said, "Maybe I want to die early." She grinned a little. She could not, however, find it in herself to open the door.

"You'd have left already if you really wanted to leave," Elle reminded her.

"That's true," Justinia said, "But that does not mean that I have decided."

Elle chuckled. "Never saw you as indecisive."

"I'm not," Justinia countered. "Just this once…give me some slack."

"I've never not given you slack," Elle replied. She stepped up behind Justinia. Right behind the girl. Laying a hand on her shoulder, "Justinia…who are you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Justinia frowned, eyebrows furrowing as she once again looked back at the human.

"Who are you really?" Elle asked, "Are you someone who can handle the potential pain of being with a human, or are you not?"

"This is about yourself, not me…" Justinia figured it out. "Feeling lonely, bored? We can still be acquaintances, even friends, but we're not going to be the closest of companions."

"You could say that I feel...afraid," Elle said.

"We've established that…" Justinia said, "But what are you afraid of?"

"You," Elle replied, "Going away like this. I don't care about my job, I like the role. I can take solace in the fact that I'm not going to be on the frontlines anytime soon, and I can also take solace that I'm also not just some backwater patroller."

"What? You've always had a dream of getting a magical girl?" Justinia asked.

"Not exactly," Elle said, "A bit forwards, might I add."

"I was just commenting on my observations," the magical girl replied.

"Nevertheless, I suppose I'm just suffering from that good old jealousy, I think you know what I'm speaking of." Elle said.

"Yes, I know," Justinia said. It was a jealousy common to any older girl. Any girl who had grown out of her teenage years without contracting was known to suffer from it. Almost any, at least. It had never been given an official name, but any mention of a jealousy amongst women would result in the subject being known, for the most part.

The fact was that the truth about many, many aspects of being a magical girl were kept secret. Even the existence of the Inquisition was kept secret from the general public. They would see magical girls walking around, but never really realize who they were, where they came from, or much else about them. When someone thought of a magical girl, they didn't see the scarred look of an inquisitor. They saw the righteous fury of the mage knights, who probably had their own slew of personal issues in reality, but were made to look like veritable gods.

So as women grew out of their teenage years, they began to think about how great it would have been if they could have contracted. How great it would have been if they would get a wish, and become immortal instruments of the Goddess. Especially for members of lower classes, this was a prominent issue.

And Justinia could see that even this captain of an Imperial Navy vessel, a rather prestigious position if she really had to comment on it, was afflicted. "And so your solution is to get to know a magical girl. I think you can observe that this isn't a very exciting position to be in, given what we were just talking about."

"I know," Elle said, "But sometimes I just wonder what it might have been like. Sometimes…my mind just wanders, sitting there in my chair, waiting for things to occur. And I start convincing myself that it would have been better, that I would have liked it."

"Knowing you as you are now," Justinia said, "A calm, caring person like you would not have liked it."

"I know, I know," Elle said, shaking her head. "The issue…it's just that I don't feel like I'm doing enough in my current spot. It's not that I'm bored…I just think I do nothing. I think that I could be doing so much more had I contracted."

"Was the option ever given to you?" Justinia asked.

"No," the captain shook her head.

"Then why blame yourself?" Justinia asked. As if an afterthought, she grumbled, "And just so you know, you do a lot."

"Like what?" Elle almost scoffed.

"You're always there when it's needed." Justinia reached out and opened up the door. She walked out of the room without saying another word. Elle wanted to stop her, but she ended up too stunned by the words Justinia said.

"Not as ice-cold as she likes to make it seem, huh?" Elle raised her eyebrows, a bit of a grin appearing on her face.

* * *

"Reconsidered your point on Erwine?" Sanae asked the girl, sitting across from her on the couch. "She's changed, most of it in the past twenty-four hours."

"Right…this has just been one long day, hasn't it?" Ayelen said quietly. "But you're right, Erwine has changed. I don't know what she's doing anymore. She's not Adrianne…not really, but I still don't know how she's going to end up."

"You worried?" Sanae asked.

"You might be able to say that," Ayelen replied, leaning back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know what she's going to do, how she's going to act. The worst part is that Wei seems to be following her around at this point, so that means we have one less person on our side. Justinia too, and Sechylia will stick with Justinia. So it's just the two of us until the others show up."

"Since when were there sides?" Sanae asked, sounding concerned. "We're all on the same team here. Erwine is not going to mess up that bad again, and there are going to be other magical girls present on Janicelle, we're not going to be alone."

"There were sides since Erwine decided that she was right, and that she gets to do whatever she wants," Ayelen said.

"Why are you so angry at her?"

"Because I knew her," Ayelen said. "I saw the amount of potential that girl had. She still has it. But the issue is that she's going to throw it all away at this rate, by making stupid decisions."

"Ayelen, what's really wrong here?" Sanae wondered. "You have no reason to be angry at Erwine for that. From what you told me, you and here were never much more than friends."

"That was before I changed," Ayelen said. "After that, we barely talked. Not after Laelia and I made up, and I started to act differently."

"So you think she dislikes you?"

"No, but after I came to grips with my past, got over the fact that I was physically and mentally tortured before having my memories altered, I was just a different person. I wasn't the happy-go-lucky kind of girl I used to be, I understood more about the world, truly comprehended it. I don't think Erwine gets it. I don't think she understands how much her decisions affect other people, running off like she did. Running around for an entire year. She's more immature than Adrianne…which doesn't make sense, because Adrianne specifically made her to be more mature, and calmer, and more focused than she was."

"Perhaps you ought to go speak to her," Ayelen suggested, "That might help you understand her better."

"It would be a bit of a confrontation, you sure it's the best idea?"

"If you really want to know how mature she is, then go, find out if you're right or not." Sanae said. Ayelen nodded. She stood up, deciding to do this as soon as possible.

* * *

Erwine happened to be looking about her room at the moment. Estelle, Laelia, and Celestine had all been living on the ship, so it was not a problem to find an extra room for Erwine. The safe, as well as the large cogitator, had been placed inside, and she had stuck them in a corner. There was no other place she felt safe keeping them, but she realized that she would have to accept that someone might try to tamper with it when she went down. All she could do was hope that no one would.

_Erwine, may I come in? _Ayelen asked.

The younger girl had to think for a moment. She turned around, looking towards the doors, thinking to herself. _Now what might she want to talk about? _Erwine wondered. _Probably she's concerned about me, my mental state or something like that. She gets too concerned about things these days. _

_Yes, you may, _Erwine replied. She doubted she would enjoy the conversation, but it was something that had to occur. _We've still about five or so hours till we reach Janicelle itself, so we've some time. _

She looked at the entrance to her new dwelling. It was apparently Estelle's room, which Erwine found a bit funny. "Hello," Erwine said, seeing the girl enter.

"Hello," the girl said in reply. Ayelen had a solemn look on her face. It was not hard to see that the topic she had come to discuss was indeed a serious one.

"What is it?" Erwine asked.

"I…I wanted to talk to you about the way you've been acting. It's certain that you know that, and I know this conversation is going to be far from enjoyable…but the fact is that we haven't had a rational conversation in…well, forever. We've only had serious talk, just the two of us, once."

"Yeah, I know," Erwine said. "Ayelen…you've changed. I don't think we can honestly speak to one another at this point."

"Why not?"

"We're too much alike," Erwine explained. She shrugged, a neutral expression on her face. "We were both scarred by the same person, and we've both had to overcome those traumas. From what I understand of you, you were kind of like me before you met Adrianne. So that means that we're fairly alike today."

"You think that'll stop us?"

"Of course it will. Positives don't attract positives. Negatives don't attract negatives." Erwine explained. She looked down at the floor, her eyes running over her feet. "There's not much that can be done…unless the problem is not really that you want to worry about me."

"What do you mean?"

"Why would you want to worry about me?" Erwine asked, "We've never been very close friends. Sure, we're alike, but at the same time, that just drives us apart as I said. So why would you care about me?"

"You're saying there's something more?"

"I'm suggesting that possibility, yes," Erwine said. "I have no good idea of what that thing might be, but perhaps you ought to figure it out on your own."

Ayelen stood there. She took a deep breath. She looked around the room, seeing the same bleak colors of metal everywhere she could look. The sheets of Estelle's bed were even a darker color. She wished there was something brighter. "I don't want to be in this state," Ayelen said. "I…I don't want to be like you."

"Understandable," Erwine said. "Although I said we are alike, we're different. Your wish, I imagine that it came true. Mine did not, did I tell you that? Didn't have the potential, apparently. Really great. We're different, Ayelen. But you wanting to be different, what do you want to be?"

"I almost like the happy way I saw the world before. I enjoyed it…more than the way I see things now. Now everything has to be serious, and I consider everything so incredibly seriously. I don't enjoy it." Ayelen sounded sad.

"You want me to help?" Erwine asked, "How would I do that?"

"You have nothing?"

"Do I look like a psychologist?" Erwine asked. She grinned with humor as she looked up at the girl. "I'm not. I don't even know you that well. I can really only guess at what you're really feeling. Go back to Sanae if you want this."

"And besides," Erwine raised her eyebrows, "Didn't you want to talk about something else?"

"Yes, yes I did," Ayelen replied. "I know that you can't prove it to me, but I wanted to make sure that I can trust you to make intelligent decisions in the future. No, that's not right. To be more patient, thoughtful. Take your time before acting. That's what I want."

"I can't promise or prove anything. I will do the best I can, but I doubt I'll be able to deliver the perfect performance you probably want. Besides, the other inquisitors will be here soon, and you won't have to worry about me." Erwine's gaze narrowed. "I know you really truly don't care about me that much. Don't pretend that you do."

Ayelen gritted her teeth. Erwine missed it, as well as the fact that she tightened her hands into fists. "Why do you think so?"

"Because Ayelen, we're so similar, yet so different," Erwine approached the girl. "Not everyone is going to be friends in this world. If everyone could be friends, then there wouldn't have to be magical girls."

"You care about me enough to ensure that I am mentally and physically sound, but beyond that, you couldn't care less," Erwine said. "It's terrible, I know. Perhaps we just weren't meant to be the best of friends."

"Do you actually care about me?" Ayelen asked.

Erwine shrugged. "Depends on the definition. I'd prefer a deeper level of respect and caring, but as is…I can't say I feel such a deep level for you. You're a friend, nothing much more. Ayelen, you want me to solve your problems for you, when I can't."

"Sorry for asking," Ayelen said.

"At least we came to a rather agreeable conclusion," Erwine said, "Perhaps you should go before it becomes disagreeable."

"I think you're just locking yourself off," Ayelen said.

"Maybe I am," Erwine shrugged, "I let Wei in."

"She's different. She means something else to you."

"True." Erwine spoke quietly, "Ayelen, we've never had a connection. I never had much of a connection with Laelia. All my time back then was spent with Adrianne, the only other girl from back then I knew very well was Airi." She shrugged, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what I can say to you. I want to shoulder this burden, but you want to be free. Maybe I'm the stronger one," She looked at Ayelen's face, "But you're the smarter one."

"I understand," Ayelen replied. "I'll be seeing you later, then?"

"We're close to Janicelle. I'll be on the bridge soon to oversee things, so yes." Erwine replied. She took a deep breath as she shut her eyes. She didn't watch Ayelen leave, already turning around to look at the things that were so precious to her.

* * *

Erwine stepped from her room, her destination the bridge. The one issue was that she'd forgotten where. Her eyes scanned to either side of her, looking for someone to ask. There was no one immediately there, so she sent to Wei. _Where's the bridge, from Estelle's room? _She wondered.

_I can be right out, _Wei replied. She came out of her room, which was in the same hallway. Erwine nodded to her. "Noticed Ayelen earlier. Everything was fine with her?" They started walking down the hall together, side by side.

"Things went about as well as they could have. She trusts me, at least. And she has things to be distracted with as well, so there's that." Erwine exhaled, happy to have cleared that major hurdle. "And while I am going to be hypocritical by talking about separate sides, I think every magical girl on this ship is going to side with us. Justinia has the navigator and astrotelepath in her pocket, as well as the captain. I think that Nadine might be able to understand, and the support we have at that point will deter Estelle from being too much of a bother. The biggest issue is Theodora."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because we don't know who she is really working for. Liselotte said a lot of incriminating things about her, even going as far as to accuse of her being one of Ishna's agents."

"You believe her?"

"Depends. If she came out of that coma, we could talk things out, but as is…" Erwine thought for a moment, "Wait…we've three hours till we reach Janicelle. Let's go to the infirmary first, I'd like to check up on Liselotte, make sure she's alright."

"Alright," Wei agreed.

"As I was saying, we won't be able to actually learn much more from her. I'm incredibly incensed by her current state, as something makes me think she has all the answers to our questions that we want to be answered."

"You think so?" Wei was surprised.

"Yeah. She knows a lot more than she's letting on. But since we received that message from Hadiens, we don't really know where she is in terms of loyalty to them. And due to that, we don't know where the Hadiens Sect lies in terms of loyalty." Erwine explained, "So our hands are tied."

"But you're thinking the events on Janicelle have something to do with what happened on Curia," Wei said.

"Exactly. I think that Curia was actually a trap, laid for us. Liselotte was nothing more than a pawn in a wider game being played by the agents of Ishna. This system's warp storm does seem normal, but clearly something is about to happen that would attract attention if things weren't focused on Curia."

"But there are other inquisitors…" Wei pointed out, "So what's the point?"

"I guess you're right…the only thing that could distract all the inquisitors in the area would be…would be some kind of major incident…" Erwine shrugged, "But how would that be set up? I suppose we could get answers from Liselotte, or perhaps someone that we could find on Janicelle, if we can catch the culprits."

"Missing something obvious," Wei pointed out. Erwine looked at her. Wei had stopped walking. Erwine would continue for just a few steps, till she stopped, raising her eyebrows. "A major incident," Wei repeated, then said, "Like the betrayal of an entire sect?"

Erwine's eyes went wide. "Yes!" she cried, "Yes! That's what they're doing! Liselotte, she must be on their side, somehow. She was sent to Curia to create attention. They were expecting us to come in, then call out the Hadiens Sect!"

Wei smiled victoriously, "Exactly. A massive incident would begin if we went after them directly! Then…that means Theodora is on our side! Perhaps the Hadiens Sect knew, but also understood that walking up and saying 'we didn't do it' wouldn't work. So they requested Theodora to come in and defuse the situation!"

Erwine took a deep breath, e at the same time. "We figured it out!" she cried, leaping forwards and embracing Wei. They broke away just a couple seconds.

"And that means we already beat them! They were trying to draw us away from Janicelle, but as fate would have it, we ended up right here!" Wei shouted out with joy. "And with reinforcements on the way, we can hope that Theodora and Estelle called in Juno. If they did, then we can easily stop them right now!"

"What's more," Erwine said, equally joyful, "Is that we can be assured of the fact that Ishna didn't predict our movements out this far, if at all. Ishna could have easily seen all the events that led to us arriving here occurring, whether through logic or magic. So that means that they don't have an exact plan, or else why would they have the trap be on Curia?!"

"Right," Wei said, smiling brightly, "Do we even need to go check on Liselotte anymore, if we can guess that she's with the enemy?"

"We can go make sure she's restrained," Erwine said, "But otherwise, no. We don't need to wait for her to wake up anymore. We've already got all we need to know."

The two girls smiled at each other, taking massive pride in their victory over what had seemed like impossible odds. The enemy was in their sights. Now all they had to do was make sure that they didn't mess up the shot.

* * *

The body of Liselotte was still in silence. It hadn't moved an inch since the moment she passed out. In wider terms, at least. If one wanted to be technical, she was breathing. But that was about it.

All other body processes had ceased for the most part. It was going to be trouble keeping her soul gem active. She was attended to by the _Yslevia's _medicae, but even he and his trained staff could only do so much for a non-human being. The girl was restrained, by way of the special cuffs used on magical girls. That was because she had been possessed, and the risk would still exist, given that she was in a coma.

Erwine and Wei entered. "Doctor," she said, "Has she moved in the slightest way?"

"No she has not," the man replied.

"Good. If she does move, in any way, shape, or form, you need to call it in immediately. We have good reason to believe that she is a heretic," Erwine explained. "Please be careful," she added, "She's a telepath, so I'd suggest that you be quick with any kind of report."

"Understood," the middle-aged man replied. Erwine smiled at him, before taking a look at the girl.

"She said she was going to be possessed, didn't she?" Erwine said.

Wei confirmed, "She definitely did. But there wasn't any trace. She's stayed in this state. Perhaps she's holding the daemon off, perhaps it's gone now, but without a telepath of our own we can't do anything for her."

Erwine sighed. "Then we'll have to wait. At least we can hope that we really did outmaneuver them, whether it was through luck or intention."

* * *

Elle sat in her chair on the bridge. The viewscreen showed Janicelle ahead. Justinia was to her left, leaning against the side of the chair. The two had stayed away from each other since the encounter earlier. Elle had a bitter taste in her mouth from that conversation, knowing that Justinia had intentionally left it unfinished. She really did feel that the girl had been acting very strange for the last few weeks. Like she was afraid of something more than just what was ahead of them now.

Elle was hoping that Erwine would show up soon, given that girl was in charge. "They're coming," Justinia said. Elle felt a slight pang of jealousy for the girl's telepathy, then remembered the rest of the magical girl's duties, and decided to forget about the issue.

The doors were open before Erwine and Wei were there to enter through the open way. "Have we heard anything more from the planet?" Erwine asked.

"Not exactly," Elle replied, "Just some regular updates saying that they're alright. A new attack has begun, and has coincided with our approach."

"Any sign of the enemy vessel?"

"None whatsoever," Elle said. "Despite the fact that the storm is messing up scanners, I can safely say that they are hidden somewhere. Hidden well, so I imagine they mean to let us approach."

"Or ambush us as we close in," Erwine pointed out.

"True, but hopefully that won't occur. We still have plenty of time before we're in orbit, they have a lot of chances. We'll keep looking out, Justinia is doing what she can to scan the area around us, but she only has a range of a few thousand kilometers, and our scanners can operate within that, and if they are there, we're already dead."

"Perhaps they want to let us approach," Justinia guessed. "They may have a trap laid."

"They do want me alive," Erwine pointed us, "That's probably why they didn't attack earlier, so they want to ensure that they get me alive. Which means that an attack would be pointless."

"True, they probably have something going down on Janicelle. We'll have to watch out for them, I suppose." Erwine said.

"You've any idea the wider situation?" Justinia asked, "At this point, I'm thinking that Liselotte was with the enemy. This whole situation, with the warp storm beginning the same time the traitors arrived, makes me think that Liselotte was just distracting us."

Erwine nodded. "Yes, we've figured something out." She explained her and Wei's idea of the wider enemy plan, and the repercussions that their presence in Janicelle had.

"So we've already beat them pretty hard, huh?" Justinia rhetorically asked.

"We most certainly have," Erwine said, "I'm hoping that we'll be getting some answers from this planet."

"Me too," Justinia agreed, "But I'm not sure what we're even going to find."

"Well, we don't know of anyone else who was working for Ishna, right?" Wei asked.

"The Hearth Knight, Yukie, she mentioned an enemy magical girl who attacked her. She was a traitor knight, so there are presumably others." Justinia said, "But Janicelle has said nothing about traitor knights specifically, at least from what we've managed to recover. Someone is trying to block their transmissions, and they've been mangled pretty badly, despite the fact that bits do get through."

"I doubt that they are not here," Erwine said, "This would be the perfect place to send such a strong force in. We need to get down there to provided assistance, but if traitor knights are down there, we're not going to win."

"We'll do what we can, if nothing else, we can evacuate some of the people up to the _Yslevia. _The warp storm doesn't seem to be very severe, and we may be able to navigate our way out." Justinia said, she looked at Elle for confirmation.

"We'll be able to take on at least the magical girls. Not sure about anyone else, but they're all we'll really need to save, right?"

"Correct," Erwine agreed. Both she and Wei wore faces of pain as they realized that fact, but they didn't make a big deal of it.

"And once we do that, we can at least withdraw, and get some cover for ourselves until Lady Magnissia arrives." She referred to the magical girl in the proper way a human should speak of a magical girl. "Once she does, we'll theoretically outnumber the enemy in terms of vessels, and we can start working together to clear them out." Elle said.

"So all we can do is wait, like usual?" Erwine asked.

"Seems that way," Justinia said.

Erwine steeled herself, "Then let's prepare ourselves, we know not what we might be facing there."

* * *

Janicelle was a good ways away from the planet of Hadiens. A planet that had been the center of a backwater sector. It did not bear the largest or most populated cities. It didn't have the biggest economic output. It wasn't actually in the center. But what capital was in the center of what it was the capital of?

For whatever reason, it was the capital of the Hadiens Sector. Reitia stood by a door, her arms crossed as she looked at it. Megumi stood beside her. Both had been quite anxious over the past few hours.

"We've heard nothing," Megumi said, "Absolutely nothing. We believe that the Reiker Protocol was indeed enacted, which means we're safe for some time."

"Do you think the frame was successful?" Reitia asked, still staring ahead at the door while Megumi paced around.

"Maybe. Again, nothing has come down on us, so there's that." Megumi was tense, her breaths frantic.

"If it didn't work, then we still have some time to work with. Juno seems to be playing nice, given that she hasn't come down on us after our little stunt with Laelia and Celestine." Reitia said.

"Who even allowed them to escape?"

"We've been asking that question for the two weeks since it happened," Reitia said, throwing her arms up in the air, "How are we supposed to know? We can only assume that they are the agents that were on the planet, working for Ishna."

"Laelia and Celestine…why trust the people who killed two girls in front of them and then left a vague letter than accused us of some things? Seems a bit interesting that they'd do that. Do they know something about us that's seriously incriminating?" Megumi wondered.

"We've got no skeletons in the closet," Reitia said, "In fact, we've been rather blatant and obvious in our efforts to hunt Ishna's people down. Don't know what they might know. Perhaps…they've been misinformed as well. Estelle was given some false information, sent it to them, they acted on it."

"Perhaps they just didn't trust us because we kidnapped them almost off the streets saying that they couldn't fall into the wrong hands," Megumi proposed.

"Well, the fact that they've escaped and Juno has not come in or sent anyone in makes it clear, the enemy's influence is not that great, but we never expected them in the Deathwatch. The real issue was Liselotte. If we handled that incident right, then we can go forwards without a hitch."

"Do you think what she was working on was correct?" Megumi asked.

"The information she had?" Reitia shrugged, "The general idea is that the prophecy was correct, but we can never know. Sometimes deciphering the things are pretty difficult. Maybe it was wrong, that would be why nothing actually happened."

"On the other hand, a warp storm formed around the Janicelle system about the same time Liselotte started killing," Megumi pointed out, "Do you think someone else could somehow have the information?"

"I think we've known from the beginning that the enemy is working by the same book we are. It's just that they aren't worried about a single person screwing everything up for them." Reitia looked up at the ceiling, "I sincerely hope that she doesn't get us into much trouble."

"Should we try to get another message out to Estelle? I'm a bit worried about the Reiker. It means that they suspect us, and have the information to take us down, but their morals are making them kind." Megumi pointed out.

"I know that," Reitia replied. She took a deep breath. "We can only hope those morals last."

* * *

The chair wasn't something that Juno had entirely grown used to. A long service in an entirely different position had gotten Juno used to that one chair that always sat in her office. Now she wasn't about to have everyone go through the trouble of dragging that chair out of her office and into whatever ship she was to use as her command vessel, and then put it in a new ship whenever she switched.

She certainly _could _have done so. Juno had decided to save everyone, including herself, the trouble of going through the hassle of such a thing. The chair she had now was made of a fine dark wood, with a tall back, and gentle cushioning on the seat and back. She reclined in it, having pushed it away from the table so that she could do so with her legs propped up on the desk. She did enjoy it, despite the fact that it was different. Really, that was her own problem with the chair, that it was different. Otherwise, she didn't really care.

Said chair was situated in her large office space. Which really was only the main room in her quarters. The quarters were five separate rooms, all dedicated to her personal use. The office was the closest if one were to go through the main door into the living room beyond, so it wasn't a hassle of anyone to come in. Besides, she would spend most of her time doing things on the bridge anyways, so only magical girls would be coming into her quarters.

And while such quarters were perhaps unnecessarily lavish and spacious, it wasn't as if they were a massive issue. Juno was, after all, reclining in a chair in an office aboard a ten-kilometer long battleship. The things were rather rare in these times, most ships of the massive size having been lost over time, and the ability to repair damaged vessels or construct new ones having been lost as time went on.

But the Inquisition liked to keep things in top condition. As did the Mage Knights. Magical girls had trouble forgetting things, and telepathy and massive sets of minds meant that information could be easily transferred from one generation to the next. Which of course separated from the more stubborn humans who refused their assistance, especially the assistance of the Techmages.

Juno did wonder what would happen if the Grand Inquisitor was a human inquisitor. They were a rarity, but there were some. However, none had ever gotten close to becoming Grand Inquisitor. First, one would have to attain the ranking of Lord Segmentum Inquisitor, and there were only four of those posts. And in order to do that, one would have to be elected to the position by all of the sects within the Segmentum, as well as all of the MSOCs within the Segmentum. Which meant that one had to gain the approval of hundreds of individuals. Something that a human would be hard-pressed to do in the Inquisition.

Juno did realize that it was technically discrimination that humans were looked down upon in the Inquisition. But it wasn't racism. Juno chuckled, remembering all the –isms that didn't exist for magical girls. Racism and sexism were meaningless, given that magical girls were well…girls. And racism didn't matter because one's skin color could be changed given a few hours of careful thought and mental programming. Juno sighed, thinking about what she was going to do with everything.

She'd just gone on a long train of thought, and she still had a large stack of reports to sort through. That was another thing she didn't have to deal with that humans did have to deal with. Big stacks of paper sitting on one's desk that would take hours to read through.

All those reports were inside her head. And the one thousand copies of herself within her head should be able to handle the telepathic messages in a matters of seconds. It was quite useful, really, the ability to split one's mind into a multitude of pieces.

Juno quite enjoyed it. It was really rather difficult to understand. Each separate division technically was not an entirely sentient fragment of the girl. They could do all the things a human brain could do except actually make decisions. Technically, they were all just wired to a central fragment that assigned roles to the others. Juno experienced only what that central fragment was experiencing. Which was why she gave the more mediocre reports to the other fragments, had them create summaries, then send that information back to the center.

She enjoyed this ability more than anything else she'd learned to be able to do. Because while she was focusing on reading at the moment, the central fragment of her mind was looking at the book in front of her, rather than the reports in her head.

That was when there was a knock on the door. Juno tossed the book across the room, wanting to look like she was serious in front of whoever was about to walk in. "Come in," Juno called.

The girl outside entered. She wore a bright red shade of armor, the black mark of the Deathwatch on one pauldron as was typical. On the other was the insignia of the Blood Angels. "Caelina," Juno said as she nodded to the incoming girl. Sergeant Caelina Tatriana, a skilled, experienced, and powerful healer. Juno had served with her for a while before her injury.

Caelina being her subordinate again was only natural for Juno. "I see you're hard at work," the girl observed, pretending that her eyes were not looking at the wall to Juno's right, where a book lay on the floor, its pages randomly splayed open.

"Not sure what you're talking about," Juno said with a grin, faking ignorance.

"Certainly not," Caelina played along as she walked up to the girl's desk. "So, how are things going so far? Find anything interesting amongst all those reports?"

Juno shrugged. "Nothing much. Heard in from Reitia, apparently Arietta is still off on her investigation, in warp again."

"You think she's up to something?" Caelina asked.

"Well, given what Estelle told me about what Arietta told her, I get the feeling that something is amiss. However, we don't actually know anything. Given what Yuki explained to me, I could launch an official investigation, but I can tell tensions are high. Therefore, I'm going to let Estelle and the others handle the matter for the time being. We'll just wait as the cavalry."

"What's going on with her and Erwine?" Caelina took a seat at the edge of the desk, her wait unbalancing the whole thing, leading to Juno pushing her legs down harder as Caelina grinned mischievously.

"That's where things get very interesting," Juno explained. "You see, Erwine decided to go off on her own. They managed to catch Liselotte, but Estelle botched things, and Erwine ran off, taking Estelle with her. They forced Bolton, the captain of the _Rosie, _to help them. The ship was boarded by Justinia and four others. But the ship was damaged when the _Yslevia _tried to shoot it down."

"It went into the warp with damage," Caelina guessed, "And?"

"And the navigator seems to be dead, from what was sent to the _Yslevia. _Justinia is a daemonhost, and Liselotte is in a coma. Everyone else is fine, though, save for the presumably large number of dead humans." Juno explained.

"Erwine's in trouble for this one,"

"From what I understand, from what Estelle sent me, she takes full responsibility for the actions undertaken by Erwine, as does Nadine."

"Do you blame her for it? Erwine, I mean."

Juno sighed. "Yeah, in a way I do. But at the same time, form what Estelle and Nadine told me, I think there's more going on here. Nadine is almost certain Erwine is the result of a failed wish."

Caelina winced. "That's not good. Not with a girl like her."

"Yeah, you got that right." Juno took her legs off the table. "So I don't think she can be held responsible at the time being, sounds like her mental state is a bit shaky. What's more is that they were knocked out of the warp by the warp storm itself. They said that it was almost impossible, what happened to them."

"This is going to be a fun one," Caelina decided right there, as Juno stood up.

"That's for certain," Juno agreed. "Yuki's leaving Curia at the moment, so she should be able to get into Janicelle without too much trouble. That's where Erwine is at the moment. Estelle, Nadine, and Theodora are on their way as we speak, and the _Yslevia _should already be there."

"Can we trust Theodora?" Caelina asked, as Juno stepped out from around the desk and picked up the book she was reading. She closed the thing, and placed it back on the desk.

"I don't know what you mean by trust," Juno said. "Can we trust her to go what we want done? If so, then yes. Can we trust her to listen to us? If so, then no, not at all."

"She's a bit of a wild card," Caelina agreed, "So why send her out there. Why give her serious support?"

"She's more than a wild card. Most of the time, the player of the wild card decides what it does. But with this, the wild card is deciding what the wild card does. Therefore, the only way to see its effect is to play it and see what it decides." Juno explained.

Caelina stepped ahead of her and opened the door. "Makes sense to me," she said. "Anyone else need to know of anything?"

"Not really." Juno said as she stepped out, Caelina followed. "But wake up _those_ three, they need to get ready in case things get worse."

Caelina grinned. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

Despite the fact that it was over three kilometers and hundreds of thousands of tons of metal, the _Yslevia _easily slipped into orbit around the planet. It sat above the dark side of the world, the viewscreen showing the blackness of the night below, broken by the numerous lights, some from the brightness of cities, others from the brightness of fires.

All the magical girls who were to go down were gathered on the bridge. Victoria sat in the sanctuary with the other astrotelepath, she wasn't suited for anything serious. They had been unsure about Sechylia, but she insisted. Erwine met all their eyes, one by one.

"Are you all ready?" she asked, "Entirely?"

They all nodded. Different emotions showed on all of their faces. Ayelen's face concealed hidden excitement under a layer of worry. Sanae looked excited to be finally back at work. Sechylia was definitely worried. Justinia had her usual neutral stoutness. Wei was smiling, simply happy to be finally getting to the bottom of things.

"Then let's go," Erwine said, wearing an expectant grin of her own.

Elle let her breath exhale slowly as they left the room. A wave of shudders passed through her as she looked at the planet below. "Why did we ever come here?" she said, the volume the lowest whisper possible.


	41. On the Eve of Apocalypse

Justinia and Erwine moved up to the cockpit, the former taking control of the craft. Erwine realized that she still had no idea how to fly one of the things, and that she ought to learn at some point. But there really were more important things going on at the moment.

"We'll get down there and assess the situation. If anything needs to be contained immediately, we'll assist as best we can. Once that is done, and we've organized all the magical girls into one spot, then we can attempt to track down those responsible for all of this." Erwine explained. "If that is possible, then our job will be a lot easier. But things are probably going to be a lot messier than what would be ideal."

"Most likely," Justinia agreed.

"What do you think?" Erwine asked, "On what to do?"

"I agree with what you're saying. However, we really don't have much time. I suggest that we assume the presence of traitor knights, and try to get as many as we can off the planet as fast as possible. With a planet of this importance, there should only be about twenty or so local girls. Not too much trouble." Justinia said, "Once we do that, we should see if anyone's going to come after us. If not, then we can move back in and do something about all of this. If so, then we need to withdraw until reinforcements arrive."

"They might be finished by the time that happens. Around a day is left until Estelle gets here, and we don't know if anyone else will be coming. I don't think that we have time to wait."

"I know what you're saying," Justinia said, "But if we don't wait, we might just end up dying." The shuttle had breached the atmosphere, and they were now following the coordinates to the city given to them by the local girls. "And dying for nothing is worse than retreating for something."

"I know, I know," Erwine conceded, "But please, let's not jump to conclusions immediately."

"No intention of doing so," Justinia assured her. The skies of the planet were thick with clouds. Some were natural, others born of dust and smoke rising up. Erwine immediately noticed that there was a strange tint to the whole place. The entire planet had a…different coloration. Erwine couldn't put her finger on what that exactly was, but it was something that a planet shouldn't look like.

A dark haze seemed to be everywhere, decreasing the light. It was certainly night, but it wasn't pitch black. Even though the clouds should have prevented the planet from actually receiving any light from even the Moon, there was a glow. An otherworldly glow. That was what brought about the strange colors she saw.

The glow was of some color that probably did exist in some other plane of existence, but not in this one. And that was what was so scary.

The city was in sight now. Just the fringes of the large city. It was a hive world, so the massive complex did stretch for miles and miles. It had been a while since Erwine had been in a true hive, the size of the ones she'd been in back on Siothea.

The massive spires reached high into the low-hanging clouds. These same low-hanging clouds, combined with the darkness and strange glow, created a heaviness about the city. It was surprisingly intact, with most of the ravaging flames seen from above having been out in the wilderness, away from the cities. But that was not to say that there were no fires in this city at all.

There certainly were, and they covered entire areas with a bright blaze. They were attempting to be suppressed by the local emergency personnel, but there was not much that could be done. Some parts of the city were in ruin, some seeming to have been caused by a direct attack.

They flew in towards one of the taller spires. About midway up the massive construction was where they touched down. Erwine spent a minute more looking out at the chaos below, wondering how many had died, and how many would die, over the course of the destruction and terror that had gripped the planet for so long.

Justinia was already walking out. Erwine hurried to be the first out, and the others cleared the way as she stepped out onto the pad. Walking towards them was just one magical girl. She saluted to Erwine, and Erwine saluted back.

"Mila Andres," the girl said, "Sixteen, three years since contracting, assistant to the commander of the Janicelle Local Patrol." She was shaking as she saluted. Erwine saw it immediately, the fear and terror that had long since taken her mind. She kept herself standing straight, but Erwine also realized that she looked like she was trying to convince herself of something.

_Convince herself that we're real. _Erwine realized. _And not a delusion her mind has conjured up. _Erwine tried to put on a proud, happy face as she walked forwards.

Erwine approached the girl as the others stepped out. The first thing Erwine noticed as she came outside was the temperature. It was cold, incredibly so. More so than it should be, even at night. Especially with all that was going on, the air had to be heating up more than usual.

"Erwine Braune," she replied, "Fourteen, magical girl for a year, Interrogator under Nadine Edicossen."

"You're in command here?" Mila asked, a bit suspicious. Erwine noticed the girl's hair was an interesting shade. It was the same shade of blonde as Nada's hair had been. It was even the same length, roughly. Erwine shook her head, convincing herself that she was not just seeing some exact clone of the girl.

She wore a light blue coat, sleeveless and ending at her shoulders, the collar high even when folded down. Gold trim ran along the middle. Her soul gem was situated on her left breast, embedded in the fabric. A skirt of the same color went down her legs, about halfway down her thighs. White leggings reached up past the layer of her skirt, while light blue shoes with a low heel were on her feet. Her arms were uncovered by any kind of sleeve, while her hands had gloves with that same color of blue. A light blue capelet did reach down to her elbows. Atop her light blonde hair was a small blue beret, with a black trim.

Erwine expected whoever greeted them to be a bit worried of the fact that a year and a half old magical girl was in charge. However, Mila was only a bit worried. The rest of her was filled with wonder and hope, Erwine could see that clearly. _She knows we're real at least. _

"Yes," Erwine said as she cleared her mind of such thoughts. Justinia came up beside Erwine to explain.

"Justinia Mercia," the girl said, "Thirty-seven, under Estelle Adramartis. I gave command to Erwine. She outranks me, and I believe her grasp of the situation is better than any of us."

"Well then, I see no issue if that's the case," Mila said, still a bit confused, then saluted again to Justinia. "There are fourteen of us left, of nineteen. Those five were the highest ranking, they've all had to sacrifice themselves for us." She explained, a sad look on her face.

"So you're one of the higher ranks?" Erwine asked.

"Yes, the others are all very young. They've little idea what to be doing. Two of them are entirely new, don't even understand what's going on in the slightest."

"I have some experience with that," Erwine remarked under her breath, but when Mila noticed, she waved the issue aside, "Go on."

"Please, come inside, we'll do our best to explain. We lost our main command center to an attack, so we've commandeered the governor's spire." Mila explained.

"What attacked it? Daemons, enemy knights?" Erwine wondered.

"We've seen plenty of the former, but none of the latter. However, neither was responsible. It was the PDF," Mila said, as they walked towards the open doors. "The humans are losing their minds out there. Riots, killing, the PDF turned on itself about two weeks ago, have been tearing the planet apart ever since."

She opened the doors for them, holding them with one hand as she ushered them in with the other. Erwine's eyes couldn't help but linger on her. She felt an uncomfortable sensation in her stomach. The resemblance to Nada was more than just a passing one.

She shook her head again, more intensely. Justinia took note. _What's the issue? _She asked, as Erwine looked out at the room before them. It was a tall place, and wide, with the radius having to be at least twenty feet. There was a large table in the center, but it looked out of place. Erwine figured it had been moved in there to serve the purpose of the room being a command center.

_Mila…she looks like someone…_Erwine didn't want to say more at the moment, knowing that Justinia would probably dismiss her. There were five other magical girls in the room, and all were focused on the ones coming inside. One came directly up to greet the newcomers.

"Sabula Abreu, thirty-seven, twenty years magical girl, commander of the Janicelle Local Patrol." the dark-haired, dark-skinned girl saluted, dressed in bright colors, mainly yellow and orange. Erwine replied with the same movement. "Mila just explained things to me while you were coming in," the commander said. _Telepathy, please, we're running a tight schedule, it's faster. _

_Understood, _Erwine said, linking with the other girls as Sabula entered them into the wider network already being used. _What's the current situation? _

_As you know, the PDF has turned on itself. The human leadership has collapsed, most of them dead. There are riots everywhere. Thousands, perhaps even millions, are already dead. What's left of the government, as well as the high-ranking humans, is situated in the levels below. They are rather annoyed, and would prefer to be evacuated as soon as possible. _Sabula explained, waving Erwine over to the map.

It was a map of the entire planet, and Sabula pointed to the city they were in at the moment. _Our magical girls are situated in this area. _She said, drawing a rough circle about the city. _We're trying to throw out a net to catch whoever is behind all of this. They're working in groups of two, so there are four groups. They should be able to make it back here within about thirty minutes._

_Get them back, _Erwine insisted, _magical girls take priority. Do you have any idea where the enemy might be? _

_None. They seem to come and go as they please. We've been too busy with other issues to accurately track them. The daemons are the main problem. They emerge in small groups, about twenty creatures each, and attack. Luckily, they are not organized, we can assume there's no greater daemon controlling them. We can usually handle them through some careful ambushes, but there are many places across the planet where we haven't been able to lend assistance. The daemons do dematerialize after a few hours, but not after doing a massive amount of damage. _Sabula sounded sad, perhaps ashamed of herself.

_You're doing the best you can, _Erwine said, _there's not much else that could be done better. However, we need to either go after the enemy now, or get out now. Since you've no leads…_Erwine sent a separate question to Justinia, who gave her approval. _We should withdraw. We've another eight girls, with an entirely other ship coming in. They should have requested the assistance of Lord Inquisitor Eskel. And she should already have someone on the way with other girls. We just need to wait about a day or so. _

_Not an option, _Sabula said. _We're on a deadline for a reason. We believe that the enemy is trying to create an active warp breach. All of this has just been leading up to doing that. The issue is that we don't think we'll be able to counter them once they begin. We don't know where they are, and if they attack us at the same time, because we think they have the forces to do so, then we're not going to be able to come close to stopping them. _

_Then we've no choice but to help, _Erwine decided, _what time do you think they'll try? _

_At this rate, we're thinking that it will occur within the next two days. Things are leaning more towards the end of that timeline, however. _

_Then reinforcements will arrive before they begin, hopefully. _Erwine said. _What can we do in the meantime? _

_Get those other girls back. _Sabula said, _we've been intermittently telepathically jammed for a while now. So we haven't been able to get out to them, and we don't want to leave here to go find them, lest it just be an ambush. In addition, the girls within this room, save for Mila and I, are total rookies. So if you could head out…_

_That's fine, _Erwine said. _That works anyways. _

_Why? _

_The enemy, for whatever reason, wants me captured, alive. _Erwine explained, _probably has to do with the whole Hadiens Incident. _

_Then why go out, they'll probably go after you? _

_It means that hopefully they won't be too lethal, though that's just a hope. _Erwine explained.

Sabula nodded. _Take Mila with you, she's one of the best fighters we have left. Go as fast as you can, and get them back here, in case something is delaying them. We can't even be certain as to where the four groups are, unfortunately, as the jamming is going on even right now. _

_So clairvoyancy won't help, _Justinia sighed. _I'll do my best, nevertheless. _

Erwine nodded. She took one more look at the map. Sabula handed her a folded up map. _This is a smaller map of the area around the city. You should be able to get a better idea of where they are by looking at that. _This map specified the individual areas of patrol each team had.

_Thanks, _Erwine said. She smiled, and then turned for the door. Mila was standing by it. Erwine froze as the saw the girl.

_You really don't want to talk about this? _Justinia asked.

_Nada, _Erwine, _an old friend of mine. A friend I left behind. That girl looks just like her._

* * *

The seven girls leapt from roof to roof, Mila leading the way as she held the map in her hands. The streets below were either desolate, silent, devoid of any sign of life save for some animal picking at remains, scavenging for sustenance. Erwine tried to not look down whenever she didn't hear anything from a street.

She figured she might see a dog, wounded and starving, barely able to walk, picking feebly at a human corpse. A few times, a glance down at caught such a lonely creature. But each time, she had not the time to go save it, nor anything else she might see. They had not the time to save anyone but the magical girls that were out amidst the chaos.

And some streets, some plazas, some buildings, they came to were entirely engulfed in the wave of violence that the alien atmosphere had brought on. Erwine could once again only watch as humans attacked and violated each other in fits of madness. Guns were fired, blood was spilled.

Few times did they see anyone living in peace. Such was the effect that whatever was about to happen was having on the populace. Normally, a warp storm like what the storm was expected to be would cause a few issues, but nothing really that bad. But with the ritualistic actions breaking down the walls even further, and the warp storm somehow intensifying, there was no way for humans to remain restrained at this point.

Erwine also would not be surprised if the enemy was manipulating the humans in some way. It was a common tactic. She was at least happy that all five magical girls who had died were all accounted for, no witches so far. Yet situations like this…they were the ideal breeding ground for wishes to be made.

Erwine never really got how the Incubators worked. They said they were servants of the Goddess, but never really paid attention to the wider situation. If a girl was dying at a time like this, they would offer a contract, somehow not realizing that she would just be attacked by someone else, be unwilling to defend herself, and turn. Or something would happen, events would somehow transpire, so that she would turn.

_Or perhaps they do realize that is the result, _Erwine thought, _but that's not a path I want to go down at the moment. _She remembered that Justinia had yet to follow up to what Erwine had seen.

_You don't mind? _Erwine asked, sending the message privately. The girls were an estimated five minutes from the general area the first team was believed to be in. Justinia was doing her best to scan, but there was plenty of interference from warp energy and from the enemy.

_She just looks like Nada, so what? There are plenty of people who look like someone else, you know. _Justinia reminded Erwine. Erwine took the reminder to heart.

_I don't think it's some kind of relation…it just bothers me. Brings up bad memories. I mean…she sounds just like her. _Erwine sighed.

_Don't think about it. It's an incredibly low chance of actually meeting such lookalikes, it's just a coincidence, don't make this into something it isn't, you'll only distract yourself. _

_I understand, _Erwine said, knowing that the girl was probably right. She kept leaping along, knowing that their targets couldn't be far, and was happy that the enemy jamming could not stop short-distance communication, so finding the team should be easier with that ability.

Mila was already calling out to anyone who might be in the area, but no response had come as of yet. The seven stood on one building, looking out at the ruined, burning city around them. The hive towers were a ways away as they all shouted out to anyone who may be listening.

Then Erwine frowned. She felt something strange. She looked down at her neck. Her soul gem was glowing a bit brightly. It was a strange light. She'd seen it before. _A witch, _she told the others, _there's one nearby. _Erwine looked down at the street below, hearing a new sound. A girl was screaming.

Erwine frowned. She leapt down, against her better judgment. Wei was the first to follow, and Justinia urged the others to go as well. _I hear it as well, _Justinia said, and the others all issued their confirmations.

Erwine looked to the right, seeing a girl running out of a building. She was screaming, tears flowing from her eyes. Erwine ran towards her. She was about thirteen years old, roughly Erwine's height and size.

She paused as saw the seven girls in front of her. Her eyes went wide. "Are…are you magical girls?" she asked.

Erwine nodded, smiling sweetly. She extended a hand. "Yes, I'm Erwine. What's wrong?"

"My friend...she…she's in trouble!" the girl shouted, "She said…she said she made a contract…but nothing got better, and then her jewelry, it started turning all black. I tried to run away to find help…please, you have to save her!"

Erwine calmed the girl, sweeping her into her arms. "Where is she? In that building?" Erwine asked. "What did she wish for? Please, calm down."

"Yeah…she's in there." The girl was far too hyperactive to answer anything more, had Erwine not used her magic to calm the girl down. "She…she wished for our friend…to come back to life…"

Erwine's face adopted a more sorrowful look, but she hid it from the girl for the second it was there. "Alright," Erwine said, taking a step back, "We'll go help her right now."

"Can you bring her back?" the girl asked desperately.

Erwine took a deep breath. She just grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her along as the other followed. The younger girl led them down a set of stairs into the basement of the building. The other girl lay against the wall, obviously in pain. Erwine saw that her soul gem was nearing the event horizon. A girl was beside her, she seemed to have no idea what was going on, but was doing what she could to ease her friend's suffering.

Erwine leapt across the room, tearing off her nettings and placing them on the girl's soul gem. The magical girl, her light brown hair stained with blood and dust, looked up with shameful eyes. "Hey…" she whispered, tears coming from her eyes, "I messed up, didn't I?"

"You did fine," Erwine said, "You'll be just fine. Just focus, you won't die here. I promise." The girl was crying, harder now.

"It hurts…" she whispered, her voice faint, distant. "Everything…" The blackness in her gem glowed brighter. Erwine whipped her head around. Justinia handed her the netting. Erwine applied that. The blackness began to fade, just a little bit.

"They all said…the teachers…they said…not to be selfless…" The girl shuddered as Erwine knelt beside her, clasping her hands in her own. "But-but I wished for her to come back…why I am punished?" She looked over to the side, at the girl who still knelt beside her.

Erwine didn't have an answer to that question. She asked, gently, "What's your name?"

"Iria, Iria Noel," the girl replied.

"Everything will be fine, Iria," Erwine said gently. "Please, try to think of something happy, it'll help."

The girl shook her head. "The past few months…nothing has gone right…they say the Goddess has abandoned you. And here I am…I just wished for something good to happen…and now I'm punished…" She looked Erwine in the eyes, "I just want to die with a smile on my face…"

"And you will. You won't die here," Erwine promised. The sentence was said with little conviction the first time. Then Erwine looked into the girl's eyes, deeper. She saw the despair, the absolute despair, which was in the girl's heart. She realized just how cruel the world was to good people like her. "You won't die here." Erwine repeated, the sentence carrying more truth this time.

Erwine looked over her shoulder. "We've stabilized her, but we're not going to pull her out of this condition at this rate." The girl was almost unconscious, but her soul gem was not growing any darker. "Does anyone have a grief seed on them?"

Everyone shook their heads. "Damn it," Erwine said. "I need more cubes," she said.

"Can't spare them," Justinia said. "We need them in case we run into trouble." Erwine knew she was right. But that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

Telepathically now, she ordered. _Justinia, get outside, try to find a nearby witch. Chances are that there might be one because of the way things are right now. Ayelen, Sanae, Sechylia, go out with her, make sure that you're unharmed, and call us if you find anything. Mila, stay here with me, I want someone good in case she turns._

Justinia grinned at this, but led the others outside of the building. The other girl, Iria's friend, walked over. "Will she be alright?"

Erwine took a deep breath. She let it out, then looked the girl in the eyes. "I don't know," Erwine said. "But if I say run, you are going to leave this building, and find the other girls, alright? Please trust me, if I say run, you will want to run."

The girl nodded, scared of what was going on. Mila knelt down next to Erwine. She looked at the girl's soul gem. She sighed. Then she looked at Erwine. _She'll be gone in about ten minutes if she doesn't get healed soon. _Erwine nodded.

_Can you spare your cubes? _Erwine asked. The girl nodded. Mila removed hers, placing them around the girl's gem. Mila took a closer look, as did Erwine. _Maybe fifteen, twenty now. _Erwine said. _But once that time passes…_

Justinia didn't get back for another five minutes. She didn't bring good news. _There is a witch in the area, but I also believe there is a group of enemies. Not daemons or humans. Enemy girls, perhaps traitor knights. They are beginning to direc-_The message cut off, as did the signal.

Erwine and Mila looked at each other with horror in their eyes. Erwine looked at the other girl. "Find a corner of this place to hide, and stay there," Erwine said as she stood up, her blade appearing in her hand. Mila stood as well.

"What are you?" Mila asked, a moment later clarifying, "Your magic, I mean."

"Materialize wings, and command people," Erwine said, "And you?"

"Can materialize things from flower petals," Mila explained. She reached her hand. There was an explosion of lily blossoms and a flash of light, and an old revolver popped into her hand, modified to hold a small blade at the end for stabbing, like the larger bayonet of a rifle. "Usually go with this, anything else takes more magic than I would prefer."

Erwine nodded, then proposed. "Let's go and make sure no one's about. I'll go first, my wings can protect me if I get attacked." She materialized her wings and walked up the steps. Folding the magic appendages around herself, she looked from side to side, then up and down. There was nobody there.

Erwine leapt out into the street, spinning around as she expected attack from someone atop the building. There was nothing. Erwine realized she had no idea how many enemies there were. If it was one or two, maybe even three, there was a chance. If more, than not at all. She also didn't know what kind of magic she was to be going up against. Mila was standing in the doorway, her gun at the ready, raised.

Erwine looked all around herself, seeing nothing. Nothing moved. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She realized that the enemy could come from any direction, and eventually decided to make her way back inside. She felt no mental attacks, which meant the telepath had to be focused on Justinia.

She backed up towards Mila, who then turned around. "Let's stay back to back, so teleporters can't get us," Erwine suggested. Mila nodded, facing down the stairs as Erwine carefully walked backwards. Mila was about to walk into the room where the other girl was, till she saw something that astounded her.

A grief seed was laying by the girl's soul gem. It hadn't come from anywhere. Iria shook her head. Mila stepped back, pointing her gun out as it was knocked away from her by something she couldn't see. A hand was round her throat.

Erwine spun around, leaping back as she did so. Her wings around her prevented the attack from behind from hitting her. Erwine expanded her wings out, trying to strike behind her as she swing her sword in front of her. The teleporter was not hit, but the invisibility generator had some kind of gun, and several rounds from the machine pistol went into Erwine's gut. She wasn't dead. Mila came within an inch of suffocation, before she was tossed back onto the ground.

Erwine struggled to get up, seeing a girl checking on Iria. She was a healer. Erwine crawled over Mila, barely making it into the other room. She only saw the healer, who looked up at her. Erwine tightened her mental defenses up, so the healer spoke words. "Sorry, but we figured you'd try to kill us." She was dressed in purple mage knight armor, bearing Chaotic insignias. Erwine glared daggers at her. "We just had to take action first." Erwine looked to her left seeing the invisibility generator decloak. They were all helmeted, Erwine didn't see their faces. The gun was pointed at Erwine.

"Just remain calm," the healer insisted. "We'll make sure this girl is alright." She cocked her head to the side. "And I guess we'll be leaving this one for you. I can understand that, however. Your effort was appreciated. Do go take care of that witch I'm hearing about."

The healer stood up, looking into Erwine's eyes. "This girl will be fine." She clasped the grief seed in her hand. "Do take care of her, though. She did a good thing."

The three girls disappeared from the room. Mila was standing up at that point. She had her gun out, looking around the room. Erwine got to her feet. The moment she saw Mila walking towards Iria to check on her, she was about to call for Nada. "Mila," she said, correcting herself, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Mila said as she knelt down. Iria was shaking in fear. "Glad they didn't kill us."

"That didn't make any sense," Erwine remarked. "They want to capture me."

"That has been stated, but let's not focus on the negatives." Mila said. "The jamming is gone." _Justinia? You there? _

_Yes. We are unharmed. We were not attacked in any way. And you? _

_Traitors showed up, but all they did was heal the girl. She's fine, but I think that witch problem is something to take care of. _Erwine said. Mila looked at Erwine.

"That would be a waste," she said, almost angrily, "We have to find the others.

"It's going to kill innocents." Erwine said.

"They're already dead as it is," Mila spat back, "What's the use in saving those who will only live on to lose their minds and suffer more?"

Erwine was completely astonished. "W-what are you saying?! We can just leave people to die!" She pointed at Iria and the other, "Are they 'already dead'?! Why care about them?!" The two girls jumped at the sound of her shouting.

"Because…" Mila searched for an answer, "Because my friends are out there. I'm not going to waste time killing some witch…oh…" The realization hit hard.

"Witches are your friends," Erwine said solemnly, "And they could be stuck in there, maybe that witch is one of them." Mila froze in thought, as Erwine walked over to Iria, who was shakily standing up. The girl was dressed in the bright colors of her costume.

"Hey," Erwine said, "Do you know those big hive towers, in the center of the city?" Erwine asked.

Iria nodded. "Can you get to them?" Erwine wondered. "You can jump pretty high and far as a magical girl, so it shouldn't be that much of a problem. If you can get close, the others can come and find you."

Iria nodded. "I think I can get there." She said.

Her friend beside her looked worried, though. "What about me?" she asked. Erwine smiled.

"Iria can probably carry you there," Erwine said. "Or we can send one of our own to help out with the trip, alright?"

_Sechylia, we need some help getting them back to the tower. Could you help out? _Erwine knew it was no insult to the girl. She was simply the worst in any kind of combat situation.

_I'd be happy to. _Erwine knew it would give the girl plenty of relief. They would wait for Justinia and the others to arrive before Sechylia departed with the two girls, while Erwine and Mila approached the four remaining. "We're going to deal with that witch," Erwine declared, glaring at Mila.

The girl looked away, "I apologize…it's been like hell…"

Erwine shook her head, "I can't blame you, I'm no paragon of rationality."

Mila agreed. "It'll take up valuable time, but you're right. We've still no idea where the team is, and they might just be in the thing's labyrinth. There is a massive amount of grief here, so any witch has to be powerful."

Erwine nodded. "Thank you." She realized that the words were really quite sincere.

"I'll keep calm in the future," Mila assured her.

"Don't worry, I won't think any less of you," Erwine said. She smiled at the girl. Mila found it a bit strange, and didn't return the gesture. They had just met, after all.

_That girl…_Mila thought, _what's her deal with me? I should have gone out with Justinia, I'm more suited to fighting anything that could attack out there. We only just met, right? _Mila combed her mind, trying to find some time that she had seen the girl before. _Yes…there's been no other time I have seen her. _

_Perhaps I had some vision at some point? A dream that I forgot? No…unless it was a mutual one, then she wouldn't know me. That would mean that she has seen me at some point in the past. _Mila showed no sign of her thoughts as she jumped along with the rest of the group, _what is she hiding? _The girl wondered, as she stared at Erwine.

* * *

The entrance was the entrance to the building itself. Their soul gems flared up, and the emblem of the witch appeared from nothing. Erwine reached her hand out, and the space opened up before. She was the first through the entrance into the space beyond.

Then Justinia. Then Wei. Ayelen and Sanae would be next. Mila turned around. She scanned the area for any signs of someone following her, then she stepped through.

* * *

"Still no sign of them?" Estelle asked Theodora. The vessel was some twelve hours from reaching the Janicelle system. The ship had been being scanned for the entirety of the voyage.

"Nothing," Theodora confirmed. It had been searched from top to bottom, with Estelle, Nadine, and Theodora all joining in with the other magical girls. There was nothing. Not a trace that anyone was in the ship, anywhere. They knew that teleportation was impossible within the warp, and they had checked for invisibility generation.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. The three inquisitors knew that the reports from Curia had to be wrong. "But what if they were right, to an extent?" Estelle wondered, "Perhaps they got onto another ship, perhaps the _Yslevia, _or the _Rosie_?"

"Both are possibilities," Theodora agreed, "But as things are now, we have to assume that they are not on this ship." She looked at Nadine. "You've been silent, have anything to add?"

The inquisitor shrugged. "No. We've gone over all the evidence. There isn't much more to be talked about, is there?"

Theodora shook her head and shrugged, "No, not as far as I know."

* * *

The labyrinth was a dark place. Not surprising, given the rather dark conditions of the place where the magical girl that gave birth to it came from. Yet it seemed too dark. It was expansive, the space stretching for over fifty feet in all directions. Erwine was in the lead, walking towards. She could barely make out a tall rise just ahead of herself.

The rise was exactly even and flat, stretching in either direction for a long ways before abruptly cutting off, before the actual space of the labyrinth itself cut off. Erwine looked at her gem. "This is a powerful one," she said. "Might be a grand."

"Those rarely make labyrinths," Mila reminded her.

"I know that, but in this case I would imagine that it would. They generally wander about to harvest grief, but in this case, all it would need to do was sit in this city, and all the grief it would want would come to it." Erwine said.

"Erwine's right," Justinia said, walking a few steps behind Erwine, "Anything's natural want is to expend as little energy as possible. The same would apply to even a witch. It can just sit here, and let the grief come pouring in. Its labyrinth may be massive, watch out."

Erwine approached the rise. She was about to jump up. Mila was right behind her. Then a series of bright lights flashed on. They looked like the bright lights one might find on a stage. The entire space was suddenly filled with light, it all shining against a single curtain that now obscured what was beyond the rise of what now seemed to be a stage.

A loud, wild cackle echoed through the room. The curtains pulled away, revealing a stage in absolute chaos. Loud noises echoed through the room as a myriad of distinctly otherworldly things occurred in front of them. Masks, like the kind one might find actors wearing, danced through the air. The ones that had faces of humor cackled wildly. The ones that had faces of sorrow wailed.

There must have been hundreds of the things running about the massive stage. The backdrop was an psychotic mess of colors, changing every split second until the backdrop was just a blur of different shades, all blending together.

Then the lights started flashing on and off, changing colors. It was by no means random. There was a pattern to them, a pattern that Erwine did not dare to try and discern, for fear of going mad as a result. There was nothing else but the stage in the massive dark space.

Erwine had her blade out, and she considered her options. She could not find the witch anywhere. _Clear these things out, _Erwine said, the noise too loud for a normal voice. She leapt up onto the stage, blade raised. The moment her foot made contact, a trapdoor opened beneath her. She opened her wings immediately, which should have held her up.

Then something held onto her, and she disappeared from view of the others in a second. Mila leapt after her, _be careful, stay up here! I'll make sure she's alright! _Mila barely made it through before the trapdoor shut. None of the masks dancing about the state reacted in any way.

Justinia experimentally prodded at the trapdoor. Or at least the space where it had been. Nothing happened. It was as if nothing was there. She jumped up on the same spot, the other three all holding onto her hands. Nothing happened. "It was going for Erwine, Mila managed to get in. This thing wants to play with us," she surmised, "I imagine this entire stage is rigged. I have a solution."

She rolled off, before thirty rocket launchers flashed into existence in bursts of red particles. The other girls backed away before Justinia leapt up into the air. The volley of projectiles was away. The ensuing detonations left a massive cloud of flames and smoke.

Justinia touched down again, a draw of Sanae's blade cutting the smoke away. Much to their surprise, the stage was ripped up where the rockets had hit. The only downside was that there was nothing beneath it but the normal ground of the dark space. No space that Erwine or Mila could have been pulled down into, nor any sign of the two.

But it did make the masks react. The multitude of faces, carved delicately from porcelain, descended upon the magical girls, making their associated sounds as they flew through the air. Nothing seemed to be guiding them. Justinia just nodded as though it were nothing, new rounds appearing in the barrels around herself.

* * *

Erwine dropped onto a slanted pathway. Whatever had been pulling her down released. Her left foot slide down a little bit as she balanced herself, before she looked up, seeing Mila fall from above. She spread her wings and hopped up, the girl falling into her arms. She descended to the ground, before she was punched in the face by the girl.

Mila flipped out of Erwine's arms, landing in a crouch with her gun drawn. "Erwine Braune," she said, voice accusatory, "Who are you really?"

"What do you mean?!" Erwine cried, looking around the place she was in. There was a railing to the pathway, and the pathway led both down and up to tall pillars, reaching up to an invisible ceiling. Other pathways led away from those pillars to other ones. It was a maze of walkways and the large columns they were centered around.

And the entire place was tinted a burnt yellow hue. Erwine saw Mila tinted with the same color. "You have been acting strangely since the moment I saw you." The girl said. "A fourteen year old in command? Looking at me with those eyes? You had me stay with you, when I should have been the one going out with Justinia!" She tightened her grip on the gun, and Erwine could tell it was pointed right at her soul gem.

"This is not what you think it is," Erwine assured the girl, "I am not your enemy."

"You can say that," Mila said, "But are you really not?" her eyes bored into Erwine's, and the girl staggered back against the railing.

"Really…you just look like someone I knew," Erwine said, "Like my best friend, in fact."

"Good lie," Mila commented. Her voice was shaky, most likely from fear. Behind her eyes was weeks of tension and anxiety. "What's the truth?"

"You don't trust me?" Erwine asked worriedly. "Why not?"

"I just met you, I've no reason to trust you. You were caught in a warp storm, who knows what got into your head?" Mila asked. Then she explained. "You will stay away from me. You are going to go one way, and I will go the other. I imagine the rest of your group is following your instructions, so I will not be joining you all again. I shall report this back to Sabula, and I hope she shall reconsider your position."

"Please," Erwine begged, "You're overreacting to this."

"Someone died in front of my eyes," Mila spoke in a tone verging on outright mania, growing louder as she went on, "I saw her being ripped apart by those daemons. I barely got her soul gem out…and then I got to experience what it is like to watch someone turn into a witch!" She backed away from Erwine even more as Erwine took just one step forwards.

"Get away from me!" Mila screamed, terror in her eyes. "You're one of them, aren't you?! It was all a lie, just to get within us! They didn't kill you back there because you're one of them, and they're leaving me to you! Fifteen years old?!" She shouted, "That's stupid! I'm not half as strong as you are, and I've at most a year on you! Who are you really?"

Erwine put on a sad smile. "I wish I could say that I was someone older than I really was," she said, "Because it would make explaining things that much less awkward." Her smile disappeared. "Mila Andrisa, I served under an inquisitor who physically and mentally abused me within the first twenty-four hours of my contract being made." Her voice dipped down low, "Later she abused me in other ways, but I don't feel like sharing the details with strangers."

Mila froze. "You're not serious, are you?"

Erwine shook her head. "I like the way I am now, don't get me wrong." Her hand went to her chest, "I enjoy being this state, at least for the most part. But it's all for a reason, Mila. And that reason is not because I'm lying to you, and not because I'm an agent of the enemy."

Erwine stumbled back a few feet as the gun barked. Three times it fired. Erwine nodded, falling backwards. Her body slid a few feet down the walkway before friction brought it to a stop.

Mila stood up, her gun still aimed at Erwine. She pointed down at the barely breathing body. For a few seconds, she stood there, weapon not wavering. Then Mila knelt down. Gun placed beside Erwine, her palms were laid on the girl's wounds as they started to glow. She was obviously on edge, scared of what she was doing at the moment. Her breaths came shakily, and her entire body shuddered every couple seconds. It only took a minute of tension for Erwine to get back to near full capability.

Mila's gun was down. She looked Erwine in the eyes, waiting for the girl to strike and end her now. Mila reached out to Erwine. "My assumptions were incorrect," Mila said apologetically. Erwine took the hand, and Mila stood up, helping Erwine up. Mila's foot slid under the barrel of her gun, kicking it upwards to be caught in her hand.

"Sorry," Erwine said as she looked to the side, "For acting so strangely."

"I guess I can't apologize for existing," Mila replied, then asked with concern, "You going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine," Erwine assured her. An attempt to change the topic followed, "Perhaps we should be more focused at the moment on getting out of this place. It seems that this witch is indeed powerful." She scanned around, assessing their surroundings once more.

However, the other girl was not yet ready to go quiet. "Am I like her? This friend of yours?" Mila asked, "Sorry to ask more, but I really do want to know."

Erwine frowned as she looked over Mila. "Appearance-wise, certainly." A bit of a smile showed up on her face, "But she was brave, too." What went unspoken was the 'more so than me'. "I get the feeling she might have pulled a gun on somebody she just met and thought was a spy."

Mila chuckled. "Well perhaps we're just copies of one another?"

"I've seen some strange things," Erwine shook her head, trying to find the lightheartedness to grin, "Don't discount that with a laugh."

"Yes, the whole Hadiens Incident," Mila said. "I was barely out of training when that went down. I heard a lot of things, everyone here was in a panic, thought that things were a lot worse than they actually were."

Erwine spread her wings. "I guess that'll happen when a grand witch is used as nothing more than a catalyst for something more," she remarked. She leapt up, flapping the wings in an attempt to gain height. Black tendrils reach from below and yanked her back down.

She planted her feet and glanced down, seeing the things retreat back in. They didn't harm her in the slightest. Mila knelt down. She looked at the walkway carefully, running her fingers over the surface. "They can't hurt us, just restrain us. Let's get moving before the witch decides to start hurting us."

"A bit more thoughtful than her," Erwine said, "So there's that."

"Long lost twin sisters, than," Mila chuckled. Erwine brushed herself off, thinking that bits of the things were still on her. "If that's not too cliché for you?"

Attempting a chuckle, she stopped halfway, dodging any gaze Mila gave her. Erwine looked down and then up. "Which way?"

Mila flicked between the two for a moment. "Down," She decided, "That seems the most likely."

"Down it is," Erwine agreed with a whisper, then turned around and took the lead, with Mila strolling right behind her.

"Are you alright?" Mila asked. She wasn't blind nor deaf, and anyone with some sense could see something was off. "You…you seem like something's wrong."

"From putting a gun to my head to worrying about me, that was fast." Erwine commented, more to try and dodge the question.

"If you don't want to talk…" Mila sighed, "Then just say it."

"Oh really now?" Erwine chuckled, "What could I be doing better?"

"Not acting like you're some stalker who somehow knows who I am despite the fact that we've never met. That was a bit disturbing." Mila explained, "But I guess I haven't seen have the stuff you have, being a PDF girl and all."

"I think you'll be just as jaded as I once this whole experience is over," Erwine said.

"Maybe," Mila said, "But I'll probably just get reassigned to some other planet, not that I wouldn't like that."

"Not interested in traveling about?" Erwine asked.

"If I can avoid it," Mila explained, "I get that a lot of bad stuff happens in that line of work. I'm fine sticking around in one place and dealing with wraiths, and any other local issues that might pop up…though I suppose this isn't exactly a local issue anymore, is it?"

"Indeed," Erwine said. They walked around the pillar, on the tiny edge that went around it, before heading upwards on another pathway. There was not much they could do but explore, and hope that something lead them to a path out.

A minute or so passed, they were going back down again, as they looked all over the large area, seeing no end to the expanse. Mila was still behind Erwine. "Do you dislike me for wanting to stay planetary?" Mila asked. "I've heard there's a lot of inquisitors with prejudice against us."

"Not at all," Erwine replied, "Not too many dislike you types. After all, you're the ones who risk getting bored. You also have to live a perfectly normal life, but pretend like you're just a normal girl. Can't imagine what that's like."

"Yeah, that can be hard sometimes," Mila said. "Living what is basically a lie, looking at the faces of the girls around you and knowing that you'll outlive all of them. Aging normally for a little while, then just dropping off the face of the planet after a certain point. Or if you're truly popular, then you just switch bodies whenever you need to actually perform some magical girl duties, sticking with some other body that's modified to age as you do…"

Erwine nodded silently. "It can't be fun…can it?"

"I enjoy it," Mila said, "And I guess I'm just too much of a coward to face real work."

Erwine spun around. She looked Mila in the eyes. She wasn't angry, but worried. "Please…don't ever call yourself a coward. The line between bravery and stupidity is very thin." A pause, then she said, "Even I'm not sure where I stand." Mila got the message.

They kept walking, wondering where the path would lead them. The place was absolutely silent, the strange burnt orange glow till disrupting their vision. The two girls, from two different worlds, kept walking.

* * *

The army of masks charged at the four magical girls. Wei was leaping to the rear, her arms waving about and bright lights flashing around herself. Sanae leapt forwards, arms already on her blade. Ayelen was behind her, while Justinia moved back towards Wei.

The first volley from Justinia resulted in a series of detonations in the air, blasting apart the first wave of the objects. Sanae was leaping in next, and a massive burst of energy revealed her blade being drawn. Several dozen masks were cut in two as the girl leapt up into the air and spun around.

Ayelen launched a volley of javelins into the gathered mass, knocking down more and more. _Make this a big one, _Justinia said to Wei, _don't hold back, you still have your cubes. _Wei gave her affirmation, and focused harder. Justinia returned to firing upon the swarm of masks that continued to attack.

They did nothing but through themselves at the girls, so they all began to believe that perhaps the witch was not as strong as they thought. The masks swooped in, only doing damage by bumping into them at a high speed, which was easily avoided, or even absorbed by a strong stance and a magic-enhanced body.

Ayelen batted them away as she summoned javelin after javelin, firing again and again into what had become one large mass of the objects that were given life. Sanae cut them down, her blade easily parting the porcelain they seemed to be made from.

Loud cracks echoed as Justinia's detonations split them apart, throwing all across the room. The numbers did not seem to be decreasing in the slightest. Sanae and Ayelen kept fighting, but Justinia narrowed her eyes, noticing that something had to be off.

_This witch…these things are worse than cannon fodder. What's it trying to do? _Her eyes widened for a brief second. She leapt forwards, arms reaching out to yank Ayelen and Sanae backwards. She dissipated her launchers. _It's trying to wear us down! _Justinia shouted, _there's a real attack here, but it's just waiting to us it at the right time! _

She yanked out her knife, knowing that it would be a better weapon against these kinds of things. She still had to conserve her magic. Then the masks started changing. Clusters of them stuck together, porcelain twisting, bending and warping so that the things could fit together into clusters of twisted visages.

They formed large spheres, floating about in the air. Justinia grinned. _We forced its hand, _she said, _by calling that attack. _She sheathed her blade, rockets appearing once again. Sanae and Ayelen were already moving out to strike at the forming clusters, and multiple were cut down.

Yet there had been hundreds and hundreds of masks before. Now there were around fifty of the clusters of them. A few were cut down before the others could form and attack. Bright beams of multicolored light emanated from the mouths of the things, shooting about the room, ricocheting off the walls.

The room was instantly filled with the beams, becoming a rainbow-colored deathtrap in a second. Justinia leapt for Wei. She managed to block most of the beams from hitting the girl, but at a cost to herself. She slumped to the ground, burns covering her flesh. Sanae and Ayelen had retreated from the things, doing their best to deflect the incoming laser beams.

Ayelen brought up enough javelins to form a barrier around Wei. Sanae knelt down beside Justinia, ensuring the girl was alright. Handing her one of her nettings, Sanae spun around, watching as the clusters moved towards the gathered girls. They were not firing a second barrage, so there was that.

However, they were doing something else that didn't seem very beneficial. The porcelain warped and changed as they approached, long jagged edges forming and twisting out. Then the things paused. Sanae could tell they were about to charge. And against so many, the girls would be ground against the wall.

Wei grinned, the concentric circles of magic around reaching their full luminosity. The air hummed with energy as her arms moved, and she silently gave the command to strike. Six concentric circles were in front of Wei's arm, five more floating around her. A single bright concentration of lines was ahead of the concentric circles. The prism rushed out forwards. Through the concentric circles, from her arm, a beam of light was fired. It shot out towards the familiars. Then the five other circles shot outwards as well. The concentric ones flashed into bursts of particles.

The beam hit the prism, both detonating in bursts of light, leaving behind a massive volley of individual beams. Then the five large circles adopted positions around the group of familiars. The beams spread out, only to bounce off the circles. They kept bouncing around and around, deflected by the field as they struck at the familiars again and again.

The entire initiation of the attack took about a second, but the actual field itself lasted for five seconds. Five seconds of bright brilliant lights, making an impact on the eyes of all who gazed upon the scene.

Sanae and Ayelen's momentarily paused in awe, while Justinia merely smiled proudly. The circles dissipated, the beams shooting out all across the room. But not a single one hit one of the girls. They came close, but none hit. "Finish it!" Wei shouted. Ayelen already had her volley of javelins summoned around herself.

She fired them. The already damaged familiars were cut down by the salvo, only a few remaining after the barrage. Porcelain shattered, and the things fell to the ground breaking apart into even smaller pieces. Sanae than leapt in, her blade slicing down the things one after another. She cut the fragments into smaller fragments.

Justinia was standing up at this point. She passed the cubes back to Sanae, before looking at Wei. "Good job," she said. Then the room went dark.

* * *

Erwine and Mila had spent about fifteen minutes wandering through whatever part of the labyrinth they were in at the moment. Still no method of escape had presented itself to them, but they knew that somebody above would be able to defeat the thing. It could not be too long now.

They were not making much noise, any conversation having died out a while back. Any meaningful conversation at least. They would make small talk, about what they liked, and things such as that, but nothing truly important.

Then Erwine found a gun pointed at her face as she was about to round a corner. It was an old rifle, seemingly a semi-automatic weapon, definitely ballistic. Erwine stepped back, her hands going up as Mila drew her gun. Then she found a sharp edge pressed against the back of her neck. They were trapped on the edge of the pillar, one person behind them, and one person ahead, no way to go.

They had not tried leaping off, out of fear that would only make things worse. "Who are y-Mila!" one of the voices shouted. It was the girl pointing the gun at Erwine. She had stepped out around the corner, pushing Erwine back.

Mila had her hands up. "Yes, please don't worry. This girl is a friend." She took a deep breath, "It's fine, help has arrived."

"Who is she?" the one with the gun demanded, not yet ready to lower her guard.

"Erwine Braune," Mila replied, "She's on our side."

"That one?!" the girl holding the axe to Mila cried, sounding more concerned now. Both girls dissipated their weapons, before the other apologized.

"Sorry about that, we had to be sure." But her glare didn't stray from Erwine's face.

"My reputation precedes me, I see," Erwine observed, "Not sure if I should feel proud or not." She looked at the girl in front of herself. It seemed that the one with the gun had blonde hair, while the one with the axe had dark hair. Skin color seemed to be generally light for both of them. Of course, Erwine couldn't tell for certain. The orange tint was still present, and was still disrupting the vision of all of them. She found it incredibly annoying that it was there.

"Depends," the gun-wielder started, then she saluted. "Taleza," she introduced herself, after which she continued, "On whether or not you enjoy fame or infamy."

"Great," Erwine commented, before she explained, "We came in to take care of the witch, I assume you two are one of those pairs we're looking for?"

"Yes," Taleza confirmed. "We came in here about five hours ago, got trapped down here. We've been looking around, but haven't found anything so far. However, we believe the witch is down there." She pointed down at the space below.

"How do you know?" Mila asked. The girl with the axe looked down. "We've tried jumping down, but something drove us back up each time. Some force that is trying to direct us upwards. We've looked around, and there don't seem to be any ways down there either. We decided to wait to see if any reinforcements would arrive, we didn't want to risk our lives heading down there and going against a grand witch."

"Well, let's try to figure something out," Erwine said, "We have to find the others so we can try and get you all off the planet. I assume you're aware of the attempt to create a warp breach that is in the works?"

"We are," Taleza confirmed, "Is it happening now?"

"No, but it should be happening very soon." Erwine leapt off the edge. She spread her wings, attempting to push herself downwards. Sure enough, she encountered a strange resisting force. It pushed back up against her. She beat her wings as hard as she could, but in the end, she was launched back up.

She was floating in the air, at the height of the other girls, but could not go any further down. "It's some kind of wide field," Erwine said, "Interesting. I bet those tendril things will probably come back if we somehow get past it."

"Any ideas as to how?" Taleza wondered.

"It looks pretty solid to me," Erwine said. "What's your magic?"

"Ranged specialist," Taleza explained. She gestured to the axe-wielder. "Shield generator."

"We could use the shield to stop those things from grabbing us," Mila said, "But this field doesn't seem passable at this point."

Erwine swung her sword downwards. It hit nothing. "A force," Erwine observed, "Not a field. Perhaps it's only generated when something tries to go beneath a certain level…" Erwine remarked. "Presumably, this force would be the same wherever the pillar was, but what if we collapsed the thing."

"Mila," she said, "Jump out here, prepare to fire a big shot. Wait, do you fire real bullets, or magical?"

"Magical," Mila replied, "They're crafted from blossoms, so I guess that counts."

"Then get out here," Erwine said, "Magic particles don't fall in line with physics, so this field shouldn't be able to stop them." The girl leapt out, and Erwine wrapped her arm around Mila's, her wings pushing hard.

"Can't aim like this," Mila commented, with her left arm being held by Erwine's right, and her body awkwardly hanging out to the side. Erwine sighed. She adjusted Mila so that she was holding the girl around the waist.

"We're both girls, it's perfectly fine," Mila muttered. She summoned her gun, pointing it out. "Firing at the pillar, I assume?"

"Yes, one shot down, and then one shot above. Wait!" Erwine shouted, right before Mila was to fire. "You two," Erwine said, "Get out as well, put your shield up. Full intensity."

The two girls leapt out, the shield going up and glowing bright right as Erwine said. "Fire." Mila's gun flashed bright. A glowing projectile shot at the pillar below where they had been standing. Then she aimed upwards, and fired again.

There were two detonations, bright light shining out from the explosions. Erwine heard the sound of the stone crumbling beneath the attack. "Taleza!" she called. The girl opened fire as well as the girls started to descend. Black tendrils reached out from the pillars, going out towards the four.

The shield generator struck out with her axes, throwing them at the things. They curved around them, but the pillar was destabilized at this point. Erwine let go of Mila and pushed herself downwards. She grabbed onto Taleza and the axe-wielder, before tossing both forwards. Her foot found a place in Mila's back and launched her forwards with what was more of a stern push than a harsh kick.

The three girls pushed themselves against the pillar. The weakened structure moved a little. There were now gashes in the pillar both above and below the thin edge around it. A bit more force would push it out and cause it to fall. Then Erwine launched herself forwards. She kicked into the pillar a bit higher up, swinging her sword out to cut deeper into the gash. They needed it to be weakened from the top, not the bottom.

The top gave way, and the thing started collapsing. Then the bottom snapped, and the section of the pillar fell away. It started going downwards immediately, the three girls atop it. It passed the level where the force had pushed Erwine back up within a split second. It went through unhindered.

"Ah-ha!" Erwine shouted, "It was weight! Not force! That was why we couldn't breach it!" The section fell downwards, and after about twenty seconds, a bottom did start to come into sight.

The four girls stood atop the pillar saw that they were to fall onto a floor that seemed to be part of a massive circular space. There was a bright glow from farther away, and as Erwine looked out, she figured that was where the witch was.

She tried calling out to Justinia, the telepathy having been cut earlier when she was pulled away. _Erwine?! _Justinia replied, _where are you?! _

_Approaching the witch, and you? _Justinia was frantic, as if she was in the middle of battle.

_Fighting it! It's at the bottom of some large space! Perhaps the one you were pulled down into. _

_I know. We found the other girls, coming as soon as we can! _Erwine said. She explained things to the others. They leapt off the pillar before it hit the ground, and started running as fast as they could towards the light.

* * *

There was a rumbling sound. The girls looked all around, wondering where it was coming from. Then the floor dropped out beneath them. They were all falling downwards, the event happening too fast for anyone to try and stop the descent. There was not much they could do anyways, as Justinia observed the ceiling closing up above them.

The world was tinted a strange hue of burnt orange now, and the glow covered everything. They would fall for about thirty-seconds, before touching down on the ground. Landing was easy, but they would all look to what lay in the center of what looked like a massive circle.

It was clear of all the pillars that the rest of the area had. A bright orange light shone down upon the space, almost blinding in its intensity. But things could still be seen. And what they could pick out was what seemed to be a series of human…bodies.

The ten bodies were standing in a perfectly straight line, masks of joy and sorrow covering their faces. They looked just like the ones from above. Justinia held her arm out, indicating that they should all stay back. "This has to be the true form of the witch," she explained. "Let's destroy it now."

Her launchers came up, as Wei began formulating a program just in case. Then the blinding light grew even brighter. Justinia shut her eyes thanks to the intensity of the light. The others did as well, the light so bright that even the filters a magical girl had couldn't stop it.

They all backed away as they heard movement. There were unnatural cracks and crunches, accompanied by clanking and clattering. Then the light ended. When it ended, ten large masks were pushed together to form a large pillar. Twenty arms and twenty legs came out of the thing at various places along its body. Both arms and legs held it up, and both arms and legs were up near the top of the thing.

It stood up tall, reaching up about twelve feet, a loud screech emanating from a mouth that did not exist. It stumbled forwards. Its arms and legs, the ones that did not hold it up, started twisting and turning. The entire thing was made from pure white porcelain, and the limbs now morphed into jagged blades and thick clubs.

With unexpected agility, it leapt forwards. It smashed itself down towards Sanae. She rolled aside, hands on her blade as she stood up. She drew. Then the thing, with incredible speed, swung itself to the side, its legs bending at impossible angles to allow it to bend in the way it did.

Sanae's blade bounced off, and she was knocked across the room. But she recovered, stabilizing herself and coming to a stop. She sheathed her sword, preparing to move in again as Ayelen summoned several dozen of her javelins.

She let them fly, but the volley of projectiles clinked off the surface of the witch. The thing stood up straight again, lumbering towards Ayelen. Justinia fire ten of her rockets. The thing stumbled back, the impact and force of the explosions enough to stagger it, but that was all it did.

Sanae used this chance to strike in at the limbs below it, instead of the masks of the creature. She drew her sword. A burst of energy was released as the weapon emerged from its sheath. The weapon cut across several of the limbs beneath the witch, and they were severed.

The thing stumbled briefly, but then it flipped around. It had a number of limbs about its head, and it now used those to support itself. Tendrils suddenly emerged from the thing and grabbed at Sanae. They wrapped around her arms, sucking her in towards the witch.

Ayelen fired a barrage of javelins, but they were deflected by the wildly waving arms of the thing. It backed away, dancing about as Ayelen tried to close to save Sanae. Wei wasn't yet ready. Justinia leapt in along with Ayelen. Her knife was drawn.

_Distract it, _the crimson-haired girl told the brown-haired one. Ayelen nodded and leapt about the witch, firing salvos of javelins at the thing over and over again. The weapons protruding from the sides of the thing now became focused on attacking Ayelen rather than Justinia.

Justinia leapt upwards towards where Sanae was being drawn in towards the witch. She swung her knife at the tendrils. They were severed by her blows, and Justinia grabbed the girl, leaping away from the witch. Ayelen pulled back as well, but the thing launched a series of attacks there were fast and furious enough to strike her.

Ayelen fell against the floor, blood spilling from multiple cuts, and black and blue bruises all over. Justinia threw Sanae away, who landed easily and moved back in to attack. Justinia took one look at Ayelen to assure she was alright, and then turned back to the witch.

As she prepared to fire her rockets again, she smiled. She took a brief glance at Sanae. At Wei. Over at Ayelen. She…she felt happy. She really did. For one of the first times around somebody else, Justinia really smiled with happiness that came from within herself for herself.

_Justinia! Ayelen! Sanae! Wei! Is anyone there?! _Erwine's voice somehow came through into Justinia's mind.

_Erwine?! _Justinia shouted back frantically, _where are you?! _

_Approaching the witch, and you? _

_Fighting it! It's at the bottom of some large space! Perhaps the one you were pulled down into. _

_I know. We found the other girls, coming as soon as we can! _Justinia took solace in the fact that help would be on the way soon.

That did not make the witch any easier to destroy, however. She fired another volley, but they were shrugged off by the thing. It now noticed that Wei had done nothing, so charged towards her.

There was no way for any of them to stop the thing in its tracks. Sanae was waiting for a better opening, as she did not want to be grabbed again, not when Ayelen had suffered such heavy damage from coming in to save her.

Justinia ran forwards, thinking that Wei would have to abandon the construction of her program. It would only delay things by a short amount of time, but the witch seemed to be gaining in strength. Justinia saw that Wei would rather assure its destruction rather than move.

She wasn't going to make it time at this rate. Justinia reached out, knowing true fear in her heart as she saw the girl's hands glow brighter and brighter as she adopted a stance and prepared to attack. The witch was about to strike down at Wei.

It was a race against time. Then the sound of firing guns came from afar. Two volleys of projectiles came at the witch. The thing was briefly staggered as a multitude of thrown axes struck at it as well. Then Erwine flew in from above.

Her strike did barely anything, or so it seemed. But the attack of the four girls managed to slow the witch enough for Wei to fire her attack off. A bright glare blinded all for a moment, then a massive beam of light shot out from the circles in front of her.

The bright flashed knocked the witch back several steps, and a scream of what seemed to be pain echoed out from the creature. A massive black mark was scorched into one of the masks of the thing's body. Ayelen had recovered by this point, and was already leaping to exploit the thing's damaged state.

Justinia arrived in front of the thing first. A dozen rockets were away as she stood there. The thing staggered back even more. Sanae then rolled in, before leaping out at the witch. She drew her blade, slicing into the burn to create a wide cut. Then Ayelen leapt in. She threw a javelin at the target. Sliding into the porcelain of the creature, it broke through the outer layer and penetrated inside.

Then she jumped towards the javelin. She kicked in, driving the weapon further inside. The material of the witch cracked audibly as more lines of stress spread throughout the single mask. Then it broke into an uncountable number or pieces, exposing a central body that was a single tall pillar of the porcelain.

Justinia drew her knife. She flicked it forwards. The knife embedded itself in the porcelain. The interior was much, much less dense than the exterior. The entire pillar shattered, and the grand witch collapsed to the ground. The body of the thing disappeared as the witch's body flickered.

The labyrinth around them flickered, and then they were all standing in front of the entrance into the building that had been the entrance. Justinia picked up her knife from the ground, sliding it back into its proper place even as the world changed around her.

She looked back at Erwine and the three others. "Thanks for that last minute support," Justinia said with a smile, "Good to see that we found you two." She looked at Taleza and the other. "Can you make it back on your own?"

"Shouldn't we assist?" Taleza looked at Erwine and then at Justinia.

"No," Erwine shook her head. "Sorry, but magic needs to be conserved. We've no cubes to spare ourselves, so you two need to get back and make sure the others are fine. We'll return as soon as we can."

"Alright then," Taleza said. She and the other saluted, and the other girls saluted back. Then the two jumped away, leaping back towards the center of the city.

Justinia sighed as she looked at Erwine. "Well, we managed to waste a large amount of magic. What next?" There was an undertone to her voice. Something that Erwine found strange. The meaning was not deciphered immediately.

Erwine scowled. "We found two of them. We know the areas the others should be in, let's hurry."

"Understood," Justinia said curtly, and Erwine didn't comment on the clearly-implied rudeness.

"Justinia," Wei spoke up, "We defeated a grand witch. We may have been waylaid but you can't say this wasn't worth it." The crimson-haired girl just shrugged.

"With all due respect, Justinia," Mila said, looking at the girl out of the corner of her eye, "She's correct. Erwine's reason for coming here was wrong, but the result was acceptable."

Sanae and Ayelen didn't speak up in her favor, but they also didn't speak out against her. All eyes fell on Justinia to await her response.

"Don't worry," Justinia said, grinning. "Just seeing who's defending who." She shrugged, "As am I, just making a general assessment."

Erwine scowled at her, and her eyes rolled shut while she shook her head. "An exasperated sigh preceded her asking, "Where to next?"

Justinia pulled out the map. They leapt up to the roof of the building they were nearby. "The nearest one is in that direction," Justinia pointed off, "They should be about three minutes travel time, then we can start searching."

"Then let's go," Erwine said, and the others agreed. It was only a small victory, but she could at least take solace in the fact that she'd won some trust back.

* * *

"You know, I get the feeling that something's off about Theodora," Estelle said, laying on her bed. Nadine was next to her. That girl was not lying under the covers like Estelle was. Rather, she was sitting on the side of the bed, looking off elsewhere in the room.

"That's a bit odd," Nadine said, "Why do you say so?"

"What do you think?" Estelle wondered. She looked at Nadine's back. "You can't possibly be saying she's _not _hiding something."

"I don't deny that she has some secret," Nadine said, "It's just that talking about it now is not going to help us in the slightest."

"What do you mean by that?" the younger inquisitor replied.

"I mean that we're still on our way to help Erwine. We can't be speculating about such things when there are more important things," Nadine explained, even though she knew Estelle wouldn't like the explanation.

"That's shaky," Estelle observed. "Don't tell me you're on her side?"

"I'm not on your side or her side. I'm on the side of people who think rationally and carefully. Is accusing Theodora of something that we know nothing about going to put you on that side?" Nadine wondered. She crossed her right leg atop her left, looking over her shoulder at the girl still in bed.

"I'm not accusing her of anything." Estelle countered. "I'm hardly making some kind of official report. You want to talk about brash conclusions, let's talk about…about Adrianne…" Estelle instantly shook her head, "Let's not do that…" she decided.

"Why not?" Nadine wondered, "Are you afraid of remembering, do memories of her hurt?" Her head turned away, "Are you just running away?"

"Don't play this game with me," Estelle growled, "We're not going to discuss Adrianne."

"Why not?" Nadine asked.

Estelle gritted her teeth, turning her head away even though Nadine didn't look at her. "Because it does hurt. I don't like thinking about her." She admitted, for some reason feeling an unbearable shame.

The girl flinched as she felt a hand on her leg, still covered by the sheets. Estelle waited for Nadine's inevitable words, surely something that would hurt her. When nothing came, she glanced curiously at her, finding that the sliver of Nadine's face she could see betrayed a sense of confusion.

She bit her lip before she slowly said, "Even if it hurts…don't forget who she was." Nadine said quietly.

As if she had no idea, Estelle wondered, "And what kind of person was she?"

Nadine looked afraid to whisper, "I don't know." But as though those words were a mistake, she shook her head. Her voice was louder when she corrected herself, "She was just another person. Can I call a person who means so much to me terrible, but at the same time can I call a psychopath good?"

"Do you hate her?" Estelle wondered, debating whether or not she truly desired an answer.

"Sometimes," Nadine admitted, "Sometimes I hate her so much." She shook her head. Her muscles tensed, and her eyes caught Estelle's before the younger girl could move.

"Don't insult her!" Estelle had tears in her eyes, "It…it doesn't matter what she did! She was still Adrianne!"

"I know that." Nadine was on the verge of tears. "And that's why it hurts."

"You don't even know what you feel…" Estelle summarized for herself. She knew the feeling all too well.

Nadine face wasn't sure what it wanted to convey. And it seemed like she felt the same way about her answer. "I don't hate her," Nadine answered, "But it's just hard to look back and see her as good. I know it's because I didn't know her…but still. I never thought that little girl, that beautiful little girl, would become such a person."

"You're just…just disappointed in her?" Estelle asked. She did care about what Nadine felt for Adrianne. And she wasn't going to let the girl walk out believing that the dead girl was a monster.

"Not disappointed. Amazed, surprised, confused, shocked beyond all belief…yes." Nadine sighed, "But disappointment…no. I'm almost ashamed to say I felt none of that. The things she's done, what she did to Erwine…the thing that she made her into…I have to say I'm impressed."

She continued after a brief pause, "As for her personality…well I only knew this new Adrianne for a brief period of time, not even half an hour, before she was gone. She seemed like…like she'd become an amazing person. If only she'd lived…" The older girl's face took on a more sorrowful look.

Estelle realized that this was the first time she'd seen Nadine lament Adrianne's death in any meaningful way. And for her own reasons. Before, she'd seemed to lament it because it had hurt Erwine. The girl's eyes narrowed, the action just barely escaping the attention of Nadine.

The older girl turned around, walking away slowly from the girl behind her. "You know…" The sound was quiet. "Sometimes I-" Nadine spun around. Her eyes were wide, as if she had forgotten that Estelle was behind her. "Wonder…" the single word barely slipped out, Nadine not having been able to restrain it from coming out.

"What do you mean?" Estelle asked. She dropped her legs to the side, standing up straight. Her full costume materialized onto her body. "What are you wondering about?"

Nadine took a step back, in a panic, seemingly. "It was nothing…I'm just…I just started thinking about Erwine. I hope she's alright…"

Estelle knew there was something else. But Nadine's façade was convincing enough to tell Estelle that she was not going to receive answers if she pressed on. She didn't want to drop the issue. Estelle's eyes were solid, she was confident in her answer.

Estelle almost opened her mouth to say something more. She was just a step away from doing so when she decided against it. She trusted Estelle. If a secret was being kept, then it was for a good reason. "She should be fine, she's smart."

"Have you decided on what you're going to do when we arrive?" Nadine asked, "About Erwine?"

Estelle had yet to come to a clear decision on that question. She had been asking herself it for a while, since the moment they set out into the warp from Curia. "I don't know," she replied. "Erwine needs to be punished…I won't let her betrayal go unnoticed."

"I'll let you think on that," Nadine replied, hearing the uncertainty in her words. "Just remember, don't make her into a scapegoat for the mistakes of others." The girl spun about smoothly. The clacking of her heels against the floor signaled her exit from the room.

Estelle watched her go, almost wanting to chase after her, to force her to say whatever it was that she had inside her. Then she shook her head. "She's hurting too," she reminded herself.

In the end, she merely fell back on her bed, eyes staring up at the ceiling as she questioned the decision she would have to make.


	42. Amidst a Planet's Death Throes

The light…it was different now. Maybe it was no longer night, but there was no way to be certain. Wherever the city was on the planet, it was somewhat clear, from mere observation, that perhaps the sun now shown on that part. The magical girls who observed the strange change to a different sort of light were more confident that it was 'daytime'. It was easy to remember how many hours passed, what with memories being easy to access and organize.

Nevertheless, the light was different. Instead of the murky mess caused by the strange ambience and the darkness of the night, there was a low glare across the city. It resembled some people's visions of hell. The ambience hadn't changed, the glow just combined with that of the sun, which somehow shone down through the thick clouds above. Scattered rays of light fell across the city, normal for a morning sun. The strange ambience gave them a different color. They weren't any less bright as they were shifted from yellow and orange into more blue-ish hues. The city still had a dreamlike, surreal nature to it, even as more of it became apparent to those who looked down upon it.

The ruination was easier to see now, the collapsed buildings, the ruined streets, the craters pocketing the ground. If one looked closely enough, which wasn't hard for the magical girls that did look down, then even from a great height they could see the dead that lined the streets.

Fires still burned. The clouds and sky showed no signs of any new weather pattern, despite the clouds being dark and heavy. It almost annoyed Erwine, the impossibility of everything. The fact that such dark, heavy, oppressive gatherings of murky blackness could let such bright rays of light through. There weren't even any holes in those clouds.

She stumbled a little, the roof cracking beneath her one foot a little as she landed on it. Her other leg stabilized herself, and she sighed as she stepped fully on. She was by no means the farthest ahead. Wei and Mila were staying back with her. The former girl actually had her left arm around Erwine's neck, trying to help the girl move.

Sweeping the city hadn't been an easy task. Roving daemons had struck several times, and they weren't easy enemies to defeat. Their only consolation was that without an active breach, the daemons were far less dangerous than they would be otherwise. And with everyone already low on cubes, the almost steady attacks only drove them further to the edge.

Erwine was quite aware that her soul gem was incredibly blackened, and the pain of the wounds covering her body was becoming more and more apparent. Mila touched down beside her. _Wei, just pick her up already. We can't dawdle anymore. _Justinia and the others, along with the final pair of girls, were headed back towards their destination.

They had orders to go ahead, and not wait for the others, in case Erwine really didn't make it back. _I won't die…_Erwine muttered, _just give me some time. _

_It's not about whether or not you will die. While I'm not confident you can hold out at this rate, I'm more concerned that we'll be attacked. Those daemons back there nearly killed you, the three of us won't survive on our own. _Mila explained. She looked at Wei. _Just do it. _She intoned.

_Sorry, _Wei said to Erwine as she bent her knees just a bit. Her body dropped down low as she swept Erwine up into her arms, draping the girl across her outstretched arms. She knew that she had no reason to be apologizing to the stubborn girl, it wasn't Wei who was making Erwine be stubborn, after all.

Yet she did anyways, feeling the need to assure the girl. _Just get there fast, _Erwine sighed. Wei and Mila started moving again. Wei took another look at the girl's injuries. Most of the damage was done to her arms and legs. Long gashes, many all the way down to the bone, were on her legs. Her skirt was torn up, a large stab wound a few inches to the side of her groin. Her chest had a couple surface level cuts across it, while her stomach had been torn open in three places, to the point where the other girls had to contribute to ensure that she would not bleed out from the wounds.

She was missing three of the fingers on her left hand, and the arm itself was bent out of shape. Her right arm was unscathed, save for a few scrapes. Her face had multiple streaks of blood across it, indicating the marks the bloodletter's blades had left on her head.

She was nearing unconsciousness, and that really was the thing that annoyed Wei. Erwine had been completely unwilling at first to let herself be helped. _I hope she grows out of this…_Wei thought to herself, having full intentions of keeping her promises, but wondering if Erwine was going to be the smartest person in the world if she kept this mindset throughout her whole life.

Wei looked over at Mila. The girl had her own share of wounds, as did Wei herself. Not even the ones who were ahead of them had been saved from harm. But Erwine had decided to throw herself into the thick of things. Wei wasn't sure why, but she couldn't blame Erwine for doing it.

The thing that had interested Wei the most was Mila's attitude towards Erwine. It had changed since the two first saw each other. In the first instant, Wei had noticed the strange eyes with which Erwine looked at Mila. She felt that Justinia had gotten some reason out of Erwine, and was angry that she was not privy to that information.

However, Mila had not been exactly sociable with Erwine either. _Yet she jumped down after the girl? _Wei was wondering what the two were doing. If they'd met before, but they hadn't seem to have done so. She wondered if there was something wider at stake here. However, she was in no position to be guessing at the moment. The worst part is that her attitude had changed towards Erwine, Mila's, that is.

Wei took a deep breath, trying to prevent herself from jumping to conclusions too fast. She just continued jumping along, the strange light around her doing well to distract her from her thoughts.

* * *

The three girls stumbled in through the door, Mila quickly slamming it shut behind them as those in the room didn't turn their faces to look. Telepathic communication had made sure that everyone knew the status of the incoming.

The planetary defense girls had set up a small space to the side of the room for the sake of the wounded. Especially wounded humans had been laid down over there, upon thin sheets and covered with a few ragged blankets. Erwine was put down over there, the others overwhelmingly aware of the fact that her gem was darkened.

Telepathy was the dominant form of communication, so Erwine felt that she was not privy to a conversation that might be about her. She watched the expressions of Wei, Justinia, Mila, and Sabula fluctuate as they moved around, doing other tasks. It meant that they were engaged in talk.

Erwine could only wait there. She was in pain, and her wounds prevented her from properly moving until she was better. Her wounds couldn't be healed due to the lack of grief cubes. So she got the hallowed task of staring up at the ceiling, and waiting for someone to give her some kind of information.

She could have tried cutting in, but didn't have the energy to do so.

The room was a large one. The table in the middle had been moved from elsewhere, but Erwine got the feeling that the place had been a small ballroom of sorts. The floor was clean, smooth, and bright, with elaborate floral designs of many different earthen colors dancing about across the white background of the marble floor.

Twin curving staircases followed the curve of the wall downwards on one side of the room, before ending as they came to the floor. A landing was between the tops of them, and it was connected to a door. The landing and staircases were wide, reaching out far, with nothing beneath.

The space under the overhang was where Erwine lay now, and as she looked around, she noticed that the space under the overhang was made of a wood floor, raised up by a few steps from the marble floor. _Perhaps an adequate space for musicians? _

The lights in the ceiling were bright, shining down upon the gathered girls in a way that was somehow more natural than the light outside, despite the obvious artificial quality of the light in the room. Erwine merely cherished the fact that something looked sane.

Erwine was laying so that she could see the left set of stairs. Someone was sitting on them. Dark hair, green dress. Wei looked out of the corner of her eyes at Erwine. A solemn expression. _What's wrong? _Erwine asked. _Just tell, don't hide it, please. _

_We're just a bit scared of what might happen to you, with your gem in that state. _Wei explained. _Don't worry, you should be fine. _

'_Should' is different from 'will', _Erwine reminded her, her voice groggy and tired. She took a deep breath. There were things she needed to talk about with Wei. Yet she was unsure if now was the correct time to be discussing them. Especially with her mind in such a state.

The world seemed to swirl around every now and then. The light. What about the light? The light. Erwine blinked her eyes multiple times. The light distorted, changed before Erwine's eyes. She wasn't feeling very well. She shut her eyes for a few seconds. The light was normal.

_I won't die, _she assured Wei. Wei…was no longer looking at Erwine. The aversion of her eyes seemed to go into intentional territory. _Look at me…_Erwine begged. She called out, _Wei…Wei, am I going to turn? _

The answer wasn't easy for Wei to say. _If things keep going like this, yes. You lost a lot of magic. I hate to say this…but saving that girl cost us. It may cost you your life. _

Erwine sobered up, metaphorically. She had been lost in thought, thinking about the room, about other random things. Now she was faced with death. _Don't let me turn, _Erwine said, _you can't afford a battle with a witch. You'll only lose more magic, and the humans in here might be hurt. _

Once again, Wei did not visibly do anything. But Erwine could tell that she was not in good shape. _Wei-Wei please talk to me. _

_You won't die, _Wei assured Erwine, though she was not certain in the slightest. _I promise you, you will not die. Not today, not here. _

_You can't-_

_Just shut up and listen, _Wei snapped. Erwine did so, not having the willpower to stand up if Wei was going to act like this. _You said you'd never die until no one can control you. Don't die now. People can still control you. I know it's just a hopeless dream…but please, keep believing in that dream. _

Erwine opened her eyes wide. _You're right…that dream of mine…it's hopeless…but I have to try. To make it come true. _

_Exactly, _Wei agreed, _so make it through this. I'll stop you from turning if I must, but I will not allow you to give up now. _She paused, then said brightly, _I will never allow you to give up. _

Erwine went silent. Wei did as well. They stayed where they were for some time. Then came some good news. Something hopeful for once. Wei brightened up. _Estelle's here! _She declared. _She should be arriving soon, within about seven or eight hours. They got off course due to the storm, but they should be here soon. _

Erwine looked at her gem, and instantly averted her eyes. Thinking about the darkness would only make it encroach faster.

* * *

Mila silently approached Sabula. _I'd like to make a suggestion, _she said to her. The news of Estelle had just come through. _About Erwine…_

_What do you mean? _Sabula asked, shooting a glance to the dying girl.

_Erwine's deteriorating fast. She might hold out until they arrive, but they might not. We of course have grief cube stacks around the city. I'd like to go out and check some of them, they might have some left, enough to at least slow Erwine's deterioration. She's heavily wounded, so things will only get worse. _

Sabula took a deep breath. She walked over to the map. They had already marked all the locations where they had retrieved the caches. _There are some, but fairly far from here. You'll be in danger, and no one can really assist you. You're low on magic as well. _She shook her head, _I appreciate the concern, but we really can't spare any time or energy for this. _

Mila frowned. _I understand. _She looked over at Erwine, still lying on the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Justinia gazing at her. The conversation had been private, but perhaps the girl had guessed the subject. Mila raised her eyebrows, wondering if the older girl had something to say.

_I agree with the sentiment, but she's unfortunately correct, presuming that Sabula rejected the idea. We can't spare anyone else, we still don't know the intentions of the enemy. _Justinia grinned a little, _but still, I appreciate the thought, you're a good girl. _

Mila nodded, before she looked back at the girl, who did not look like she was in such good shape. Then she remembered something. Her eyes scanned the room for a moment, before she found Iria in a deserted edge of the room, cowering there with her friends.

The blonde-haired girl approached the two girls. She smiled as she looked down at them. "Hey, Iria?" she whispered softly, enough so that the others in the room would have to strain to hear her. "You see the girl over there, on the floor?" she looked at Erwine.

"Yeah…" Iria said.

"Well, she might…she might die because of what she did to save you, using up those things like she did. Those are what we use to purify our soul gems, and if we run out of magic, then we…then we die." Mila knew that telling the truth was not going to be a good plan at this point.

Iria looked heartbroken. "I-It's my fault?!" she cried, fresh tears coming to her eyes.

Mila shook her head. "No, it's not your fault. You made a good wish, and Erwine just wanted to make sure you didn't suffer for it."

"Then why tell me?!" Iria shouted back.

Mila stayed calm, and explained, "Listen, what I'm suggesting is that you could go over there and make sure Erwine's alright. She did a good thing for you, and a little support from the person she put our lives on the line to save will probably go a long way in making sure she's alright."

Iria shifted uncomfortably, but nodded. "Alright…" she said. She looked at the two girls to either side of her, before she stood up, shakily.

Mila led her across the room to where Erwine lay. Iria knelt down beside her. Erwine looked up at the girl. Mila waited a moment, then walked away, knowing her presence would only make things awkward. From a distance, Wei watched as the girl knelt beside Erwine.

"Hey…" Iria said to the girl, trying her best to meet her gaze.

"Don't feel bad about me," Erwine said. "Your wish…you and your friends would have died if I hadn't been there when I was. Don't feel bad for making such a selfish wish."

"But everyone said…everyone said to not make a selfless wish…" Iria said, "Why's that?"

"Because when one makes a wish…it brings hope to somebody. An equal amount of despair will be inflicted at some point. The more people you make happy with your wish…the worse you will be hurt in the future…" Erwine explained. She looked into Iria's eyes. She decided to give her the truth, the cold, hard truth.

"So…so I made a huge mistake?" Iria asked. She felt her eyes get wet again. "So I'm just going to suffer later?"

"Yeah, you are," Erwine said, "I won't hide that from you. But that doesn't mean that you won't be able to get past it when it does come."

Iria shuddered a little, "Did something like that happen to you?"

"No," Erwine shook her head, "I made a more self-serving wish. It doesn't mean that I didn't suffer."

"What happened to you?" Iria raised her eyebrows.

"My wish failed…" Erwine explained. A sad look was on her face as she remembered the Incubator speaking to her. "I didn't have the potential to make it come true."

Iria's eyes went wide, "But the Goddess…she didn't grant your wish?"

"It requires power from inside the wish-maker as well. I didn't have enough. My wish…it was also massive, something that nothing can bring about. You'd need the power of a god to bring about the wish I made." Erwine shook her head. "Don't listen to my story, it won't bring you much joy."

"But-"

"Please," Erwine insisted, "Please don't talk about that anymore."

Iria nodded. "I'm sorry, for causing all the trouble, though. I'll still be sorry, no matter what."

"Please don't blame yourself so much," Erwine requested, "You really didn't do that much…" She did her best to smile. "I'll make it through, I promise."

"You're certain?" the girl asked. She leaned in closer, her hands grasping around Erwine's. It was under the blanket, but she found it, and held on tight.

Erwine chuckled. "You're caring…I guess you'll make a good magical girl."

"Will I really?" Iria asked. She wanted to be told 'yes' so badly. Erwine could easily see that.

She took a deep breath, wondering whether or not it would be worth lying to the girl. "If you make the right choices…then yes, you'll make a good magical girl. But caring…caring about other people might end up hurting you. It might end up helping you more than anything else, or it will destroy you." Erwine's answer was given solemnly, her expression grim.

"You're serious?" Iria asked. Her hands let go of Erwine's. Erwine watched her hand as it limply fell to the ground, deciding to not use the strength to pull it back in towards herself. She watched that hand go down. Then she looked up just a bit. She saw Iria's hands, twitching and shaking.

Tracing her eyesight up Iria's chest, she came to the girl's head. The eyes…those eyes that had held so much despair before seemed to be filled to a similar level now. "Don't worry," Erwine was soft. "You'll be just fine, I promise."

Iria broke down into tears once again. "Why do people betray the goddess?" she asked. "What's their reason?"

"Because they gave up. They gave up on their wishes. They grew to regret them, or they didn't get what they wanted from their wish. Since the Goddess grants wishes, they blame her, and wish to see her destroyed." Erwine explained.

"So giving up…that's not an option, is it?" she asked.

"Correct," Erwine said.

"You've not given up, right?"

Erwine smiled, "I'm still here, right?" she asked. Iria nodded. "Then I'd say I'm fine for the moment."

Iria smiled a little. Internally, Erwine took some pride from the fact that she was able to make another little girl smile. "You should go back to your friends," Erwine suggested, "Keep them company."

"Will I have to say goodbye to them?" she wondered.

Erwine thought about the issue. "At this rate, this world will be abandoned for some time after the survivors are evacuated. You'll probably be reassigned to some other PDG force, assuming you don't get recruited by someone else. Your friends…well, if you're lucky, you might end up on the same planet as them. Otherwise, you-you probably will have to say goodbye."

Iria nodded. "You…you are the Inquisition, right? Everybody said that they didn't exist…"

"We do exist…" Erwine said, she tried her best to smile, "We just try to keep ourselves secret from most, so everybody doesn't go around looking over their shoulder when they're doing bad things. It's like a trick, you see?"

"Yeah, I see," Iria said. She paused. "Do…do you think I could join the Inquisition?"

Erwine looked deep into her eyes, and honestly said, "I wouldn't recommend it."

"But bad people destroyed my home, and my family, and would have killed my friends…I want to get back at them…" Iria explained.

Erwine sighed. "That's not a good reason to join, but at the same time…it's a wonderful reason." She wasn't sure what to say to the little girl. Her eyes slid to the other side, almost afraid to look at Iria. "The decision is not mine. If you want to, then I'm sure you'll be able to achieve your dreams." A moment, then she looked back and Iria and told her sincerely, "Just never give up."

* * *

Mila looked from across the room as the little girl walked away from the other little girl. Similar size and height, they were around the same age. Yet Mila could see a major difference between the two. Namely that one was young and innocent, for the most part. She believed many things about the world that were going to be proven wrong.

Mila pitied her. She wanted some of that innocence back. Her eyes went back to Erwine, the girl who most certainly had no innocence left. She walked over to the girl, considering if she should do what she was about to do. She checked her gem, mentally questioning the magic level.

She didn't have too much left. She estimated that it was about eleven percent or so. She knelt down beside Erwine. Mila was aware of hwo precarious their position was. Although no one had been lost so far, thanks to the efforts of Erwine and the others, their magic was nearly gone, for the most part. With the lack of anything to heal themselves…a single attack could wipe them all out.

But still, she had to ensure that as many as possible would live. And that meant she might have to burn her magic down even lower. Erwine's gem was not quite entirely dark. "Erwine…" she said quietly.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to make sure you're alright," Mila explained. "I'm an empath, remember?"

"Yeah, but surely…you need to conserve your magic," Erwine said, "I don't need your help."

"You're the person in the worst shape here," Mila countered, "You could use it the most."

"There are dying humans all about me," Erwine gestured to the wounded around herself, "Use your magic to make them happy."

Mila looked about at all of them. She knew that Erwine was right. Her concern for Erwine was unnatural, and probably going to do more harm than good in the end. With a bit of regret, she walked away from the girl, going ahead and focusing on those that really did matter more.

* * *

Laelia and Celestine awoke with a start. The air was strange. The ship was shaking. The door burst open. Yuki was there. "Prepare yourselves," she said, "We're headed through the warp storm at the edge of Janicelle. We're most likely going to have a possession."

"Any serious risk?" Laelia asked, summoning on her normal costume as she got out of the bed. Celestine quickly followed.

Yuki shrugged. "From what they said, chances are that the infestation can be eradicated quite easily, and since the storm is around the edge, we should be able to drop out into normal space if anything goes bad."

"You're certain of this?" Celestine sounded very worried, "I'd rather not repeat what happened with Erwine."

Yuki nodded, "The astrotelepath is fairly certain from what she has heard. We're only about six hours from pushing through the storm, then we drop into normal space."

"Besides," she turned around, as Laelia and Celestine walked out of the room. "If anything bad does occur, just go hide in the astrotelepath's sanctuary, presuming that she's not possessed as well, and I should be able to handle everything out here."

Both of the younger girls knew that they should be frowning upon what seemed like an awfully boastful attitude. Yet they had heard stories about Yuki Sayaonaella, and they happened to believe said stories. The girl wasn't boasting, nor making up her actual ability. She was simply stating a fact, and suggesting the best course of action.

_Well then, _Laelia happily thought to herself, _we should be fine, no matter what. _She and Celestine continued down the hall, following the girl. "Where are you headed?" Laelia asked. In fact, she wondered why they were following her still. The message had been delivered.

"I need to show you something," Yuki explained, "Juno wanted me to do this, and I figure that since we're close, I should probably tell you something that the others don't exactly know yet."

"Why not earlier?" Celestine asked.

"Not entirely certain. Juno just said to make sure you two learned this stuff later, rather than sooner. I mean, only us three are supposed to know, so perhaps it's to ensure that you don't create your own ideas, and go off and tell others." She shrugged. They approached the door into what they knew was a small briefing room.

The ship itself was incredibly small, having been made for as much speed as possible. This briefing room wasn't too big either. Yuki gestured them to sit as she approached an electronic board in front of the table. She flicked it on. "You see, we have some information about Theodora Magnissia," the girl explained. She tapped a numerical code into a pad that showed up on the hololith.

A series of boxes of text were now displayed. Yuki gestured to the information displayed. Laelia and Celestine read through them. They were all in some kind of code, and parts of the message just seemed missing. "You see," Yuki explained, as the two girls looked at her, confused, "Theodora has been talking to everyone who was part of the force investigating Vasillica."

"All the telepathic messages were in this so-far unbroken code. But she's sending them to people who used to be on the Vasillica force. This doesn't really seem too suspicious, perhaps she is afraid that someone else is monitoring her. We haven't even asked her about it."

Celestine frowned, "What's suspicious about it, then?"

Yuki grinned. "Well, that's where the fun part comes in. You see, we've gone through the list of everyone who was part of that force. The members have come forwards, clandestinely, and explained things. Many of them died on Vasillica due to Ishna, and thorough checking reveals that the number who died is true. But we have not been able to account for one person who escaped. None of Theodora's messages were sent to someone who we did not know. Everyone's memories were obviously modified to erase all presence of the unaccountable one. It's been twenty years since then, so the seal was in too deep for us to do anything about it."

"This girl?" Celestine asked, "Who was she?"

"Well, the record says that she's named Ileve Nashiandra," Yuki explained, "She apparently turned into a witch during the escape, she was too far gone. They destroyed it, but we have no grief seed, and no body. Both of those things should have been preserved, at least the latter."

"Giving the seed to an Incubator is understandable, it's proper. But the record lists her as having turned, when no one else remembers it, and there's no evidence." Yuki explained, "Which means that she most likely faked her death."

"What is she listed as, her magic?" Laelia wondered.

"She's listed as a healer, but since the records have clearly been otherwise faked, we believe she was actually a telepath." Yuki explained.

"Sounds like she was in Ishna's force," Laelia said, "The records would have to have been altered long ago, and Ishna would have had the power to do so, just look at what she did with Nadine."

"Exactly," Yuki agreed, "We believe that this missing girl is somehow related to Ishna, most likely somebody who was under her. Therefore, we have reason to suspect that this girl has assumed a new identity, and is perhaps plaguing us even now."

"You mean that she's with Erwine? Or Theodora?" Celestine asked.

"That is what we believe. There is one telepath on Theodora's ship, and one on Erwine. There are no specialists who might be hiding their true power, either," Yuki explained, "But that one telepath has checked out. However-"

"Liselotte!" Celestine cut in, "Have you checked her?"

Yuki grinned again. "That's where I was going. From the looks of it, the girl showed up not too long ago, but rose to a good level of prominence."

"She's in a coma now, so she can't do anything," Laelia said. "I see why you don't want others knowing, however. This could cause a lot of harm."

"Yes, it would cause a witch hunt amongst an already tense group. The plan Juno suggested is that we go in, and you two transfer back to Estelle. I'll take Liselotte, and then take her back to a more secure location, or so my story shall go. After that, we should be able to learn just about everything from the girl."

"Anything more needed from us?" Laelia asked.

"Make sure that Nadine and Theodora don't get their hands on her. Both of those two were with Ishna for long periods of time, she could have implanted anything in their heads. Be very careful that they do not get the chance to take Liselotte." Yuki explained.

"Understood," Laelia and Celestine nodded.

Then the warp shook again. The air got even stranger. Yuki frowned. The vox came on. "One possession. Working to eradicate. Going to let it progress, prepare for possible daemon entry, guard your minds."

Yuki smiled. "Well, this voyage just got a lot more exciting."

* * *

An uneasy atmosphere prevailed over the bridge as the darkened planet became larger and larger on the screen. "Confirm _Yslevia,_" Theodora ordered.

The captain replied. "Confirmed."

The astrotelepath replied. _Their telepath has confirmed. _It was the third time Theodora had given the order. She seemed to be making absolutely certain that the vessel that was floating around the murky orb was indeed the _Yslevia. _

"As soon as we get into orbit, we're headed down," Theodora explained. To the girls under her command. _Prepare grief cube supplies, they'll probably be running low. _

The astrotelepath spoke once more, giving the coordinates of the magical girls on Janicelle as she had heard from Victoria. _Understood, _Theodora replied, _any causalities?_

_None in the last twenty-four hours._ Estelle and Nadine were listening to the conversation. They were pleased to finally be able to lend some assistance. _Your decision? _Nadine asked Estelle, keeping their words private.

_We'll figure out what is going on with Janicelle. We solve the problem. Then…I will not press an official investigation of any kind…but if people have their individual grudges against her, I will allow those to be expressed. _Nadine reached over and grabbed onto Estelle's wrist, squeezing painfully hard.

_If you hurt that girl, then I will hurt you. She did something wrong, that is not in doubt. But think about who she is. She is Erwine Braune. She has overcome the issue, and now seeks to progress further onwards. Do not hamper her needlessly by inflicting your own issues on her. _

_Understood, _Estelle replied, _but you can't tell me everyone has forgiven her for what she has done. _

_I doubt that they fully have. But they are most likely siding with her, so I don't think storming in shouting and punishing is going to do anything good for anybody. _

Estelle nodded in understanding. Nadine grinned happily at her agreement. Theodora was still issuing orders, making sure that everything was fully prepared for their arrival. Nadine had to respect the girl for that. She was clearly effective at organizing things. She hoped that everything went well here.

Justinia was the one waiting as the shuttle landed. She was joined by Sabula, Mila, and Wei. The first one out was a very concerned Estelle. She sprinted towards Justinia, wrapping her arms around her. The embrace was brief. "I'm glad you're alright," she said, smiling brightly at the girl. Justinia, quite tired, nodded.

Estelle looked at Wei, who smiled at the inquisitor. Estelle replied in kind, before she turned her gaze to look at Sabula and Mila. Then she looked back to the other side of the four. _Four? _She thought. Her face darkened. "Where's Erwine?" she asked.

"Inside," Justinia replied, "She's running quite low on magic, she'll need some attention immediately." Estelle nodded, then looked back to Sabula.

"Estelle Adramartis, I assume?" Sabula said, reaching out to shake her hand. The two girls shook. "Sabula Abreu, acting commander."

"Good," Estelle said with a salute. She looked at Mila.

"Mila Andres," the girl said, "Assistant to the acting commander." She shook Estelle's hand, "I can show you to Erwine."

"Please do so," Estelle turned to accept a box of grief cubes from a girl behind her. She followed Mila inside.

Theodora then approached the girls. "Please give me a briefing on everything that has occurred on this planet since this storm began." She requested. Nadine stepped by them, heading inside, followed by the other girls Estelle brought with her.

"Let's head in," Sabula suggested, "It's not entirely safe out here." Theodora nodded, falling in to the side of Sabula as she went towards the door. The procession headed inside the high tower.

Erwine looked up as she heard the telepathic message from Wei. The doors outside burst open, and Estelle quickly located Erwine where she lay. The inquisitor quickly knelt down beside the girl, reaching for her gem. Erwine immediately tensed, her hand going to cover her gem.

"Erwine," Estelle said, her voice dropping low. "Please don't do this." She sounded ashamed, of herself. "I've changed, I promise."

Erwine looked into her eyes. She had to think for a bit of time. The doors opened again. Erwine's eyes flicked to the side, seeing Nadine. _You can trust her. Erwine…I know a lot has happened. And don't worry, your wish…I can't imagine what you must feel._

Erwine was hard-pressed to suppress her shock. _Nadine knew about the failure of my wish…how long as she known this? Why didn't…why didn't she tell me before? _Nevertheless, Erwine looked back at Estelle, trying to pretend that Nadine did not hide things from her.

The inquisitor had a desperate look on her face. The closer Erwine looked, the more she felt like Estelle did have her best intentions in mind. That she had all along. Erwine could only nod. She removed her hand from her gem. Estelle carefully picked it up, and placed it in the box of cubes.

The girl instantly stated to feel better. The other girls were already beginning to recover, and the healer in Theodora's group was already tending to the wounded humans, and any wounds the magical girls might have.

Erwine breathed a sigh of relief, amazed that the ordeal was somehow finally over. She looked up at Estelle, a faint grin on her face. Estelle tensed up. "So…" Erwine said, the grin somehow still there. The two girls were surrounded by the strange brand of chaos that now engulfed the room.

It wasn't a bad kind of chaos. It was a good kind. Girls rushing to recover, some from near death. All the youngest girls, the ones who had barely made it through or had been forced to cower in fear for the past couple months, were rushing towards the people who were like angels to them.

Shouts of joy, tears of happiness, practically every way to express joy was heard throughout the room. Erwine noticed that three people, not counting herself, were not exactly wrapped up in all this. Nadine was not one of those three. She was congratulating the others, making sure that everyone was fine, doing her best to assist in the organization of matters.

Estelle was one of the three. Mila was the second, Wei the third. Mila was on her own. She sat on the stairs, about halfway up, leaning over her knees, propping her head up with her arm. She looked out at what was below with a distant expression, her thoughts elsewhere.

Wei was kneeling right beside Estelle. The concern on her face was tremendous. "So what's my punishment?" Erwine asked Estelle. The grin…Estelle saw that it meant something else. Erwine was not ready to accept anything…no, Estelle saw a determination in those eyes.

"At this point, I do not think I shall have to conduct any kind of trial. It would be pointless, after all you have survived. You shall be officially reprimanded, and this incident shall go on your record, but nothing more than that."

"You won't put me on trial?" Erwine asked.

Estelle nodded. "I have no intention of doing that."

"Good," Erwine said, "I wouldn't be accepting that."

"Seriously?" Estelle asked.

"Yeah, I'm not about to let you sentence me to death anytime soon," Erwine looked away from Estelle, the grin disappearing from her face.

"What?" Estelle asked. She could tell that something else was going on with Erwine. Wei tapped Estelle on the shoulder. The inquisitor looked at the girl, before Wei spoke with her.

_Her wish failed. _Wei explained, _Erwine made a wish that effectively sought to break free from the control of fate…that wish failed. She didn't have the magic potential for it to be granted. She's know very, very set on ensuring that her wish somehow comes true. _

_She hasn't given into despair? _Estelle asked. She visibly reacted to this, and Erwine now knew the two were communicating. Then the inquisitor looked at Erwine. _Not giving up, or regretting her wish, even after she finds out that she didn't get anything out of it…_the inquisitor was amazed.

"Erwine…" Estelle said, "I suppose you don't want my condolences."

"Correct," Erwine said. She got out from under the blanket that was atop her, doing her best to try and stand. Wei helped her up, before Erwine stabilized herself. Her wounds were for the most part gone.

She reached her hand out to Estelle, obviously requesting her gem back. Estelle frowned, then gave it back. "The enemy is attempting to create a full warp breach," Erwine explained. "It's unknown where or when it will occur, so we need to find it and stop them." She explained. "There's no time to be dawdling around like this."

"What do you suggest we do?" Estelle asked, "This planet is lost. We need to get all that we can out of here, before we try and make our way out of the system. It's better to run. If they create that warp breach then there's no way we'll be able to get out, it'll only increase the ferocity of the storm. So we either stop it, or leave before it occurs."

Erwine shook her head. "I refuse to leave. Wei and I believe that our presence here is something that the enemy does not expect. Therefore, we have a chance to stop them, especially due to the reinforcements we have. We should be able to solidly outnumber them."

The three girls stood there as the chaos began to die down. Theodora had received the report from Sabula, and was now directing all the younger girls out of the room. Erwine caught sight of Iria making her way through the crowd, followed by her two friends.

She ran over to Erwine and embraced her. Erwine stumbled back. "Thank you!" Iria shouted, her voice filled with glee. "I won't ever forget this, I promise!" She stepped back, smiling brightly. Her friends, the two humans, then stepped forwards, saying similar words with just as much brightness on their faces.

Erwine blushed, embarrassed by their praise. "What did you do?" Estelle asked.

"Wasted resources to save the magical girl, she was about to die," Erwine explained. "We almost lost our lives thanks to me wasting our cubes."

Estelle nodded, she smiled proudly. "I see you've grown."

Erwine stood silently for a few seconds, as though lost in thoug. Then her hands came up to rub her eyes. "Yeah, you could say that," she agreed, almost brought to tears.

* * *

Seventeen magical girls were left in the room. They convened about the large table that had been used for planning. Theodora opened the discussion. _Does anyone have anything to say about the practicality of staying here and attempting to stop the breach?_

Erwine was the first to reply. She explained everything she and Wei had deduced earlier, before saying, _we have to stop the enemy here, or else they gain some kind of major advantage. I believe that much is obvious. Clearly, we are dealing with the same force that worked under Ishna. They have to be here for a serious reason. Therefore, our goal has to be to stop them._

Wei gave her support to Erwine. There was some silence for a few seconds, before Justinia stated that she agreed with Erwine as well. _I hate to say this, _Nadine said, _but Erwine might be correct. We should get everyone who is not needed off the planet, which we have done. At this point, we ought to try and locate the site of this ritual, and attempt to prevent it. _

_Why not exterminatus? _Theodora asked. _This planet is basically gone. The population is insane or dead, and this ritual has to be stopped. _

_It might just help. _Erwine said, _Justinia was possessed by a bloodthirster. This ritual might have to do with Khorne, so commencing an exterminatus on this planet may just feed the ritual, and give them more power to use later. _

_But it would still rid us of the issue, _Estelle countered. _Look, it's not something I necessarily want to do either, but we need to make a decision right now. We have little to gain by attacking them _

Erwine took a deep breath. She had been wondering about the enemy's true intentions ever since their presence was known in this system. And there was some idea that kept showing up in her mind. _Why do they want to create a breach? _She asked. _The planet is effectively destroyed. They don't need to do anything more. They should know that even if they manage a daemon world, then the nearby presence of a massive contingent under Juno would easily wipe them out. So what are they really planning? _

_Perhaps they mean to do something like what Ishna did, to weaken the boundaries between the materium and warp? _Nadine replied. _She had the intention of doing something on that asteroid, so that was why she created the grand witch. Perhaps they mean to do something similar elsewhere, and this is just a bait, or mere set-up. _

_Not likely, _Erwine countered. _It makes sense, but I'm thinking that there is more to this than what meets the eye. _She opened a private line to Nadine. _The parchment. _She explained, _what if there were more? Did Ishna say anything about there being more? _

The inquisitor hesitated. She looked like she was going to not enjoy the answer when she gave it. Nadine replied. _She did imply that there was more than one. However, I never told you because I didn't want you tearing yourself apart even more looking for the others, sorry._

_It doesn't matter now, _Erwine replied. She opened up the channel to the others. She then took a deep breath, and gave an explanation of what was her most well-guarded secret. The others reacted, with some showing interest, and others with confusion.

_We believe that there are more, and that they are a prophecy of some kind. _Erwine explained. _However, the language is too old for even Nadine to read, and she is a analyst. Therefore, it would have to be translated at some point. Perhaps the daemons would know how. Opening a breach, after sacrificing a whole planet, would perhaps get a daemon to translate the document. It's a stretch, I know, but if that is the reason this is being done, then that means they have one of the parchments. _

_That may fit in with what we suspect about Ishna's plan, or something like that. _Estelle said, _judging by Liselotte's actions. Hadiens might also have one of these things, presuming that she told the truth. It also might mean they can read it. _

_So we need to get there in order to obtain this document? _Theodora asked. _If so, then we cannot commit exterminatus. I shall not allow anything like that to occur. We need to get moving as fast as we can, lest they escape with this thing. _

The others fell into agreement. _Now we must find them, _Nadine said, _the issue with that is that we have no idea where they might be. Perhaps all we can do is wait. _

_Indeed, _Sabula said, _everyone should get looking, but for now, just prepare yourselves, handle any logistical matters. We need to start transporting the humans up as well, if possible? _

The room fell silent. The atmosphere changed. Justinia explained, _the Yslevia has already taken on hundreds from the Rosie. We cannot fit anyone more. _

Eyes fell on Theodora now. She sighed. _How many humans are there? _She asked, _Juno gave me one of her faster ships, we can take maybe a couple dozen, but no more than that. And when Laelia and Celestine get here, the ship they are on is designed entirely for speed, so they can't take anyone else onboard. _

_Then we get those off that we can, _Estelle decided. _We'll try to design some kind of random picking system. Hopefully we can save this world…but if not…_

* * *

The girls split up. Erwine walked up the stairs, wanting to simply stand up on her own. Wei followed her. She leaned against the wall, a few feet behind Erwine, as the younger girl looked out at the room. Erwine turned to see Mila walking up the stairs.

Mila nodded to Wei, and then to Erwine. "You were thinking earlier," Erwine said, "What was that all about?"

Mila shrugged. "Interesting you noticed me." The brief comment was followed by a sigh, before she spoke more seriously, "I guess I was just considering my future, seeing as how this planet is done for. Just wondering where I'll be reassigned."

"Not looking forwards to it?" Erwine asked, noticing the tone of Mila's voice.

"Not at all," Mila shook her head. "I like this place, or I guess liked it, back when it all made sense. I still had friends, but they're most likely all dead. I go to a new planet, and I'll be in the shadows. Any chance of living a public life is gone now, given that I have no family, and a cover is needed if I want to actually appear out in the world. The whole point of becoming a PDF girl is so that one can live a normal life, but also serve the Goddess, right?"

"Indeed," Erwine said. "You'd probably be rotated away at some point, probably to serve the main sect, but I don't think that'd happen for a while."

Erwine said nothing more. She had her own slew of things to think about. The vague guess that they were going to act on. The hope that Ishna's legacy was handed out to others besides Erwine was all they had. If not, then they might just go out there and die for nothing.

Mila said nothing more. She had her own sorrows. Wei was the next one to talk. She walked forwards, up behind the two girls. "I have a proposal, if you're willing to listen?"

Mila looked over her shoulder. Erwine didn't turn around. "Yes?" Mila asked.

"Perhaps the Inquisition itself?" Wei proposed, "You could join up with Estelle or Nadine. At this point, if Estelle and Nadine don't just combine forces, is to go with Nadine. You'd be welcome to join us, if Nadine likes you."

Mila nodded. "I've considered the option. I think my dilemma at this point is figuring out which option is worse for me, then picking the lesser of two evils. No offense."

"None taken," Wei replied, "I often find myself asking why I didn't just stay a PDF girl. It was my own choice to join the Inquisition." She paused, "Peraps I shouldn't have done so."

Erwine had said nothing. It was perhaps fitting, seeing as both understood her story rather well. In fact, Erwine had something else entirely to talk about. "You know what makes me worried?" she asked.

Both girls were interested by this sudden entrance into what had been their own conversation. "What?" Wei was concerned.

"The fact that Justinia put me in charge. She said that she doesn't like being in command over anything or anyone." Erwine shook her head, "That girl…she seems older than she really says she is. She says she's younger than Estelle, even Celestine, but with that magic level, she can't be."

"She has no official rank, either. So she's really afraid of having any kind of power," Erwine observed, "There's something off about that girl, I know it. She could have put you in charge, Wei. Or Sanae, or Ayelen, or Sechylia, or Victoria, or someone who was not the youngest person there."

"Erwine, I first thought that Justinia was hiding many things from me, but I later learned that she really was not actually. She's a normal girl, she has no dark past, except for some reason about not wanting to be in command. You've seen her act, she's rather humble, perhaps she just doesn't think highly of herself." Wei explained, "Please, I've known her for much longer than you have, and she's done a lot more for me than you have. I trust her."

Erwine nodded. "But still, you have to agree that something about what she did back there was off."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Wei shrugged. "Guessing like this will only make us distrust her, and I don't think that's going to help us work with her in the end."

"You know for certain that she's not hiding any kind of dark secret that we need to be seriously worried about?" Erwine asked.

Wei smiled. "I know that for certain. I've done extensive background checks, along with Sechylia. She is completely clean of everything and anything."

Erwine nodded. "Alright then. You can't stop me from being suspicious, but if you insist, I'll let it go until it comes up again."

* * *

Justinia was sitting outside. Her legs hung out over the edge. The edge that gave way to a long drop towards the city below. The walkway and landing pad did have railing to protect from this occurring, and there was even a localized energy field to protect from the wind and weather.

Justinia just sat atop the rails. She looked out at the expansive city, a bright place that was now mired in death and chaos. She felt a bit bad for all the people whose lives had been absolutely ruined by the forces of chaos that had descended.

She looked towards the doors, seeing Sechylia strolling out. "What are you doing out here?" the short little girl asked. Justinia reached out to her, and Sechylia climbed up on the railing with her, sitting right beside the older girl.

"Just thinking, that's all." Justinia put on a brighter demeanor. Her arm reached out to wrap around Sechylia's neck, bringing her in close to Justinia. "About all that has happened."

"You worried?" Sechylia asked. She noticed the strange look on the girl's face. It was a look that she had not seen very many times.

"In a way, I'm very worried about all of this," Justinia replied. "This whole thing…it just puts me on edge, makes me feel like something bad will happen. I know that going after them, trying to stop this breach, it's the right thing to do, but I can't help but feel worried about it."

"I think we're all a bit worried. It just happens," Sechylia said, "Of course, I guess you never get worried."

Justinia chuckled. "Thinking I don't have emotions or something?"

"You have emotions," Sechylia grinned, "You just don't like sharing them with anyone else."

"I love sharing my emotions," Justinia joked, "Think about how much I share my neutral expression with everyone. It tells you all everything that I'm feeling."

"Yeah, sure it does." Sechylia laughed. "I think you could trick anyone with that neutral stare of yours."

"Sure, sure," Justinia shook her head, "Nah, I doubt it. Can't trick people who have experience with such a person."

"So I'm pretty un-trick-able, eh?" Sechylia asked.

"Yeah, I suppose you might be." Justinia replied. She took a deep breath. "I mean, Wei's moved on, going off with Erwine. You might be the only one left who I can't trick."

"You mad at her?"

"No, she's grown amazingly. Erwine is going to be good for her, those two work well together." Justinia explained. "So I can't be mad at her. She looks like an entirely different person from the cowardly one I knew back on Curia."

"This whole thing has changed us all pretty severely, hasn't it?" Sechylia asked. The question was quite rhetorical, but it was answered.

"It has. But I think it's been for the better. Erwine has only grown from where she was before, and Estelle seems like a better person. Ayelen's changed as well, there are even differences in Sanae."

"But we haven't changed, I guess." Sechylia replied, revising her previous statement.

"Not exactly," Justinia agreed. "I'm still the same person, and you're still the same person. I guess I just reveal more of my emotions these days."

"Do you want to change?" Sechylia wondered.

"I think I am fine the way I am. I don't feel like there's any part of me that needs to be different. I enjoy this, I enjoy serving the Goddess, and I enjoy the people who truly enjoy me." Justinia shrugged. "So yeah, about you, and you." She pointed at Sechylia both times.

"Not even Estelle?" Sechylia chuckled.

"Not her. She's a bit different. We work well together, but there's no serious bond between us. I listen to her, but I also make sure she makes wise choices." Justinia looked into Sechylia's eyes. "I mean, with your loneliness due to your magic and body, I say we work quite well together."

"Really now?"

"Yes. We complement each other nicely. In a way that many other groups don't." Justinia explained. "I mean, we're both quiet, but my quietness has this imposing presence that somehow scares people. But your quietness has the opposite effect. We just kind of cancel each other out, don't we?"

"You could say that," Sechylia said. She looked out at the city. Her eyes examined the ruins below and in the distance. "You know, this is the first time I've seen real ruin like this. I suppose I should be counting Vasillica, but that place was long dead. It's like how you can look at a long-dead corpse and be fine, but fresh blood terrifies you…"

"I understand that feeling," Justinia said, "I don't like seeing the middle. Then again, we didn't even see the descent into this madness, we're seeing something that comes afterwards."

"You're right," Sechylia said.

"I…" Justinia's voice trailed away. She looked up at the sky, frowning. "I feel like I've seen…the middle of destruction before…just not sure where." She shook her head, "My memory is just bad, I suppose."

"You've been through so much with Estelle, I imagine you've seen plenty of things to forget," Sechylia said. The atmosphere between the two dropped into a definitely serious tone. "I really don't want to forget some stuff, though."

"Like what?" Justinia asked.

"You, mainly." Sechylia shook her head at the cheesiness of the word, "Well…that is if you ever die for some reason. I doubt you'll go before I do."

"Don't you ever talk like that," Justinia pressed the girl tighter against herself, "I promise, I will not die after you die. In fact, I swear that as long as I live, you will not die."

"Really now?" Sechylia asked, only half-believing the other's words.

"I promise," Justinia said, "And how could I go back on a promise that I made to someone like you?"

"I guess you aren't much of a promise breaker, are you?" Sechylia then smiled. The two looked into each other's eyes. Suddenly, it was apparent to both that despite their previous humor, both were dead serious about all they had said.

"T-thanks for that…" Sechylia said, her heart touched.

"It…wasn't anything really…" Justinia said softly. Sechylia brightened up even more as she observed the girl truly showing emotions.

* * *

_I have them. _The announcement came from Justinia. She'd of course been watching out when she'd been with Sechylia, but it would be another hour or so before she would locate the source of the disruption. Estelle and the other telepaths centered in on the disturbance as well. A steadily expanding zone which none of them could see into, the center around one hundred and seventy kilometers from their current location.

Within seconds, the girls were gathered in the middle of the command room. The surviving humans were gone, as were the younger girls. As for the rest of the world, the girls could only hope that they were too far gone. Even if there were many survivors, there was no way the vessels above could carry all of them, especially if it was to be through the warp storm that still surrounded the system.

They had a single teleporter, and she would be able to talk the entire group there in a single go. However, it could only be to the edge of the disturbance, and her magic would be low afterwards. The expanding zone of warp energy would rip apart anyone who tried to teleport through it.

Erwine took a deep breath as she linked hands with Estelle and Wei, who had their hands linked to others. In the end, everyone was linked with the teleporter in some fashion, meaning that it would be much easier for her to bring them all with.

_Jumping in three, two, one. _They were no longer standing in the same room. Erwine then realized that this was the first time she had ever been willingly teleported. Airi had never done it, so the only other times would have been when Ishna had her.

Yet still, it was the same thing. Standing in one place, one second, and then in another place the next. There was a brief flash of red-orange light, being the magic color of the teleporter, but nothing more. The seventeen girls now stood in the midst of a forest.

The strange light still shone down, but it was being slowly disrupted by something else. Erwine could feel a strange sensation coming from the left. She turned in that direction, knowing that the cardinal direction was north. She saw what looked like faint wisps of light floating through the air.

Magical girls were more attuned to warp energy than anyone else, save some psykers. And so, warp energy appeared as something that was faintly visible. There were two shield generators in the group. They combined their powers. Invisibility went up. Voxes were switched on, telepathy not an option with this much warp power about.

Erwine flicked on the small communicator around her ear, checking to see that the nettings about her head and hands were still intact. Her soul gem was at full potential. Then it occurred to her, she had not her hat. She'd lost it…back on the ship, barely a day ago. It felt like an eternity to her.

She did her hair back up in her usual ponytail, before ripping off the necklace and reforming her usual crown. The others had bigger things on their minds, so the action was not noticed by most. Estelle saw it, as did Nadine. Erwine felt a bit more confident.

The woods ahead were obscuring much of the light coming down from above, and while magical eyesight rendered the problem moot, it would be better for it to be brighter. They had a photomancer in the group, one who could control light.

She waved her arm out, and with a bright flash, a spear of light shot out into the woods. It split up as it flew out, hundreds of small motes of light blasting out and then floating about the air. The light now looked normal for a bright noon, perhaps in summer. That is, in the small, contained area in which these motes now floated about.

The magical girls advanced forwards, into the widening area of warp energy. "What is this area like?" Theodora asked Sabula.

"This forest should stretch for a bit more, then some foothills. The center is near the edge of the forest, about ten kilometers from here." Sabula explained. "Let's pick up the pace." They started jumping forwards through the woods.

The speed may not have been the best idea. While magical girls could leap hundreds of meters with each bound, and move kilometers in a relatively small amount of time, they were effectively blind.

A human had only five senses, magical girls extended beyond that. In such a situation as this, the telepaths should have linked everyone's minds together in a single network, allowing for perfect command and control. The clairvoyants should have been scanning every meter of ground, finding any sign of the enemy, while the telepaths searched for the minds of hidden enemies. The fact was that the situation was by no means ideal, so their speed was only justified by the urgency of the mission.

The photomancer had not done anything more since her first effort to increase the brightness, as continually blasting out light would only serve to expose their position. Erwine was near the front. Her blade was drawn, as were the weapons of the others. The enemy could be anywhere, and it was a fact that traitor knights were present. After only a few minutes, five kilometers had been traveled.

It was certain that there would be enemies at the center, and those were the biggest threat. However, it was also not doubted that there were others in the forest. Erwine didn't bother looking around. She was moving far too fast to see such things.

She had summoned her wings, hoping to use them as protection when an attack came. She was determined. She was not going to die. Wei was to her left, and Estelle to her right. Nadine was just a bit behind her, with the other girls who were under Estelle spread out around them.

Theodora's force led the way, spread out broadly ahead. They were the most experienced and skilled of them all, so it made sense.

The standard five senses that a human body possessed were only enhanced more and more by magic. So it made sense that while the fact that someone was about to open fire on them was unknown, they were able to react quite well to it. The machine gun fire came from an estimated ten weapons, and filled the air for a hundred meter area as the guns fired effectively unlimited clips of ammunition.

The intention was not to actually hit the magical girls. They were invisible, and shielded by two layers. The intention was to find where the shield was. However, they seemed to have gotten lucky. The fire started a bit too late, and the group was just about to exit the radius. The shields were dissipated, and the group fell down to the ground.

"Two kilometers to center, roughly," Sabula estimated.

"Unknown number," Nadine explained, her analyst eyes lighting up bright as she looked around the area. They were concealed by the invisibility field, which was having to stretch awkwardly in order to let the plants, trees, and brush be visible to those looking in at them.

"We split?" Theodora asked.

"No, don't know who. We know traitor knights, assume worst." Estelle replied. Broken grammar was standard for a situation like this, when telepathy was not an option. The missing pieces were easily put together.

"Bolt for center?" the plan was suggested by Nadine. "If Wei, Yuuri close, they close breach." She used the name of the teleporter.

The gunfire into the air had ceased, mysteriously enough. That meant that the enemy somehow knew they were on the ground. That fact was clear to the magical girls. Nadine looked down. "Erwine, Theodora, Sabula, Paella, Yuuri, move now." She said.

Erwine stepped to the side, looking at the ground to see a thin purple line beneath her feet. She spread her wings, lifting off a little as the line, twisting and turning, looking almost like a blood vessel or nerve, suddenly pulled taught. The line was yanked up into the air, nearly hitting Erwine.

The others managed to move away in time as well, but now they knew that they were in trouble. "Shield up!" Nadine yelled, and the shields went back up as a volley of gunfire roughly five times as intense as before was loosed at them.

A shout rang out as one girl was hit before the shield went up. Sanae lay on the ground, body covered in blood. Ayelen and the healer went for her, pulling her to the center of the group as a circle was formed. The gunfire continued, coming from multiple different directions, but clearly from the same source weapon.

There was a purple flash as someone dropped from above. A brown-haired girl, wearing violet armor, stood up after she dropped, the purple lines that had surrounded and tracked the girl retreating back into her outstretched hands. The lines came from all directions, quickly pulled back into her body.

She smiled. "Guess you found me out," she shrugged. "Too bad, it would have been more fun to get you all alive." Mila was the first to try and shut her up. Six bullets, fired in the blink of an eye, made their way towards the traitor knight.

They impacted against a shield. "I know, it's amazing," the girl kept talking in her smug voice, "We have those things too." The shield generator was unseen, but given the power of the gunfire, she could not be the one firing at them. Which meant at least three.

Wei was already weaving a powerful program, preparing to fire it off into the woods all around them. Erwine looked around, watching for any sign of movement. "Let's move!" Nadine called. They timed the jump, before they all bounded off towards the source of the warp breach.

The gunfire ceased, but they still warily looked behind themselves. Nadine focused her eyes. "Following us, leaping along the ground, they're most likely looking to box us in against whoever is ahead."

Another minute passed, and they came to look upon the small hill upon which there was a bright sphere of energy forming. The hill was devoid of trees and brushes, only covered by a thin, sickly layer of grass, strangely out of season. There were four girls atop the hill, all wearing armor. Two were standing about the glowing sphere, arms outstretched, obviously focusing on maintaining the creation of the thing.

The clouds were mysteriously parted in the area right above the clearing, and unnaturally bright sunlight shone down upon the area. The third girl was spinning a scythe between her two hands, seemingly bored as she looked around. The fourth was wearing a dark cloak, but mechanical appendages came out from behind the crimson covering, showing that she was a technomancer.

The presence of the Inquisition was not yet noticed. "Fire everything," was the order Nadine gave. Erwine could only wait for melee combat to begin, having nothing to fire.

The hilltop disappeared in detonations and bright flashes as the dozen girls with ranged capabilities opened fire. Erwine saw all this, but got the feeling that it would somehow not work. And not to her surprise, it did not work. It had hit a shield of some kind.

Nadine looked closer. "Void field, buried projectors. Technomancer. Destroy hill." But before they could adjust targets, the gunfire came again from behind. It was followed by waves of thrown weapons, which looked like claymores. Then, rushing out from the treeline, came the lines of violet once again.

They rushed out through the ground, before diving down under the half-spherical shield. A shield could not phase through things, so the ground below their feet was open. Nadine and a few others all made the call, before Erwine looked at her master. "We need to take out the ones behind us!" she shouted.

The violet tendrils erupted from the ground, combining into large bundles to increase their size. They violently whipped at the girls, attempting to grab them or hit them. Erwine got to work trying to cut them down, and the other melee-focused girls assisted as well.

"Theodora!" Nadine shouted, "Taking Erwine towards trees,"

"Coming as well!" Estelle declared.

"Mila!" Sabula shouted. "Provide backup. Others, focus on shield. Destroy hill!"

Wei was ready to fire her program now. However, she did not design it to hit a single target. Rather, it was a circular burst shot. Yet it would still do something to help. She released the shot. A bright, polyhedron had been formed in front of her, and it now detonated into a hundred separate bolts. They curved through the air, seeking out the targets she had designated.

The tendrils were blasted to pieces by the barrage, while the remaining ones flew off towards the forest. She knew not if anything was hit, but they were substantially safer for now. Erwine, Estelle, and Nadine all cleared the distance to the treeline in a single leap, making sure they were high enough so that Mila could fire under them.

On one knee, she raised he revolver, and began firing as fast as she could. Shots ripped through the brush, impacting against the shield that had come up. Mila and Wei's fire meant that Nadine could see the shield.

"Center located," she said, "But have to breach first." Erwine raised her sword, her energy flowing through the blade. The dim outline of the shield was below, and she knew that she would bounce off it. Spreading her wings, she prepared a strong strike.

To her surprise, she did not impact against the shield as she swung out. Rather, as she pushed herself forward with a burst of energy, her wings, and her swing, she went through the shield and then inwards. Estelle and Nadine's attacks bounced off, however.

Erwine slowed herself before she hit the ground, realizing that she was trapped inside with three traitor knights. As a trio of swords came at her, she dodged aside at the last second. She identified the source, a girl standing in what was certainly the center of the shield.

The young girl flew for the ground, claymores tracing her path through the air. It was like a semi-automatic rifle was firing massive bullets at her. She ducked behind a tree, a message coming from Nadine. Erwine didn't know, but the tendrils were retracting back to their controller.

Nadine traced the line. "Three meters ahead, one to the left." She said. Had just landed, but she moved. She boosted herself forwards, ripping through the brush as the tree was torn apart by another volley. Her blade charged, she used her wings to boost herself at first, before wrapping them around herself. She spotted her target, hiding in the strange shadows created by the forest.

Erwine swung her blade at the girl, a wave of silver energy rippling out through the air. The leapt upwards, her tendrils curving about Erwine's blade. Erwine's swing was horizontal, coming from the left side of her body. She reversed her momentum, wings assisting the effort, before curving the blade downwards, and then swinging into an upwards strike.

The length of the blade and the speed of the maneuver, which was barely a second, meant that she barely missed her target. The girl's tendrils curved around Erwine's body, and while Erwine struck out at them, the things would be cut, then pull back together.

There was no weakness in the things themselves. Only total destruction would suffice, or destruction of the generator. The girl still moved upwards into the air. Erwine leapt up after her, wings shooting herself into the branches of the tree the girl landed in.

Her blade still raised above her head, she turned it around to bring it down on the traitor at the apex of their ascents. The traitor had one foot on a tree branch. She used the traction her left foot had to pivot the right side of her body out of the way, before she kicked out with her right leg at Erwine.

Erwine quickly dodged backwards, the kick aimed at her head not connecting. Something wrapped around Erwine's wings, quickly traveling onto her back. The girl's arms were outstretched, the tendrils reaching through the air to grab at Erwine. They made no attempt to do anything more than entangle her.

Erwine dissipated her wings, but they were already crawling over her flesh. She tried to fill her own body with magic energy, radiate it outwards, but their hold was too firm. She struggled against the things as the girl laughed. She was forced to drop her blade, intentionally dissipating it as it fell downwards, her arms bound against her sides as the traitor held her there, from her perch on the tree branch.

Her mouth was sealed shut by the things, which stuck to her lips and held them together. Then the girl leapt back, pulling Erwine in close and tucking her under her shoulder. She shouted something out loud, presumably into her vox. "We have her! Permission to pull out?"

Erwine couldn't hear the reply, but even as her eyes were covered over, she could tell that she was moving away from the others. The sounds of battle were becoming less and less intense. _At least I'm not dead, _she thought. _Also confirms that they need me for something, which means I won't be dying anytime soon. _Her hearing was getting worse and worse as her ears were covered over, but she could still hear some faint shouts, from the girl who held her.

"What do we do with her, then?!" the girl shouted. "You think so?! Fine." Erwine heard nothing more after that point, but from the other noises, she could tell that the battle was far from wherever she was.

"Erwine taken," was what the others would hear only a minute after the three went to defeat the enemy within the woods. Wei was horrified, only held back by the calm hand of Justinia. Mila was simply concerned, looking for permission to pursue. It was denied, even as Ayelen and Sanae, freshly healed, requested the same thing.

"We'll go," Nadine explained. "We'll find her. Not killed, they want her alive." The inquisitors were currently attempting to breach the shield, leaping about to avoid the gunfire and swords while striking at the barrier.

Mila was still firing with her weapon at the field. Meanwhile, the hillside was annihilated, the protective bubble encasing only the top of the hill. The generators were destroyed, and the otherworldly sphere still floated in the air. The four girls who had been around it were now amidst the dirt and stone that had been the mound.

The one with the scythe smiled. The Inquisition opened fire on her. The technomancer grabbed the other two girls and leapt to the other side of the hill while the scythe-wielder leapt forwards.

Her foot touched the ground right before she would have been hit. She leapt into the air, over the stream of projectiles headed towards. Her weapon glowed brightly as she targeted the shield.

The girl's attack glanced off, but she kicked off the shield to fly away from the next barrage. Her agility was remarkable, either deflecting or dodging around the volleys sent at her. Justinia's rockets were another matter entirely, as soon as Mila joined in. She targeted each rocket as it went into the air, detonating them when nearby the traitor.

However, the girl's armor and shielding was enough to take glancing hits and stay intact. "Distracting us," Justinia pointed out, as she moved out towards the woods, drawing fire in that direction. She looked back. The sphere of energy had taken on an even stranger color, and was now pulsating brightly.

"Almost done," Justinia called out, "Need to end now." The two other girls from before were looking up at the thing, their arms once again glowing as they worked to finish what had been started. Justinia turned towards them, readying to fire. Mila aimed at them as well.

They opened fire, multiple rockets accompanied by bullets. Something stopped all those shots. Not another barrier, but rather fire from above. Another armored girl, this one with a long dark ponytail, and a dark blue cape, dropped down from above, a sniper rifle in her hands.

Smiling, she flipped the weapon around in her hands before aiming right at the enemy. "Sorry I took so long!" she shouted, firing multiple shots at the barrier, her right hand holding the rifle. "Got caught up with that bloodthirsty puppy dog."

The scythe-wielder had made a full rotation around the shielded group, and she now paused for a split second to stand back to the back with the new arrival. "Any help is appreciated," the scythe-wielder replied. She grinned sickly, "Got less than two minutes, we just hold till then,"

"Gotcha!" the sniper replied as the two rolled away from each other, their speed and precision incredible. The sniper threw her rifle into the air, jumping up to catch it. It was blasted away by Mila, before one of Theodora's girls put several arrows into the traitor's chest. The photomancer sent out a bright flash of light, striking the girl again.

Mila fired down at the ground, however, catching that there were two versions of the girl running about. The duplicated copy of herself fell to the ground, lifeless. The real one held her weapon in both hands, bright light focusing around the barrel.

A massive crash came after the shot ripped through the first layer of the shield. "Over a hundred," Justinia observed, knowing that the girls they had were somewhat young.

Attacks still came from the tree line, and that did not help either. Nadine and Estelle had bypassed the shield generator, going to chase down the one who had taken Erwine. The two incredibly skilled traitor knights continued to leap all around the pinned group, the shield still holding for the time being.

Another series of claymores came at Nadine, the girl rolling aside as they kept going forwards. Estelle spun around, her blade slicing through a tree trunk. Nadine leapt up, kicking the thing forwards. It hit the ground with solid momentum, but only forced the shield generator to leap into the air. Her shield was still strong, but she was going up against two skilled magical girls on her own.

Nadine flipped back through the air, kicking off the heights of another tree to fly at the enemy. Several strikes with her whip knocked away the girl's blades, while Estelle jumped about on the ground. Carefully timing and placing her attacks, Nadine prevented herself from being damaged.

Several sounds came from the tree where Estelle had just been. Nadine had her back to it now, the shield generator facing it. She just smiled as she propelled herself downwards right as Estelle kicked the multiple bits of the tree she had created at the shield generator.

The huge chunks of wood were easily dodged or cut up, but the point was that the girl was distracted. Nadine hit the ground, before making a running leap behind the girl. Her whip was glowing brightly, and the air cracked as she struck out. It was as if her arm was invisible, her motions too fast to be traced by the eye.

A cascade of powerful strikes resonated against the shield. Nadine was above the traitor, who looked upwards at her. Then Estelle came as a flash from below. Glowing bright with the charged energy, her glaive's thrust shattered the weakened shield. Nadine's quick attack nearly sliced the girl's face open, but her helmet was summoned just in time.

The metal was still ripped up, and Estelle was still below. Even as she fell back down, Estelle gently tossed her weapon in front of herself, before delivering a mighty kick to the hilt. This sent the blade shooting upwards. The shield generator knew of this, and summoned a circle of swords around herself, the spinning blades knocking the weapon away. She then fired them one by one at Nadine, forcing the girl back and upwards.

The traitor directed herself towards a tree, kicking off of it to launch towards Estelle. Estelle had already dissipated and resummoned her weapon. The two girls clashed, the shield generator holding one of her blades, before she leapt back, summoning up more swords as she went. They were fired towards Estelle, as Nadine came down above.

Estelle dealt with the projectiles, timing her counterattack with Nadine's descent. The shield generator was backed up against a tree, one coming from above and the other from ahead. It was quite obvious that she had given up. Her magic was most likely running low as well, given that the fight had been continuing for some time, and she'd had to burn a lot against the focused assaults.

Estelle's glaive went through her gut, pinning her against the tree. The weapon continued on into the wood, while Nadine gracefully tapped her foot against the tree, hard enough to ensure she didn't land on the traitor's head.

"Where are you taking Erwine?!" Estelle shouted. She yanked out her blade, aiming towards the chest, where she knew the gem to be. She sliced open the armor, reaching inside and ripping out the girl's soul gem. Her glaive then pierced her chest. It wasn't too blackened, contrary to previous belief. It looked alright. "Just gave up?" Estelle asked, the girl staring back defiantly.

"Tell me," Estelle said, "Or I will let this decay into a witch, and I will leave you here."

"You will not," the girl replied. "You've not the will to do so. I know how all magical girls work. We'd never let that happen to another one of our kind, not if we could save them." Estelle knew the girl she was right.

"Then why give up?" Estelle asked. The traitor shrugged.

Her helmet disappeared, revealing neck length blonde hair. "If I delay you any more, you and everyone else here will die when the portal opens. There's little time left before it does. Keep heading that way." The girl gestured over her shoulder, "And you'll easily reach your destination, trust me."

"You want us alive?" Estelle asked, frowning.

The other girl shrugged. "I don't know what the higher-ups want. I'm just following orders. Kill me if you wish."

Estelle was about to crush the gem, but she hesitated. She looked at the thing, finding that her hands would not close on the all-too fragile thing. It theoretically would have been so easy to simply close one's fingers about the thing. She looked back at the girl. "I've no time to give you some sob story about why I betrayed the Goddess, so either kill me or don't. The point is that you have less than ten minutes to save Erwine, then get off this planet."

Nadine wrapped her hand around the gem. "We'll just be taking this one," Nadine explained. She kicked the girl's head. The skull was crushed. She then placed the gem within a box she seemed to summon out of nowhere.

The older inquisitor placed the gem into the small sealing box in her hand. A glance around for anything more, then "Come on," she called, leaping off into the forest.

* * *

Erwine couldn't hear or see anything. Her other senses were also restricted, save for touch. She could feel that the tendrils were completely restraining her, and was currently wishing that the situation was different at the moment.

Suddenly, they started to pull away from her face. A few seconds passed, and while she was still incapable of moving her limbs and the rest of her body, her face and ears were uncovered. She saw the girl who had done all this to her. Her chestnut brown hair fell down around her face.

Erwine lay back against a tree at the moment. The traitor girl knelt right in front of her. Erwine was about to shout out, but the knight reached out and pinched her lips shut with her fingers. "No," she said, "Just stay quiet, you need to hear what I am about to say. If you do not listen, then there is a good chance that you and your friends might perish on this world."

Erwine choose to listen, realizing that she wasn't dead yet. "You see," the traitor said, "In about ten minutes, the portal will open. This world has already been beaten down. It shall be easily consumed by the tides of chaos that will surge forth. I highly suggest that you do not try to interfere."

"When your friends rescue you, inform of this. Call down support from your ship. You and your friends are not going to die here." The traitor explained. She looked up. "They already approach." Then she released the girl's lips, and stepped back.

"You don't want me? I thought…I thought you wanted me captured." Erwine said.

"We do," the girl replied, "It would take a major threat out of the equation." Then she shrugged. "I guess it's not my place to be questioning orders, however. All I know is that at least you, Estelle, and Nadine are supposed to live."

"Following some plan laid down by Ishna?" Erwine asked.

"Inquisitive, huh? Guess you're supposed to be…" the traitor saw Estelle and Nadine approaching fast. They had spotted her. She shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. I really can't tell you."

The girl leapt backwards, withdrawing the tendrils from around Erwine as she dodged around the attacks from Nadine. Estelle went for Erwine, hacking away at the things entrapping the girl. Erwine was helped out as Nadine drove the enemy back, before the girl retreated fully.

"We need to get out of here!" Erwine shouted, "We can't stop them!"

"She told you the same thing?" Estelle asked, "She can't be serious. They have to be losing, there are only two people back there, and fourteen of our own. Come on, we need to go help out."

The first shield had yet to be brought back up. The constant attacks from the three girls, the machine gunner still firing from within the woods, were making things difficult for the girls. Sanae and another melee girl were now locked in combat with the scythe-wielder, Ayelen now moving out to assist them.

Five minutes since the battle around the hill began. None had been able to get shots off at the traitors still formulating the warp breach. However, the second shield, supported by the other generator, was holding perfectly fine, and the consistent movements of the group combined with their invisibility meant that it was hard for the enemy shots to always hit the shield.

The duplicator girl had multiple clones of herself running about the field of battle, taking fire for her, and consistently ensuring that there was no chance that any major shots would strike those finishing the portal. Things were still looking up for the Inquisition, as they knew Estelle and Nadine would be back soon, judging from the message sent to them.

Then the sphere flashed brightly. The area took on an entirely different hue. A red haze fell over the area, blotting the vision of everyone there. The sphere began to spin around and around, its flashes getting brighter and brighter. The portal was close to being opened.

Things began to flash into existence. Daemons, mainly of the blood god, emerged from nowhere, leaping in to strike at the shield. They somehow knew despite the invisibility, and this forced the magical girls to fire at them as well. The gunner girl leapt out from the trees, now circling about.

The shield began to crack as dozens of daemons flashed into existence. They were cut down easily, but their forms regenerated, thanks to the proximity of the warp rift nearby. Only by being blasted entirely apart could the things actually be driven back from their target.

The area turned into completely chaos, and this was the scene that Erwine and the inquisitors saw as they came back. They paused at the edge of the tree line. "We need to get out of here," Erwine repeated, "That girl was not lying. There's something more going on here. They could have killed me, or that girl could have gotten away with me. They let you take me, just to let us know that we can't win, why?"

Estelle was going to talk. Nadine interrupted. "No time for talk, let's move." She leapt out from cover, striking her whip about at multiple clones of the sniper. Erwine spread her wings, choosing to fly out towards those right around the portal. Estelle cursed as she saw this action, deciding to pursue Erwine to insure her safety.

Her blade was out, and she did her best to cut through the enemy as she ran across the field towards the hill. The battle continued to rage on around the shielded group as the three returned. But the presence of the daemons had changed things. More hits were landing now. The shield was cracking more and more.

The shield could not last forever, and the girls had to make a choice about what they wanted to do. The melee fighters had to retreat back inside, thanks to the presence of the daemons. The same abominations also covered for the magical girls attacking, meaning that they had free reign.

Against even two shield generators…it was too much. The half-sphere shattered with a loud crack, and the daemons rushed forwards. The magical girls pulled back, to let the three dozen or so creatures descend upon and weaken the battle-weary girls before they would take the final kills for themselves.

From above, there was a roaring sound. It was like the sound of engines. Two groups of them, as a matter of fact. Gunfire and detonations suddenly started to cut into the daemons below. But that was not what surprised all who looked up. What surprised them was the red flash that shot down from one of the craft coming from above.

A dozen daemons were tossed aside as a storm of red particles and light accompanied a single girl standing up, spinning her long spear around. The other creatures looked to the newcomer, rushing towards her from all sides.

Yuki Sayaonaella merely grinned, perhaps a bit too excited for the battle ahead of her. She rushed forwards, her strike aimed at the charging mass right ahead of her. Her blades were like lightning, taking place in the blink of an eye, but leaving only destruction. Half a dozen bloodletters swung their blades at her, the daemonic weapons poised to slice through her.

The six weapons were knocked from their hands, before Yuki dropped to the ground in a nanosecond. She kicked all around herself as she went down into a spin, before leaping up to launch several strikes as the daemons were knocked back. Every strike carried a massive magical charge, enough to blast apart the daemon's form and prevent regeneration.

The daemons had been chopped in half in under fifteen seconds. The three traitor knights now focused on the newcomer as the daemons were mopped up by the other girls. The scythe-wielder landed in front of Yuki, pausing. "I'm proud to see we're considered such a threat."

Yuki lightly bowed to her. Her weapon was a flash of light as she blocked the scythe that came towards her head. "Please do not be so dishonorable," she requested, slowly bringing her head back up. The scythe-wielder had stayed where she was. Yuki gazed ahead neutrally. "Shall we begin?" the girl asked.

The scythe-wielder stepped back several feet. "Via Isiniad," the girl bowed, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"A pleasure to make yours. A shame it is here." Yuki raised her weapon, before she moved forwards.

Erwine was ready to make contact with the girls forming the portal, "Pull back!" Estelle shouted. Erwine flicked herself backwards, wrapping her wings around herself, as a series of bullets shot right in front of her. Erwine spread her wings, retreating downwards as the sniper below tracked her.

Several clones split off from her, racing towards Erwine. They could not fire their weapons, but they could still distract her. With Yuki's arrival, Estelle had a much easier time making it there, and Nadine was already focused on the duplicator.

The girl kept firing at the three girls moving towards her, with Mila and Wei coming in to assist as well. Justinia opened fire on the portal site as Nadine leapt at the sniper, distracting her. The detonations obscured the bright sphere, but the girls around it were gone, having left. And there was somehow a shield around it once again.

The portal was close to formation. Or at least it had been kicked off. There was no way to stop it now. They were too late. The sniper retreated backwards, her clones throwing themselves in front of Nadine, Estelle, and Erwine as the three drove forwards. She seemed to have no intention to fight, and seemed more focused on escape than anything else.

Then a bright flash came out from the sphere. Everything seemed to pause for a moment. Then, in front of everyone's visions was a new sight. No one else was there. It was merely red, and a black line across the center of the shifting blood-like color. The black line parted, as though a massive eye opened.

Normal vision returned. There were two girls below the sphere, which was starting to look more and more like a hole leading off to nowhere. One was the technomancer. Another was a shield generator. Her barrier prevented anyone from attacking. It was not the same one as before.

She merely sat on the ground, watching the chaos unfold, as the technomancer walked rhythmically in a circle around the space below the opening in space. A circle of candles had been arranged there, presumably in the time when the smoke and fire from Justinia's rockets obscured the sight. They were neatly placed beneath the opening.

A chant seemed to emanate from the technomancer, as the machine gunner and the sniper retreated back into the shield. The inquisitors and Erwine retreated as the two opened fire at those within the shield.

Driven back, they turned their attention to the rest of the battlefield, as they realized that those girls were quite correct in what they said.

* * *

Yuki waited for her opponent to make the first move. The swing of her scythe was easy to block. It would have killed a human before they could comprehend that Via had moved. Yuki parried it like a child had swung a stick at her. Four more rapid slashes, taking place over the course of a second, had the same outcome.

Yuki counterattacked. Her spear slipped in under her opponent's defense, and only a clumsy jump back by Via saved her from being impaled. Yuki pressed the attack, Via realizing that her opponent was no fool. Four shallow stabs tested Via, and the traitor bit at none of the pieces of bait, a mighty attack sending a crescent of energy at Yuki.

She easily sidestepped, before leaping forwards, converting the momentum into a sliding kick and stabbing upwards at Via. Via leapt over Yuki, flipping in the air to land upright. Yuki leapt up from her slide, striking out at Via at the same time. The traitor blocked the attack, before executing half a dozen rotations of her blade that cut at Yuki again and again.

Not a single one landed, with Via barely preventing Yuki's spear from impaling her head. Another strike barely missed her side. One finally found her stomach. Via wasn't fast enough. She'd thought she left no gap in her technique, but she was quite wrong. She was almost disappointed, with how quickly she had been worn done and beaten.

But she wasn't really beaten. Even as Yuki went to withdraw the weapon, Via lunged forwards, pushing it in further. She swung her scythe at the girl, with Yuki unable to get back in time. The blow never landed. Yuki's eyes kept staring forwards. Her hands were no longer on her weapon. The blade of Via's scythe was a few inches from Yuki's neck. The important part was that it was clamped between Yuki's hands.

She ducked down, pulling it over her head as she turned to kick out with her right left at her spear. This pushed it all the way through Via, and the out the other side of the girl. It also pushed Via back a little. Balancing without error on her left leg, she brought her right leg down to kick at Via's knee. The girl stumbled as Yuki leapt over her. She reached out to grab her scythe, before landing with a roll. Via spun around, continuing her offensive. Yuki barely had time to spin around before the attacks landed, despite the fact that she was twenty feet from the wounded girl.

Via crossed the distance easily, her attacks furious yet precise. Yuki did manage to deflect them all, though it was more difficult than before. Yuki withdrew the spear. A number of other attacks maimed the girl and knocked her blade away. The wound in her chest, right below her soul gem, hurt.

"Your offense is excellent," Yuki commented, "But your guard is weak." Another strike cut her chest armor open. Yuki tore her soul gem out. "I sincerely hope you are responsive to reprogramming, I would love an opponent such as you." She bowed to the girl. Within the blink of an eye, Via's head was falling to the ground and Yuki was moving to another part of the battlefield.

* * *

"We need to get out of here!" Erwine shouted over the vox, looking up at the sky at the shuttles that still flew about, doing what they could to assist. "The portal is about to open, we can't stop it!"

Daemons were everywhere, starting to seriously multiply. Rapidly, their numbers were increasing, to the point where the field was close to being entirely overwhelmed by their ranks. And their regeneration was only going up. Combined with the fire from the girls in the shield, there was no chance of winning at this rate. No one had died, but the girls felt like that was because the traitor knights did not want anyone dead.

"She's right!" Estelle cried, "It's not worth it!" Their voices were heard over the chaos, and the magical girls started to form together again, pulling back towards the trees.

Yuki heard the conversation. "Towards the forest," she said, "Retreat. The shuttles are coming down." The magical girls, as a whole, leapt off towards the forest, even as they still took fire from those behind the shield. Then it suddenly stopped, as the shuttles came down to land.

Erwine decapitated a daemon, before turning to see the craft descending down behind her. The back door opened up, and Erwine saw Laelia and Celestine standing there. "Come on!" they shouted to her and those around her. The seventeen split themselves between the two, while Yuki dealt with the daemons for a moment, before she leapt into the same shuttle Erwine was standing in.

"Away!" she shouted. The shuttles lifted off from the ground. The engines were pushed to the limit. Erwine did not want to look out at the ground below, which was a good thing, for below the world was ending in fire. The bright opening fully ripped a hole in reality. Out of it poured a tide of unearthly energy, ripping through the materium and spreading across the world like a wildfire, only a thousand times more violent.

The magical girls, the traitors, around the portal were unharmed by this wave. The technomancer looked up as the world changed in a bright flash.

It was seemingly an instantaneous change, but it was only the surrounding area for the time being. The world was in flames, strange lights and energies swirling about. Lyndia looked up at the opening, as something appeared there. Like writing, in a script that screamed into her mind and made her eyes cloud up with tears from the immense pain that coursed through them.

A contented smile came onto her face as she reached out with the paper. "Just as she said," the girl remarked, as the tear in the world writhed and howled with otherworldly screams and sights. The words seemed somehow burned into the twisting and churning sea of colors that lay beyond the portal.

As she held the paper against the long line of words, the world itself seemed to howl. A chill spread through the air, bringing with it the freezing cold of a deep winter. Even as this occurred, sparks erupted in the air, and the parchment lit on fire for a brief instant.

Then everything was silent. Lyndia would swear that all sensation and light disappeared from the world for an instant smaller than even a single nanosecond. When it ended, the portal was slowly sealing. The script on the other side was gone, and in Lyndia's hands was a parchment in a language she could read. Around her, the world continued to burn, but in her hands was another piece of the key.

* * *

**I'll be getting new chapters of this out relatively quickly. All of this was actually written a long time ago, but the happenings of the past few months both gave me little time to edit and also convinced me all this is terrible, even though I knew it wasn't. More a psychological thing than anything, but at least I'm on schedule now. **


	43. A Brief Respite

Erwine couldn't help but feel remorse as she stepped off the shuttle, her feet making contact with the hangar of the _Yslevia. _She felt like she was in a dream, like she hadn't really been through all of that. "For nothing…" she muttered under her breath, stumbling a few feet forwards, before realizing that things were over.

She paused, only to slowly turn around and look back at the others. Laelia and Celestine were certainly pleased to be back with the others, and Estelle was in the midst of a conversation with them. Nadine slowly stepped down the ramp, her eyes locked onto Erwine's.

The young little interrogator looked down, averting her eyes as best she could. Nadine's hand found a place on Erwine's shoulder. The girl made no attempt to shrug the hand away. "It's alright, Erwine. You made it out alive, and you saved the girls who were still left."

"That's not the point…" Erwine muttered. "In the end…we're still at square one, aren't we?" She was still looking down. The other girls were disembarking, giving Nadine and Erwine a wide berth. They could tell the two needed some time.

"It doesn't matter. We'll keep going. I won't leave you." Nadine promised.

Erwine scoffed. "Really? I thought you were the one who was trying to restrain me, agreeing with Estelle?"

"Estelle has been put in her place," Nadine explained. "She was suffering from what happened as well. She's over it now, I can promise you that much. She'll also not be hampering you anytime soon."

"It's not about that," Erwine replied. "I mean…I mean that how are we ever going to get anywhere at this point? It's been so long…I can't believe that I've still gotten nowhere."

"You've gotten places. We have Liselotte, and once we can get at her mind, she'll start giving answers. We know that the enemy is trying to translate whatever prophecy Ishna got." Nadine's voice was soft, caring. Erwine had heard it before. She was certain this time that Adrianne got it from Nadine.

Erwine felt a few tears slip down her cheeks. She looked up, not directly at Nadine. "You're right…I suppose." The young girl thought for a few seconds, before continuing. "This…all of this wasn't for nothing." Her fists tightened, "I now know what my goal is with my life."

She finally looked the inquisitor in the eyes. "You promise you'll be there."

Nadine shrugged. "I've nothing else to do, with my experience, I'm far too deep in this matter to back out now." She grinned. "You're going to go far, Erwine."

The hangar was clear at this point, save for the human personnel tending to more mundane tasks. The _Yslevia _was already slipping away from the planet, accompanied by the other two vessels.

Erwine almost laughed. "Reminds me…I told my old friend I was going to be a hero." Her lips spread out in a strange kind of grin, something that didn't make her seem truly happy. It was more sorrow, perhaps nostalgia, longing for what could never again be.

"I wonder if I'm a hero now?" Erwine kept staring forwards for a few moments, till she broke down into tears. Nadine stepped forwards, wrapping her arms around the girl.

"Shhhh…" Nadine cooed, before she whispered, "It's all going to be alright. You'll be a hero one day, I promise. You're not one now, but you will be. You have the potential."

"Even with such a selfish wish?" Erwine asked. She fully collapsed into Nadine's arms. "I made a wish purely for my own gain, I wanted to be a hero, but in the end, I just want to be free."

"Perhaps you can find freedom for everyone, who knows?" Nadine said. She held Erwine tighter, realizing that her own eyes were becoming a bit cloudier. "Don't ever give up on your wish, that's when bad things happen."

"I know that," Erwine replied, "I know…"

"I'll be with for as long as I can be," Nadine said, praying that Erwine would not catch the connotation. She didn't want to lie and say forever.

"When will you be going?" Erwine asked, "Do…do you want to die? Like Adrianne did?"

"No, I have no intention of dying anytime soon." The inquisitor had a sad smile on her face. "But who knows, I could go before you do. I certainly will try to ensure your survival."

"At the cost of your own life, I assume?" Erwine asked. She pushed away from Nadine. "Don't ever sacrifice yourself for me," she said. "I don't want anyone to do that for me."

"Why not?" Nadine asked, "Most see it as an honor to have someone so dedicated to them."

"I don't feel like I deserve it. I'm so young. I haven't proven anything, except that I'm perhaps a danger." Erwine was serious. Nadine could tell that she was trying to not over-exaggerate, and was indeed succeeding in this goal. "I'm no hero. I'm just a girl whose wish failed, and who is yanked along by a leash that I practically put on myself."

Nadine saw the raw determination in Erwine's stoic features, something that she had not seen for the longest time. Only when Erwine had started out after Adrianne's death had she seen the same level of determination. "This whole endeavor has only made me certain of my course. I will find a way to become more powerful than anything else, and find out why everything has happened." Erwine almost laughed at her own foolishness. "You know…I get the feeling that trying to use your wish to help others is the wrong thing."

She spread her arms out to either side, palms facing up. A grin spread across her face. "Or rather, it's the most dangerous. Because in the end, there can only be failure, disappointment. No magical girl can save everybody else. Failure, disappointment, they bring despair. And despair brings nothing but suffering."

She raised one hand higher than the other. "On the other hand, being selfish is easy. You get what you want, you get to be happy, and you'll never come to regret anything." Erwine chuckled, "It really does all seem to make sense now, doesn't it?"

Worry was what Nadine felt now. "Erwine…" her voice had a cautionary tone.

"Don't." Erwine held up a finger, reaching her arm out towards the inquisitor. "I'm not foolish enough to be so self-serving." She shook her head. "No…I will make my wish a reality, uncover this whole truth…" She spread her lips in a bright smile. Nada's face, somehow a thing of beauty in Erwine's memory, after so long of not seeing it, flashed before her eyes. "And I will make good on that promise I made."

"Your determination is appreciated," Nadine smiled. "And I sincerely hope that you will do all of that, and more."

"By my very soul, by my wish, by the Goddess," Erwine nodded. "I will."

* * *

Estelle watched the accursed form of the planet below. Covered in a seemingly endless carpet of an otherworldly arrangement of colors, the thing was something that deserved to be destroyed, to be put out of its misery. Yet she could not do it. She gritted her teeth as she stood on the bridge of the ship that was under her command, that reacted to her beck and call, which could have put an end to the daemon world below.

A world that would surely be a threat in the future, or at least a distraction for imperial forces who had better things to do. Estelle could only hope that the traitors below were not caught up in any further destruction that might be wrought upon the world. For she knew that what they carried was something of the utmost importance, and about as effective as a whole battle fleet would be in preventing Estelle from scorching the planet of Janicelle.

For now, her ship lead the formation as they made their way towards a point where they could hopefully exit the system. She'd questioned why they could not stay, hunt down the other enemy vessel, and then trap the others on Janicelle. The answer they had come to was a sensible one.

The enemy would most likely be able to flee by entering into some passage through the warp. If they had the ability to open such a breach so quickly, then retreating would be easy. In addition, they still did not know the full force of the enemy, and with long-range scanning still unreliable due to the warp storm, they did not expect to be able to find the enemy ship before it could get into range to pick up the magical girls on Janicelle.

So the trio of vessels headed out towards the nearest jump point, hoping to be able to make it through the ongoing storm in one piece. It could only have intensified due to the presence of the breach, so it would be far more difficult than before.

Estelle figured Nadine and Erwine were still back in the hangar. She respected both, and they deserved time alone. She was happy that her team was back together, with Justinia, Sechylia, Ayelen, Sanae, Wei, Laelia, and Celestine all standing on the bridge with her, as well as Yuki and Mila. The other Janicelle girls were with Theodora.

Currently, Estelle was engaged in communications with the oldest person in the room. Theodora was linked to her, both talking to Yuki. _So Laelia and Celestine were encouraged to leave by some unknown force? _

_Yes, _Yuki replied, _we don't know who attacked and provided the opening for them to leave. We assume traitor agents, as there are no other options in theory. I did not know any of the girls who I had to fight off when picking them up, though they state that there were others they encountered. _

_There was a girl with some kind of teleportation ability, and then another girl, with an unidentified ability, perhaps just a specialist. I do not know either of them, and all communications sent to Juno reveal that neither girl exists in any records she could find. _Yuki explained.

_Have you tried the Incubators? _Theodora asked, _they should be responsive. _

_The Incubators are not talking. We've all tried to come into contact with them, but whenever the issue is brought up, they skirt around it. They're hiding something, but we don't know why. _

_Interesting…_Theodora said, _the Incubators are supposed to be loyal to the Goddess, right? _

_Perhaps the girls work for someone higher up than any of us, even Juno. _Estelle proposed. _She's only lord inquisitor, right? Perhaps there is a higher power at work here. _

_But then only one girl could work for said power, as they fought one another. Perhaps the other girl could be an anomaly? _Yuki proposed.

_An anomaly? _Estelle asked. _Someone who's not on the lists?_

_Exactly, _Yuki replied. _There are other ways to create magical girls, there are artificial means. So she might be one of those, which would definitely paint her as a servant of chaos. _

_That's the most likely option, _Theodora agreed. There was another, but none wanted to give voice to that possibility.

_Our current plan is to go to Hadiens, correct? _Estelle asked. The others confirmed that.

_We'll make it to Hadiens, and then start to sort things out. After all of that, I think we might be able to say that the Hadiens sect is free of guilt for the time being. The only thing we have against them is Liselotte, so it'll be mostly paperwork and closure. _

_After all that, I don't think that would be such a bad thing, _Estelle commented. _It should take about a month to get to Hadiens, so we'll have plenty of time to think on things. We should make any last minute personnel transfers, as we won't be able to on the way there. _

_Right, _Theodora agreed. The two got to work on figuring out where people would be going, bringing the other magical girls into the conversation. At the same time, Nadine and Erwine walked into the bridge. Estelle made sure to string them in.

They had all survived, better than they were before. Erwine felt proud. While she'd been robbed of true success, this was the first real victory she'd ever experienced. Everything else had carried some kind of bitter aftertaste. This…this just tasted good.

* * *

The ships were nearing the edge of the system. Yuki stood next to the entrance to the medicae. She leaned against the wall, not another soul in sight. Then two came down the hall. Laelia and Celestine walked side by side, doing their best to not look suspicious in any way.

And they really didn't. Yuki smiled as they came towards her, looking natural. She took a step forwards, then turned and walked down the hall in the opposite direction. As she passed them, a low whisper "To the same shuttle we disembarked from." Yuki would have used telepathy, but it might have been picked up by one of the telepaths, and that would not be good. The two girls nodded, before they entered the room.

Yuki looked at Laelia and Celestine, the two girls carrying the body between them. Checking to see that no others were in the corridor, Yuki explained. "You can tell Erwine, but make sure that no one else knows, unless you are absolutely certain you can trust them. A single hint of doubt, and you stay silent."

Then she moved. Her speed was the usual level, as was her power. Laelia and Celestine were lying incapacitated right as Liselotte's limp body impacted the ground. Yuki grabbed the body, before turning around and heading back down the hall, not looking back as she moved quickly.

Yuki picked up the pace, walking quickly towards the hangar bay. She knew that what she was doing was not exactly showing any kind of trust in Estelle, but she could not know who was working with who. It occurred to her that she could most certainly trust Erwine, but Nadine was questionable. Estelle would be alright, but she would inform the others.

Basically, Yuki had to make it look like this was her acting on her own, running off with Liselotte. Something that went entirely against her well-known personality, certainly, but it was something that had to be done. It was unknown if Theodora was actually in on the conspiracy, but it seemed like she was. Therefore, Yuki had to assure that she had no chance to stop her.

Yuki got inside the shuttle, taking deep breaths as she approached. She opened the doors, and quickly took the comatose body of the girl, as well as the stasis box in which her soul gem was contained, inside. Liselotte was laid on the seat, and strapped in.

* * *

Yuki activated the shuttle as the doors began to open. Closing the thing up, she flew out of the hangar as soon as possible. She instantly swung the thing back around, aiming it towards the ship she had arrived on. Multiple telepathic and vox messages were instantly directed at her, but she did not pick up any of them. She didn't enjoy being so cryptic, but something larger was going on here.

Landing in her ship, she knew that the starship was already turning away heading off in its own direction. Its speed meant that she would make it back to Juno while the others were still headed to Hadiens. It wouldn't be too long of a journey, luckily.

"Where's she going?!"Estelle shouted frantically, "Trace the vector! Delay warp entry!" They were very close to where they planned to try and exit the system, but leaving was not an option at the moment.

The light, quick ship that Yuki had run away to was already pulling away quickly, headed for elsewhere in the system. She watched its speed. Elle looked up at her. "It's much faster than either of us. It's already pulling out of lance range, and warp entry can't be too far. And if we do go into the warp after it, they're a double navigator ship designed for speed. They can outpace us easily."

Estelle calmed herself. Theodora was similarly angered, but she saw the reality of the situation as well. "Then what do we do?" Estelle asked. "Where do we go with this?"

"We go to Hadiens, and assume that Juno had a good reason for this," Nadine suggested. Estelle looked at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that there is a good chance that Juno had a reason. Yuki's loyal, she wouldn't run off on her own just because she feels like it. Juno obviously wants Liselotte, and perhaps suspects that someone here, on either one of these ships, would hinder an investigation of the girl."

The doors opened, Laelia and Celestine stormed into the bridge. At the moment, only Nadine, Estelle, and now these two girls were the only magical girls present not counting the navigator.

Estelle narrowed her eyes at the two girls. "What's the rush?"

"We heard of what occurred," Laelia explained, "We were worried."

"Interesting you say that," Estelle said. Elle hit a button. The bridge doors locked. "I heard that you two were the ones who said you had to move Liselotte's body to a more secure location."

"Yuki did ambush us," Laelia pointed out, "You can read our minds if you want to."

Estelle dove into Laelia's mind. She felt that something was off about the whole thing. Celestine leapt forwards, dodging around Estelle and went for the vox button. She shut off the link to Theodora's ship. Estelle and Theodora were not speaking telepathically at the moment.

"Do not tell Theodora!" Celestine shouted.

Estelle frowned, turning around to look at the girl in her violet attire. She could definitely see why it might be best to keep some things secret from that girl. "You could have just told me." She pointed out. "Why even come here, if you were told to not let me know. I only suspected you because you came here so quickly."

"We know," Laelia replied. "While Yuki didn't want you to know, we think…I decided to trust you. As well as Nadine. Perhaps it wasn't the best choice."

"I will not be telling anyone else," Nadine promised. "I think Erwine knowing would be a solid idea as well, and there are others we can trust on this ship. I think what Yuki was worried about was Theodora knowing of the real reason."

"Theodora would have tried to get Liselotte on her ship if that was the case, would she not?" Estelle asked, "We were transferring personnel several hours ago, there should have been a chance then."

Nadine nodded. "You're right, but that would have resulted in Yuki coming to us, explaining what she knew, and us thoroughly turning against Theodora."

"Still," Estelle shook her head as she sighed, "Yuki should have just come to us. It would be easier than this."

"No," Nadine countered her. "If Yuki came and told us everything, then we'd be trying to find things wrong with Theodora. I think the whole point, if what you read was correct." Estelle had been sharing her findings within Laelia's mind with Nadine. "Was that Theodora may not actually be guilty here. Not knowing is more dangerous than knowing. For all we know, everyone on both ships is completely loyal, but they might not be. Yuki's, and therefore Juno's, intention was to ensure that the most valuable piece was saved in case somebody else wanted it."

"Makes sense," Estelle agreed. She looked back at the viewscreen, then at the rest of the bridge. The crew had absolutely no idea what they were really discussing. Estelle looked at Elle. "Do not tell anyone else about any of this," she said. "Keep Theodora in the dark about what we suspect of her."

Elle nodded. "Easy."

* * *

Erwine walked along the edge of the walkway which oversaw the hangar. It was not the one from which Yuki had recently flown, but rather an entirely different part of the ship. Erwine sighed as she gazed out at the space below, wondering what this new curveball meant.

Sounds to her right made her turn her head. She wasn't surprised to see Wei coming towards her. "You alright?" she asked, "You didn't seem too well back there." It had been hours since Nadine and Erwine finished their conversation, but everyone had been wrapped up in other matters as well.

"I'm alright," Erwine confirmed, "Just needed to steel myself, make sure that I know what I'm doing." She smiled. "I think things are going to be getting a lot better. Nadine's going to stick with me, and since Estelle has changed for the better, I think we can see a good partnership ahead of us."

Wei smiled back at Erwine as she walked towards the girl. "Yeah, I think things will finally start to be looking up for all of us." She was still about ten feet from Erwine. "As for you…you're certain in everything about yourself?"

"I most certainly am," Erwine confirmed. She looked back down at the hangar. "In fact, I think this is one of the few times I've felt truly full of joy since I made my contract." She smirked, "Heck, even that first day, I didn't really feel anything positive after the first ten minutes of making it."

"What happened?" Wei asked, "After those ten minutes?"

Erwine took a deep breath. "You know, I have not told anyone what the first day after I contracted was like. Only Adrianne has any idea, and she still didn't really know the events that led to me running out alone at night."

"I came out of classes, they had just ended. I had made my contract with the Incubator after classes finally ended." I went outside the building, excited that I had made my contract finally. I found my oldest and best friend. I thought she had wanted me to contract.

But when I yanked my glove off, it was winter, and showed her that ring and tattoo, she was only angry at me. Erwine sighed. "It was terrible. I thought I had messed up. I instantly regretted it right there. Might as well consider it a miracle that I did not turn into a witch right there."

"Adrianne found me. We said goodbye to my family. Then she took me away. We went to another city. My first ever assignment ended with me killing several people and then watching another magical girl get murdered in front of my eyes."

"Once again," Erwine sighed, "I felt like the world was falling apart, and it was again a miracle that I didn't turn."

"From there, it was just Adrianne slowly breaking me down, molding me into the shape she wanted." Erwine shrugged. "But I guess that all ended a long time ago."

"It certainly did," Wei agreed. "And you don't regret going through all that."

"Wei…I promised that oldest and best friend that I would become one of the greatest heroes ever." Erwine met Wei's eyes. "And I don't think that would be possible were it not for Adrianne's influence. I'm still nowhere close, but I have plenty of time. Life is long, after all."

"I guess you're right," Wei's voice was distant.

"What do you want from life?" Erwine asked, "Or rather, this state of unlife and undeath that we find ourselves in as magical girls?"

"I would…I'd like to be the best person I can be, and help as many as I can, all while managing to maintain some semblance of enjoyment from it all." Wei explained.

"Makes sense," Erwine replied. "I suppose that's really what I want in the end, it's just that I see myself going to heights greater than any other. A bit selfish of me, don't you think?"

"That could be said." Wei agreed. "But on the other hand, I don't think you're a bad person."

"I don't know," Erwine shrugged, "I could be considered a bad person. But at the same time, I might just not be."

"Bad in what way?" Wei asked. "Perhaps you could be considered bad in what you want, your goals and desires. But have you really acted in any way that is bad. I suppose that you did do things that killed many people, even a magical girl, but you seemed to get over that quickly."

"You think I'm wrong for doing so?" Erwine asked.

"I don't think you're wrong for getting over a mistake you made. It's one of the real privileges that nobody realizes they have, the ability to accept your mistakes, and move forwards from them." Wei explained. "I think you've accepted it."

"Yeah, I have." Erwine confirmed. She waited a few seconds. Wei didn't say anything more. She seemed content to stand straight beside Erwine. The younger girl still looked down, still leaned over the railing.

"I never really knew the navigator that well. Her name was Melody. She gave herself the name, I'm pretty sure, because I never heard a surname. But we all called her that name, and we all really cared. I only saw her face a few times, when we were in port and she could take some time to walk around. Other times, I was off the ship every single time we stopped, and we were running off when I came back." Erwine smiled. "She was a bright, happy girl. But she knew that navigators cannot be retired."

"Navigators are either reduced to vegetables by strain, put in stasis while at the event horizon, or are lost to the warp." Erwine said. "And my actions meant that Melody got the worst of those options. But you never know, maybe she's somehow safe…" Erwine shut her eyes, her body shaking as she felt tears come to her eyes. "Those people…those navigators…who stare into a place worse than any religion's hell, are braver than I. Sometimes I feel bad because of that fact."

There was the sound of other steps. Erwine didn't bother to look. She'd memorized the sound of certain people's gaits. "So you're here to settle the score?" she asked, without even opening her eyes, her body unmoving.

"Yes, I am." Victoria simply confirmed, approaching from the same direction Wei came in.

"The mental link was broken, right?" Wei asked, "Just want to make sure this is real hate."

"It is real hate. I am most certainly unhinged, but it's hate, not some damage." Wei looked at Victoria. She stepped away from the railing, standing in the middle of the walkway. A few steps forwards made it so that she was blocking Victoria from reaching Erwine. Wei did indeed notice the weapon in Victoria's right hand.

Being an astrotelepath meant that Victoria had no magic weapon of her own. But she had one in her room, for self-defense. She knew how to use it. It was raised at Wei. "Please get out of my way." Victoria requested, "This quarrel is with Erwine alone." Wei could hear the sorrow in her voice.

Wei was about to reply. She looked over her shoulder as she heard Erwine start to talk. "Let her by, step away," Erwine ordered. Erwine still had tears in her eyes, but her voice had a feeling of content. She was perfectly calm, her eyes shut. Despite the tears, Wei was calmed by what she saw. "I promised I won't die till I get my wish, remember?"

Wei hesitated, looking back and forth. Then she obeyed, stepping to the side, before walking forwards. Victoria walked by her, the two not touching as they walked past. Right as she walked past the petite astrotelepath, Wei spun on her heel. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest. If she'd thought it was right to do so, she would have.

Victoria's body shook furiously, her hands unable to remain straight as she paused. The weapon was raised at Erwine's head. Right for her soul gem. Victoria took long, deep breaths. She shut her eyes. Erwine did not move. Perhaps a minute, maybe more, would pass. The shaking finally decreased.

"Are you even sorry you did what you did?" Victoria snapped. Wei could not see her eyes only observing the girl's back. "Are you? Are you?!" The volume increased each time she asked.

Erwine nodded. She didn't look back at the astrotelepath. Her face was still one of perfect calm. Perfect acceptance. "Then…then you should know what you did to me!" Victoria screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I can't comprehend what I did," Erwine replied. Her voice was still gentle and calm, but drenched in shame. "Because I never knew the girl very well. I was so wrapped up with my fervor that…that I thought it was my only goal. I believed my only objective in life was to find out why Ishna did what she did."

"You never cared about her! You never cared about me! You never cared about anyone but yourself, and your stupid little quest!" Victoria had tears streaming down her cheeks, her composure absolutely destroyed.

She wished that she could pull the trigger. Her finger came so close, so many times. No matter how loudly she screamed, no matter how furiously she shook, no matter how much she tried to think of Melody's face to drive her on…she could not.

Erwine still had her eyes closed. "Victoria…will you forgive me?"

"Give me a reason!" Victoria screamed, desperate for all the pain to go away somehow.

"People tell me that I am different from the way I was before. I like to believe them. I like to think that I am different. Am I really different, or am I just feeding myself sweet little lies?"

Victoria looked at Erwine. Erwine was moving. Her right arm reached out. Her thumb slid into the trigger guard of the pistol, her fingers wrapped around Victoria's hand.

"Do you want me to help you out?" she asked.

Victoria's eyes went wide. She would have nodded. Erwine continued. "Good thing you didn't say yes, because I can't. I'm too selfish to die here." She was still the perfect example of calm.

"Only you can end me. So please, go ahead, if you must." Erwine insisted. Wei thought the girl had to be absolutely crazy. Erwine was honest when she said, "Perhaps my selfishness deserves this."

Victoria did not pull the trigger for another three minutes. It was maddening for Wei, watching the girl have the gun to Erwine's head, Erwine's finger ready to press down on the trigger. In the end, the trigger was never pulled.

Erwine pulled her thumb away from the gun. She grabbed onto Victoria's hand. Then, for the first time, she moved her whole body. She slowly spun around to face Victoria entirely. Taking a step forwards, she got to her knees, putting her about the same height as the girl. Her arms reached out to pull Victoria into her arms.

Victoria stood there, Erwine's arms wrapped around her, the gun still pointing at where Erwine's head had been. Truly desperate for an answer, Erwine inquired, "Victoria, have I changed? As in, I'm different from the Erwine that killed Melody?"

The astrotelepath had a moment of clarity, in which she realized something. Something played across her face, some kind of realization. "You are different than before." She let the gun drop to the ground as she broke out into a full cascade of tears. Erwine cried as well as she held the girl.

"It's my fault that Melody will never come back," Erwine admitted. She was willing to shoulder all the blame if it would make Victoria happy. Erwine wouldn't suffer very much, and besides, a hero had to start somewhere. "She'll never come back." Erwine repeated.

"I know," Victoria's voice was strained. "Killing you won't bring her back…it'll only make things worse."

"Exactly," Erwine agreed, still embracing the girl. "Please," Erwine begged. "This is so selfish of me, so stupidly selfish." She shook her head, her composure finally breaking as her face showed terror, "But forgive me…I don't think I could go on knowing that you hate me so much…"

Victoria looked into Erwine's eyes, and saw the ruin of a girl that lay beyond. Her hand reached out, and touched her cheek. "Erwine…" she whispered. She grinned. "I forgive you. I…I look forwards to perhaps working on the same ship as you once again."

Erwine nodded. "We have plenty of time to get to know each other, it's a long way to Hadiens, you know?"

Victoria nodded. The two embraced tighter, before Victoria was the first to spit away. "Sorry," she said, "For all of that."

Erwine shook her head. She still knelt on the cold surface of the walkway. "You wouldn't have done it were it not for me." Victoria and Erwine shared one last moment of eye contact, before the former turned around.

Wei watched her walk back in the same direction she had come. "Hey," Erwine called, lifting up the girl's weapon. "You forgot this." She tossed the thing to Victoria, who caught it in both hands.

"Thanks you," Victoria said. She would disappear from sight seconds later as she exited. Wei looked at Erwine.

"Don't ever do that again." The girl said in disbelief at what she just saw.

Erwine shook her head, tears still on her face. "I know." She said sadly, "It was so selfish…so terrible selfish of me."

Wei walked over to Erwine as she sighed. She knelt down, a hand grasping Erwine's. "It's not that," she insisted. "Don't encourage her like you did..." She paused, "But if she was really going to, I would have stopped her."

"How can you be so sure?" Erwine asked. Wei didn't have a reply. "I'm so stupidly selfish, aren't I?" Erwine asked, crying louder and louder, "I'm just some fool…"

Wei looked at the girl's gem. It was not blackening. "Then you enjoy that?"

"I've accepted this selfishness…" Erwine said, with an unfitting lightness to her voice. "No, not the selfishness, that's wrong…" She shook her head, "I just want to live. I've accepted that while I am selfish, I still want to live. I want to fulfill my wish." She hesitated a few seconds, then said, "So for that reason, I won't lie down and die, even if someone else wants me to."

She looked into Wei's eyes. Her other hand came up to grasp Wei's, and the hand the girl already held clamped down even tighter. "Wei…" Erwine begged, "Don't let that ever happen to me, alright?"

Wei nodded. "It shall never occur," she promised. "Not on the battlefield or off of it."

"Can you keep that promise?" Erwine asked.

"I can," Wei told her honestly, "And I will. Pursue your dream, and I'll always be there to help you no matter what."

The girl she spoke to, a girl younger than her yet one she followed, asked sadly, "Even though I didn't make good on my promises…you make ones to me?"

"Why should I give up on you? You're my…friend." Wei replied.

"The promises we give and ask for," Wei continued, realizing what Erwine was saying, "They're just reflections of all the things we want, but can never have. Our one wish was already spent making us into this form. Now we're stuck here."

"Exactly," Erwine agreed. "And since we're stuck, we've no choice but to hope for the happiest ending possible."

"One where we leave with a smile, preferably in the company of someone we truly enjoy being with," Erwine replied. "Or maybe one where we die alone, knowing that you leave no one behind, yet knowing that you shall be forgotten."

Erwine looked up at the ceiling. A distant look came to her eyes. Something seemed to flash before her vision. It was strange. What she saw was real, but wasn't real. Like a dream yet not one in sleep.

"I hope that I'm never forgotten…" Erwine whispered, grabbing onto Wei's hand tighter and tighter.

* * *

Ayelen felt that she had gotten used to living what was effectively a new life, seeing as how she'd been living it for over a year now. With all the various issues about her mental state, her past, and any other nasty problems now resolved, she was really a different person.

She wasn't particularly a fan of the way recent events had kept her in a more agitated state than usual. And despite the events on Janicelle, she had managed to regain her trust in Erwine. Perhaps the most confusing thing for Ayelen had been what her personality actually was.

Was she a cheery person, who liked to have fun and relax? Or was she actually serious? It was clear that she couldn't really find out who she actually was, as said cheeriness was in response to the more brutal events that happened. Despite that fact, Ayelen choose to embrace it.

She was laying on her bed, a book in her hands. She truly did enjoy reading. Ayelen had spent plenty of time rediscovering herself after recovering some time ago, and she'd found that many things about her previous personality were actually true.

Sanae was sitting in a chair, a few feet away. She was wrapped up in her own reading, her eyes only going to Ayelen to check on her every now and then. Ayelen wasn't sure what she and Sanae had. It was certainly something, but she couldn't tell quite what.

The two hadn't batted an eye, not even spoken, before the events of the Hadiens Incident. But somehow, the thing got the two irrevocably bound together. Ayelen couldn't say she disliked that fact. Sanae was a good person, someone she honestly enjoyed being with.

"Is something wrong?" asked that girl, looking up from the book in her hands. If anything, what annoyed Ayelen was how well they'd come to know each other. Then again, she was never alone with her thoughts with Laelia.

Ayelen sat up with a sigh, and stared down at the soft sheets beneath her for a moment. "Nothing much," she said quietly.

"Erwine?" Sanae guessed. Ayelen rolled her eyes. It was all too obvious, so she wasn't surprised.

"I'm just worried about her," Ayelen admitted it as though it were a shameful secret. In a way, it was such a thing.

Sanae frowned, "Strange," She commented. Her book closed and was put beside her on the table. "I'd say I understand, but for what reason?"

Ayelen pondered that question, recognizing that it was the thing stumping her. "I don't really know. I'm worried both for her, and the people around her, us included." She explained, then added, "But I don't know which is worse."

"Why do you even care?" Sanae wondered, "Erwine's sorting out her problems on her own."

Ayelen glared harshly at her, "She hurt people. Killed them." She spat, "And though I know it was a mistake she regrets…look, I can't just forget about Adrianne, alright? That memory doesn't fade easily."

The conversation had been had before. "Then don't forgive Erwine." Sanae suggested.

Ayelen didn't quite understand, "What good will that do?"

"She doesn't ask for forgiveness from you, she doesn't want it. Ayelen, the best way you can help Erwine is by not letting her forget that she has made mistakes." Sanae hesitated before continuing, knowing that what she'd say would tread on emotions, "From what I hear people say about Adrianne, especially Erwine, it sounds as though she was too easily forgiven. Even if you're the only one, even a single voice telling Erwine that she was once wrong will remind her to be right."

For a few moments, Ayelen considered that. She ended up nodding in agreement. "Then that's what I'll do." She said resolutely. "It's not that I hate her, it's that I just don't want to see Adrianne again." A tiny dip into silence then, "Because she really was hurting, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

* * *

Erwine didn't mean to walk through the _Yslevia's _halls any differently than she normally did. But something felt off about the way she moved. She couldn't help but feel that something was different inside herself. Truly, she did feel lighter. Freer, even.

Like a weight was off her shoulders. However, Erwine knew that there was not only one weight. Her guilt and anger was just the weight she had created for herself. Yet at the same time, without those emotions, everything else felt so much less frightful.

Erwine was lost amidst her thoughts when the call came to her ears. The voice wasn't one that made her hopeful for the coming conversation, but it was unavoidable that she speak with Estelle. Erwine paused and looked over her shoulder at the corner she expected the girl to come around, then turned to face it all the way.

Estelle almost ran into the girl, not having expected the abrupt stop. "Sorry," She remarked, then looked confused as she laid eyes upon Erwine's face. The silver-haired girl was equally perturbed by Estelle's reaction. "You seem different," the inquisitor observed, then narrowed her eyes, "What happened?"

Anger played across Erwine's face for a moment, and her mouth opened, only for her to catch herself before a single word came out. She looked to the side, almost ashamed at that near-mistake, "I've changed," the young girl said quietly, "That's all."

Bringing her gaze back to Estelle, though not meeting the girl's face, she questioned, "What do you want?" It wasn't a harsh tone, though it came off that way initially, if only because of the distance in the girl's voice.

"To talk…" Estelle trailed, then once realizing that she wasn't finished, added, "About you."

Erwine's face dropped. "I understand, this is my censuring, then?"

Estelle did want to tell her 'yes'. However, she wasn't blind, and only one who was blind would be unable to see that saying that simple affirmation would do no good. "Walk with me," she said quietly, and brushed past the girl to start heading down the hallway.

It was a spinal corridor, one that ran for most of the ship's length, providing access to many different areas. Wide and long, the perfect place for them to speak. Erwine kept staring down for a few seconds before she too turned and began to follow the inquisitor.

"I'm sorry about what I did to you back on Curia," Estelle said as they walked side by side. "Honestly I-didn't mean to hurt you."

Erwine nodded docilely. "I'm sorry as well. I…I acted brashly." All of a sudden the girl sounded depressed, "I didn't think about anyone but myself."

Estelle looked to the side, and saw Erwine's strangely blank eyes staring ahead. "Erwine," the inquisitor said the name quietly, "Are you alright?"

The girl came to an abrupt stop. Then she nodded, quite assuredly, and said, "Yes, I'm alright." A moment of deliberation on what to say, "It's just hard…I guess, accepting all this. Looking back at everything and coming to terms with it all. I'm guilty, and as much as people say they'll forgive me, I won't forgive myself."

Estelle was about to speak, but Erwine, without even meaning to, cut her off. "It's not that this guilt will consume me. No, I'm just trying to be content. To accept that I am who I am and that I've done what I've done, and there's nothing I can change about that."

The dark-haired girl didn't even open her mouth until she was certain Erwine had finished. And when she did, it was first to smile, and then to say, "So you've learned." Erwine gave a slight nod in return. "What do you intend to do, from here?" Estelle asked.

That question appeared to be a truly difficult one to answer. Erwine hesitated in giving a reply for a long few seconds, but eventually said, "Whatever it takes to get to the truth of all of this. I'm not sure about the plan Ishna may or may not have had, but there is some mystery that I must solve. For Adrianne's sake, and for my sake."

Estelle's voice sounded sad when she asked, "Will you be angry when you go out there to find that truth?"

Erwine just shook her head. "No, I won't be." A nostalgic look came onto her face as memories that seemed so long ago returned to her, "I won't be like Adrianne. She cursed everything, and though I still cannot blame her, I won't be like her." A smile came onto the girl's face now, "That's why she made me. That's why Adrianne did what she did to me, because she wanted somebody who would finish Ishna once and for all. She herself knew that she was too blind by anger to win, so she made me, with the hope that I would be content with who I am."

Erwine stared into the utterly astounded eyes of Estelle, and said resolutely, "I will find the truth. And if Ishna has any plan, I will destroy it. In this way, I am doing Adrianne the greatest service I can give her. I only exist in this state because of her, but this state is…something I enjoy."

Estelle raised a hand to rub at her eyes, hoping to push away any drops of moisture before they spilled down her cheeks. "You'll really do it, won't you?" she said in a shaky voice, "You really will win…"

"I'll try," Erwine promised her as she stepped forwards. Estelle was surprised to find the girl grasping her hand. "For you too, because I know that it hurts knowing that the person who hurt Adrianne may still be winning, even now."

But her hand was pushed away, and Erwine stumbled back in surprise as the slap bounced off the walls. "Don't you dare lose yourself like she did," Estelle spat at the girl, even as she started to cry, "I won't let somebody else destroy their life chasing after…after…" The inquisitor's eyes widened. _After all that time, Adrianne was right about Ishna. So why can't Erwine be right about her plan? _"A ghost." She finished, no longer on the same train of thought.

"Ghost or no, something is happening here," Erwine said, "We know that, and whether or not Ishna planned it all down to the last second, she had something to do with it. That's why I will stop them, I exist for the purpose of stopping them." She declared.

Estelle just released a deep breath as tears rolled slowly down her cheeks, "And what happens when you do that?"

"Then I'll find a new reason to live." Erwine stated without doubt, "I already have one, in fact. I made a promise to my friend once, I won't be backing down on that promise anytime soon."

Estelle nodded. "If that's the case, then I have only the utmost respect for you." She smiled, "Truly, I'm glad that you've turned out so well." Then she reached out for the girl's hand to clasp it tight, "Erwine, no matter what you do, don't give up."

Erwine didn't stop smiling, "I won't," She assured the girl, from the bottom of her heart, "I will succeed."

* * *

Mila was alone. In the room she had been given on the _Yslevia. _The feeling of being in the warp was not a pleasant one. She felt nauseous. Of course, she'd passed out when entry occurred, and was quite worried about any further pain being inflicted on her. She sat in a chair, leaning over a table. Her elbow propped her up. Her magical girl uniform is not what she wore at the moment.

Her body was instead covered by her school uniform, consisting of a dark blue coat, a white skirt, and black shoes and socks. She didn't wear it because she had to. It was nostalgia, really. She knew that her obsession with her old way of life wasn't going to help her in the future, but she knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to go back to the way things were ever again.

Even when she first contracted, there were so many magical girls running about the planet, taking care of wraiths, that she had time to take nights off, and relax with her friends. It was all gone now, torn away by some people who she'd no quarrel with. She wondered why magical girls even turned traitor anyways.

A gentle knock on the door. Mila stood up, knowing that any interaction would be better than the state she was in. Opening it revealed Erwine. "Hello," the girl had a smile on her face. "I assume you'd be alright if I came in?" She stepped in before Mila said or did anything more.

Mila shut the door as Erwine looked around. "A bit shocked, perhaps? At your new surroundings, I mean?"

"You're different," Mila observed, noticing her joyful aura. "What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's fine," Erwine shrugged. Her eyes were full of vibrant light as she looked at Mila. "You see, I'm just…accepting what has come to me. I've come to understand the cards that fate has dealt me. It's easier just being content and moving forwards."

Mila nodded. "Why'd you come here?"

"Because I noticed that you were feeling down earlier." Erwine replied. "What's more, is that all the other girls who might be in a similar mood are on Theodora's ship. Which reminds me, why'd you stick around here anyways? You ought to have headed over there while you still could."

"I had my reason…" Mila said quietly, unwilling to explain, it seemed.

"Wanting to talk to me?" Erwine guessed. "Do I really have that effect on people?"

"I'm an empathy," Mila reminded her. "Every time I look at you, every time I feel the emotions you feel…it astounds me. Just like now. The things you feel…I didn't expect them from you. Perhaps I stayed just because you're interesting."

"So you want to be wrapped up in all the misfortune I seem to sow wherever I go?" Erwine asked.

"No," Mila replied, "But I've nothing else that interests me at this point in my life. Therefore…" she shrugged, "I suppose I've not much of a choice."

Erwine wanted to reply with the tried-and-true, 'you always have a choice'. But she knew that was not true. Sometimes, one did not have a choice. Mila, due to the simple fact that she resembled Nada so closely, was already bound to Erwine. It was a coincidence of cosmic proportions, and that was what infuriated Erwine so much.

She'd prefer that good, young girls like Mila not get torn apart as she had. Yet it was all too obvious that Erwine had no sway in the matter. "Well, what might you want from me?" Erwine asked.

Mila chuckled. "I'm older than you, you know? I'm over a year older than you are, yet somehow, I feel like I'm nothing. I feel like you're a wise old woman, and I'm a brash child. In a way, I guess that is correct."

"You might be able to say that," Erwine agreed. "But what do you want from me?"

"Tell me everything's going to be alright," Mila requested.

"If you truly wish to join the Inquisition as a mobile agent, then nothing will ever be alright again. You will do things you never dreamed of doing, and find yourself facing threats you could never dream of facing. You might just be torn apart, provided that find nothing that brings you enjoyment." Erwine gave her the cold, hard truth. "That is what will happen to you."

Mila nodded. She expected this. Yet she felt such happiness from Erwine. This led to Mila looking the girl in her eyes. "You lie to me." Mila replied. Her defiant gaze drove back Erwine. "I have seen happiness. It is all over you, right now. I could see that you enjoyed combat, that you found a pleasure in it. I get the same sensation when I am in the thick of battle, provided my friends are with me."

"Therefore," Mila stood up, pointing her finger at Erwine, "You lie to me, Erwine Braune. You try to drive me away for the sake of your ideals. I've heard people talk about how you want to be a hero." She clenched her fist, drawing it back in, "Do not be so foolish as to believe that I am something that shall be ripped apart. I am no fragile little child, who can barely stand up to another of her peers." She stepped forwards, her determination obvious, "Don't toy with me, Erwine."

Erwine froze. She was actually frozen, out of total shock. Her eyes blinked over and over again as she tried to get her mouth to move. To get her mouth to utter just one syllable. Then Mila spotted the hint of a silvery drop running from one eye. They seemed to well up, while Erwine tried her best to deny them from escaping.

Mila took a step back, fearing she had hurt the girl. "Oh how wonderfully wrong I was!" Erwine cried suddenly. She leapt out, tears coming down her cheeks as she grinned. Her hands wrapped around Mila's holding on tight.

"Don't believe that I am any better than you are, Mila Andre!" Erwine cried, "You…you are something more than I ever was. My current state has only been reached after a year and a half of struggle, as well as more pain and torment than most can normally bare. You could say that I'm a walking miracle. But you…you are so strong right now. "

"You mean to say you were a coward before?" Mila asked.

"Of course I was," Erwine said. "if my best friend shouted at me, I would run and hide, not stand up and face her. I'm so much more than I used to be, but you…you're so different."

"Don't say that about me." Mila replied.

"What do you mean, am I wrong?" Erwine asked.

"You…please go." Mila pointed out towards the door. Erwine stepped back, seeing the pain on Mila's face. "Please…" she begged. "Please…" the word kept being repeated. "You don't understand…" she insisted.

"I can understand anything," Erwine responded, holding her ground. "You underestimate what I have been through. I forgave a woman who violated me in every way possible. I think I can forgive anything you have done."

"It's not what I have done, it's not my actions." Mila replied. "It's just…don't praise me when you don't really know me."

"Talk to me," Erwine instructed, "I shall listen to whatever story you tell, no matter how long or painful it is."

"I don't want to."

"Do you have a choice?" Erwine asked. "If you wish to be wrapped up in my actions, I would like to have a good idea of _who _you are."

Mila looked up. "We lived out away from the bigger cities. It was a large agricultural town. I had the best family you could ask for. They gave me all I wished for, yet made sure to not spoil me too much. I was already getting used to working in the fields, as it was to be my life." She smiled, "I didn't mind it."

"Things began to change around the twelfth year of my life. On that birthday, I noticed that strange things were happening. I was out at night, late, with my two friends. We were the best of companions, and were simply walking around at night, playing about. There were no natural threats, and the town had the sweetest people, the last murder having occurred a couple years ago."

"That was when we came across another good friend of ours. But she looked different. There were these big things surrounding her, they attacked her. There were so many of them, I didn't understand what it could have been." She was wounded. She was hit, again and again.

"They came at us. She had to fight to save us now. She kept taking hits meant for us, somehow surviving. The others and I made it out perfectly fine. The creatures, those things I know now as wraiths, they were destroyed."

"The girl…she lay on the ground. Her soul gem was blackened. She begged us to end her before she could turn. We didn't know what she meant. But she was in pain, even as the others ran to get help, I knelt down next to her. Her strength was not even enough to destroy the gem."

Mila felt tears come to her eyes. "Yet I could tell that if it got any worse, bad things would happen. So I took her gem. I found a big rock, and I kept hitting that gem till it shattered. I could hear her screams as I slowly battered it down, but they finally stopped in the end. She had used the last of her magic to turn back to her normal clothes, as PDF girls are supposed to remain undercover. She also ordered me to explain nothing, to admit to the crime. It was an order I followed."

"So my friends came back, their parents and plenty others, following. The constable found me by the body of a dead girl, a rock in my hands." Mila shook her head. "They had no idea what the alternative might be, and the stories my friends said were dismissed."

"I was taken away." Mila explained. "It was a bit unfair, but in a town like this, justice was demanded. They were going to lock me up, then probably execute me when I reached adulthood."

"Then somebody came in to the sheriff's building. It was the Arbites. They took me away, loading me up into a vehicle. I didn't think things were this bad, but then the man introduced himself as the ranking magical girl of the Janicelle PDF. She, or he rather, invited me to join, saying I would simply head back to my normal life. It was something I accepted. So began my service."

Mila looked at Erwine. "I know, it had a happy ending. But the real thing that touched me was the fact that everyone turned on me so fast. You'd think that even though I confessed, they might still give some time to my friends, and what they had to say. They might still consider the other things that had occurred. Perhaps conduct a wider investigation."

She shook her head. "But now, I was sentenced without even the slightest hint of a trial. It made me…horrifically aware of what we are really like. Of the way we so quickly turn on the threats we face."

"For the longest time, I fought alone. Throughout the more remote locations on the planet I patrolled, hunting wraiths, and doing my best to live a quiet, perfectly happy and normal life otherwise."

She shrugged. "Yet I still would not forget how they turned on me. I did always think that the moment I revealed my true self, they would throw me out again."

"Which was why I was so scared when the world started to fall apart on me." She explained. "As soon as all the strange events began to occur, murders occurred, as the warp began to influence everyone. The wraiths manipulated the humans. They outnumbered me, and I was forced to watch as the place I had lived in was reduced to nothing."

"I tried to save my friends. They were already dead. I got to sit by and watch as one died. Only another girl rescuing me, quickly healing my grief, saved me from being a witch." Mila sighed. "There you have it. A brief summary of my life for the past three years. Pathetic, right? Why should I feel bad about all of that…?"

"Well…it's because it made me realize just how inhuman I am." Mila explained. She sighed. "Yeah…that's really honestly it. I felt further and further from them, till here I am now, realizing that I haven't been human for three years now."

"You're a strong girl." Erwine said. Mila nodded.

"I know that," she said softly, "But I feel as if I'm a liability, something that would only weigh you down, seeing as how I myself am weighed down."

Erwine stepped forwards, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Fear not," she said softly, "I have yet to come to grips with that fact. I forget it, so I think you have a leg up on me."

"You think we should remember that we are inhuman?" Mila asked, confused.

"Of course we should. To believe that we are human will only hold us back. It will make us think as humans do." Erwine explained. "But we…we are not even close to human. Especially someone like me."

"Yes, magical girls, _us_ I guess, are nothing like the humans I knew."

"There you have it," Erwine said. "We…we are so different in every conceivable way, save for the appearances we choose for ourselves."

* * *

Justinia stood before the door. The vessel was indeed in the depths of the warp at this point, so there was theoretically nothing that could be going on. Her mind ran through all the things that might end up delaying her from entering. She sighed. Her arm reached out, gently knocking on the door.

There was no reply after about ten seconds of waiting. She knocked again. Another ten seconds. Justinia's hand went for the handle. Pushing inside, Elle found that the lights were turned off. She looked around, wondering if Elle was actually in the room.

Despite the absence of light, Justinia could see just fine. Right before she turned around enough to see the space behind the door, something jumped out from behind. Justinia did not react in the way she normally would, with some kind of defense. Rather, she heard the movement began, and her incredibly fast mind allowed her to restrain her reflexes before anything more happened.

Elle wrapped her arms around Justinia from behind. Her foot went up and kicked the door closed. It was pitch black now. "Elle…" Justinia's voice was quiet, a bit annoyed. "I know what you are doing. Please don't."

"Come on Justinia. We've known each other for so long, don't tell you've never felt like this." Elle cooed. "You walked away last time because you didn't want to face this issue, am I right?"

"You are correct. I still do not. Let me go." Justinia quietly ordered.

"Don't be so mean…" Elle begged. "Why can't you feel the same way? What are you hiding?"

"There is nothing but a desire to not suffer from despair when you inevitably die. Most likely before I do." Justinia explained, though she couldn't even look at the woman's face. She begged. "Elle, please let go."

"You're just afraid, then?" the captain asked.

"It's generally not recommended that magical girls form any substantial relationships with humans," Justinia explained. "They are far more fragile than magical girls. They will die from old age."

"That's cruel," Elle whispered, "You should really reconsider your views."

"They aren't mine. They are the view of most magical girls. I intend to stick by them, because I believe they are correct. What we have is far enough." Justinia said bluntly, but Elle knew the girl too well to take that at face value.

"There's something else going on with you," Elle decided. "You're not like this, not usually."

"Nothing else is wrong," Justinia said quickly, far too quickly, then dropped her voice to her normal tone. "I ask that you understand that."

Elle held her tighter. "Make me let go," she ordered. Justinia's hands went to Elle's hands. She grabbed onto both of them. Her right leg kicked back as she bent forwards and pulled with her arms. Elle was flung over Justinia's head onto the floor.

Justinia made sure the throw was light enough so as to not injure the girl. Then she walked over to where she lay. Justinia knelt down beside Elle, before grabbing her and yanking her upwards. Justinia pressed her lips against Elle's cheek for a few seconds, seconds that felt all too long. Not quite what the human wanted, but the gesture was there.

Then Justinia stood up, and shook her head. "I'm a fool," she sighed, "This will hurt you, someday."

Elle, not quite understanding the cryptic words yet knowing that Justinia wouldn't lie in such a way, nodded. "Then let it hurt me, I won't deny this anymore."

The magical girl put on a sad smile, before she reached her hand out to the captain. Elle wished that she saw no regret, but she couldn't help but find in that girl's eyes.

* * *

The table was silent at the moment. At the head of the table sat Reitia. Her arms were crossed as she leaned back in the table. Her eyes gazed warily about. There was a distinct air of tension around the table. That look was not shared by the others there.

That did not mean that they did not express their worry. Megumi restlessly clacked her heels together, the steady rhythm of the movement both annoying and soothing the others. Meanwhile Rilliana tapped her fingers together, the movement not making any sound, which was thankful.

"Well, Janicelle was lost. It seems that the enemy succeeded where we failed," Reitia sighed. "Any ideas as to why our trump card failed?"

"She was mistaken," Rilliana proposed. "With what happened to her, we have to realize that she's still an unknown factor in all of this."

"But she can't just be random," Reitia replied, "It had to have occurred for a reason."

"I believe I know the reason," Megumi said. She took a breath, then explained. "You see, before this incident with Janicelle. Juno and the others still suspected us. At this point, they are merely coming back here to wrap things up. It is true that they have Liselotte, but if she is in a coma as a result of a daemon's affect, then she won't be waking up anytime soon."

"True," Reitia said, "We have been given a huge change by this. They have nothing on us at this point. Juno informed me that they think Liselotte might be some kind of deep-cover agent for Ishna's forces. If they keep believing this, then there's nothing against us."

Rilliana agreed. "And with Erwine headed right towards us, we can grab both her, and another piece of the puzzle, if we are to believe that she is what we have heard of."

"I think we can assume that she is indeed the person we have heard of." Reitia concurred. Then she rose a single finger. "However, we have to figure out how to approach this. We can't just grab Erwine and run, as we can't exactly run. All we can do is try to explain ourselves."

"Would it be better to let all this commotion die down, maybe wait a few months, and then hunt down Erwine?" Megumi asked.

"You have a strong point," Reitia nodded. "Yet we can't pass up this chance. We don't know what they might go on to figure out, especially with Liselotte there. The longer we wait, the greater the possibility of us being found out."

"Perhaps we just move out into the open? If we try to explain things to Juno, it will be far simpler than moving around in the shadows, having to constantly watch our backs." Megumi suggested.

"I like that idea too much to agree with it," Reitia said. "Remember, we believe that Ishna has her own mole within the Inquisition, most likely in Juno's ranks. Chances are they are high-ranking. If we expose ourselves, they won't have trouble taking what we have. If they take what we have, run back to their comrades, then they'll be only a few steps away from completing this puzzle."

"And we know for certain that Ishna's forces cannot be allowed to complete this. If they do, then everything is to be lost." Rilliana reminded them all.

"Exactly," Megumi said. "However, they would also need Erwine in that situation. So I think our best bet is to keep Erwine friendly to us, while making sure she stays safe. That will our best chance for finishing this before anyone else can."

The three girls looked about the room, almost feeling as if someone was watching them. Silence descended over the table for a few moments, as stuttered breaths were heard from all three girls. "Are we doing the right thing?" Reitia wondered. "I don't…I don't want my legacy to be one of a heretic."

"At this point, we cannot back out." Megumi knew that this conversation had been had many times. "We have no choice but to follow this to the end, whether it be heresy or loyalty. All we can do is hope that the ending that comes will be a happy one."

Rilliana stood up. She hated participating in conversations like this. Reitia always wondered why, but never asked. She did ask this time. "Why do you always leave?"

"We're magical girls. These conversations make me want to regret my actions." Rilliana turned towards Reitia. "All three of us know that regret is the most deadly form of despair. At least for us beings."

"Then how do you avoid it?" Reitia asked.

"I pray," she shrugged. "We're all supposed to be going to the same heaven anyways? Whether good or evil, all magical girls should die with smiles on their faces. Is that not what the Goddess decreed?"

"It is," Reitia said with a smile. She stood up as well. "Megumi, start assessing the resources under our control. Start scouting the Navy forces in the sector, try to get an idea of who they would stand by if things went downhill. Most likely the more obviously loyal side, but let's try to do what we can."

"This could start a war." Megumi warned. "We don't want that, we shouldn't want that, even if we think we're in the right."

"It may," Reitia agreed. "But as we know, it doesn't matter now. All we can do is let the Goddess decide what our legacy is to be."

* * *

Juno's battle fleet gently made its way through interstellar space. Normally a place where one would not want to be, but all the ships were in perfect condition. What's more is that no one knew they were there, save for those commanding Juno, which would be the Segmentum Sect and the Grand Inquisitors.

Space is incredibly large, so with the ships sitting in between any inhabited systems, there was no way they could be found if no one wanted to find them. Astroclairvoyants might be able to find them, but there light years of area to search, and with astrotelepaths working all the time to divert attention, there was little chance of anyone, be it friend or foe, finding the large fleet.

At the edge of the formation, a hole was ripped open in reality. Out shot a black dart, bolting in towards the center. The opening of the warp rift synchronized with the time Yuki was set to arrive, so the guns of the one hundred and ninety-seven strong fleet did not instantly open fire.

The ship decelerated hard, masterfully piloted through the tight formation as it slid towards the very center, where the mighty battleship cruised along. The half-a-kilometer long vessel slowly brought itself alongside the ten-kilometer behemoth. A graceful behemoth, but a behemoth nonetheless.

The tiny cutter docked with the battleship, Yuki already standing at the airlock entrance, Liselotte splayed across her arms. She was the only magical girl on the vessel, besides the astrotelepath, navigator, and astroclairvoyant, of course.

Juno and Caelina were waiting for the girl on the other side. Yuki walked through the corridor, before handing Liselotte to Caelina. The girl's soul gem was located on her chest. "She's been like this ever since she fell into the coma?" Caelina asked. The girl was entirely unresponsive, yet her muscles, indeed her body as a whole, seemed to be suffering no ill effects.

"As far as I know," Yuki confirmed. "She seems to be suffering from nothing related to grief, so her soul gem is perfectly stable."

"I'll take her to the medicae. The telepaths are waiting there, and they'll begin the dive as soon as possible." Caelina explained.

Yuki nodded. The healer turned around and strode off with the body. Juno looked at Yuki. "All went well?" Juno asked.

"Laelia and Celestine most likely went and told Estelle, who would then tell Nadine," Yuki explained. "But hopefully they made sure that Theodora didn't get wind of the truth, as well as our suspicions."

"Good," Juno replied. Several other girls came up behind her. Yuki recognized the faces, relatively new amongst the people she knew.

"They'll be taking that to Hadiens," Juno explained, gesturing to the ship behind Yuki. "You'll be staying here."

Yuki looked over the faces of the three girls who specialized in elemental magic. "Why am I staying?" Yuki asked, "With what's going on, I figure that I'd be the best."

Juno nodded. "I want to keep the more valuable cards close to my hand," She looked over her shoulder, "No offense."

"None taken," Rozenn replied, smiling sweetly.

"We should be going now," Skelia suggested.

"Right, right," Rozenn said. She led the other girls past Yuki. "See you later," she said to the girl.

Yuki nodded with a smile. "Good luck, have some fun for me."

"We shall," Skelia promised. Guan merely grinned as the three went onto the ship. Juno watched them enter, before the airlock doors closed, and the small ship began to unlock itself from the larger one.

"My being here means that you're going to be playing all your cards soon, right?" Yuki asked.

"Exactly," Juno agreed. "Whatever happens at Hadiens will result in the enemy showing their hand. As soon as they show their hand, we'll know how to fight them." Juno turned around, walking away from the airlock. Yuki followed right beside her.

"Right," Yuki agreed. Then to make sure, "We know that forces who were once under the direct command of Ishna are operating in this sector, and they are most likely looking to translate the documents recovered from the asteroid. We know of three, but there may be more. Furthermore, Theodora may have her own agenda, and is perhaps working for Liselotte. Even then, there might be a chance that they are both coordinating with the chaos forces. And the Hadiens Sect may also be responsible for some things as well."

Juno nodded. "Yes. If they did succeed on Janicelle, then they already have an edge over us. We have no idea how to get these things translated, save for doing whatever they did and sacrificing an entire world, but I don't think anyone's going to go for that."

"We have to find another way," Yuki agreed, "And there has to be one, as you said."

"Exactly," Juno explained, "If translating these things just took sacrificing a world, then I think that one could do it many times. They should already be setting up other rituals, elsewhere. But they are not. There is no evidence of anything like what happened on Janicelle anywhere else. That tells us one of two things."

"The first possibility is that they only have one document. The other possibility is that each document has a separate method of translation. Since we haven't seen any of the others besides the one we have, they could be in different languages, each one."

"It could be both," Yuki proposed, "But then the question becomes, will they come after us?"

"I doubt it. They don't have the power to get to the heart of this fleet, not directly. They'll come at it in a different manner than we would expect. Since we also know that there are now two, there may be more." Juno added.

The two were making their way towards Juno's office, where she could usually be found. "Who was at that asteroid who might have one? Clearly Ishna somehow got at least one to those who fled before we got to her, and before they left."

"The other groups would be Estelle and Adrianne's. The Mage Knights found the one we have, so perhaps one of Estelle's or Adrianne's girls found another one."

"There's a chance," Yuki agreed. "Ah, I forgot." She reached into her pocket. She removed a small black box, showing it to Juno.

"This is the one you took there?" Juno asked, looking at the black box. The other girl nodded.

Juno changed her direction. She felt into her pockets, confirming the presence of some grief cubes. "Fine, let's get to a cell and start regenerating her body. If she talks, then there's a good chance we'll find out everything Liselotte could have told us."

* * *

Caelina looked at the two telepaths as they sat to either side of the girl. Their eyes were closed, they were deeply focused. Caelina was getting a bit impatient. She wanted answers, and what's more was that Juno wanted answers. She wasn't about to deny that girl what she wanted.

About an hour had passed so far, with Caelina pacing about the room, sitting down, and simply staring at the girls in their concentration. "Any closer?" the last time she'd asked was half an hour ago.

"Not as of yet." The reply came. Caelina sighed, knowing that it was rude to do so. The fact was that she had to remain in case something started happening to Liselotte's body. It was a precaution, but with daemon-induced comas, one could never be sure.

More time passed, till Caelina was sure that it had been about twenty minutes since she last asked. But she wasn't about to disrupt them by asking them again. Then one of the girls slowly tipped her head back and fell off the chair. Caelina cursed, knowing that the other reason she was here was because of this. She flew to the girl's side, dropping to her knees.

Her hands were already on the girl's chest, warming up as she saw the blood pouring from every hole on her face. Bloody mouth, bloody nose, but the worst parts were the bloody eyes. The other telepath instantly dropped the connection, quickly scrambling around the table, keeping herself linked with her partner.

"She'll be alright?" the girl asked.

Caelina nodded. "Suffering from terrible backlash. What happened?"

"I suppose we went in too deep. It looks like the lower levels of her consciousness are still aware to an extent, as something obviously struck back at us. I don't know how, but there's some kind of deep programming to prevent us from reading her. And after that, we'll still have to actually break into the inactive part of her mind and start waking things up before she can be properly read."

"When can you do it?" Caelina asked, "Finish things, I mean."

"Once she is fully recovered, we'll need to approach the issue very slowly. Maybe a few hours at a time, over the course of a few weeks. We're looking at perhaps two, at the most."

"And the others arrive at Hadiens in eleven days…" Caelina cursed. "Go as fast as you can, but don't hurt yourself. We have the time and resources to spare." She lifted the wounded telepath up, laying her on the bed. "She'll be fine…" the Blood Angel promised.

* * *

Yukie wasn't expecting to be called over from her strike cruiser, not so soon after a recent meeting with Juno. Yet she should have expected it, having heard of Yuki's return. She stepped from the Thunderhawk, saluting to Juno as she approached. "Sorry for the inconvenience," Juno said, "But our best telepaths are occupied with Liselotte's case, and the traitor asked for you."

"I imagine her name is Via?" Yukie wondered. Following the lord inquisitor as she turned around.

"Precisely," Juno said, "I believe you have a score to settle."

"We do." Yukie said. Then she promised, "Fear not, I won't hurt her any more than needed. But prepare your telepaths, I'll do my best to weaken her, distract her."

"Understood," Juno said. Some time passed, and Yukie arrived in front of the cell. The door was opened.

"Lock it behind me." Yukie instructed.

She entered the room. It was a clean white space, with bright shining lights. It was entirely devoid of anything save for the single chair in the middle of the room. It was a seemingly medieval device, with more restraints and restrictions than anything else like it.

It was no torture device, however. As long as one considered complete sensory deprivation and an inability to move something besides torture, then it was fine.

Basically, when placed in the thing, which was specially fitted to the average body type of a magical girl, one could not move a single inch of their body. The cell was laced with anti-magic shielding, as was the actual chair itself. The metal parts of the restrains had the same property. The head was effectively entirely covered, separate parts existing for the eyes, the nose, the mouth, and the ears. Even the hair was restrained by the hood, as some magical girls could do things with that part of their body.

The soul gem was located in another room, separated by strong anti-magic shielding. Such shielding could not actually cut the connection entirely, but it could slow it by about a millisecond, which mattered for magical girls.

Yukie merely grinned. "We meet again."The traitor knight chuckled. It came shortly and awkwardly, given the amount of pressure the restraints put on her chest and throat. She could talk at a low mutter just fine, however. And such a noise was easy for Yukie to hear, with her enhanced senses.

"We do," Via agreed. "But perhaps under a different circumstance than I would have liked."

"You let me live," Yukie recalled, "Did that have something to do with all this? This whole situation we're in."

She stepped forwards, leaning in towards the girl. "Do you think that I'll have pity on a heretic in a place like this, just because you spared my life?"

"Perhaps," Via replied. "I am a magical girl after all. You ought to give me a break."

"We're all magical girls. It's just that some are better than others." Yukie chuckled. "Now, would you like to explain to me why you wanted me to come here and talk to you?"

"I'll tell you that in a little while. Entertain me some more first." Via's voice was almost demanding.

"Sorry, but I don't negotiate with people like you. I can tell you want me to stall for you, so that you can pull off some escape plan. It won't be happening, unfortunately." Yukie chuckled. "Don't be trying anything."

"Or else what, you'll try to hurt me?" via asked. "It won't work. Torture isn't going to work. I won't talk. You can dig the secrets out of me, but that'll still take some time."

"We're not in the warp," Yukie replied, "Our telepaths will be with you as soon as I leave. And I intend to be doing that very soon. I'm sure you'll want to be telling them things."

"We're not in the warp?" Via asked.

Yukie nodded. "Worried?"

Via shook her head. "Not at all." She replied.

"I mean, you are completely helpless before me. I'm sure you wish it was reversed. You did seem to take a perverse pleasure seeing me defeated." Yukie observed.

"I don't see it as perverse," Via tried to make a shrugging motion. "But yes, the pleasure I felt was something very good and real. Want to fight again? I'd love to get the same sensation."

The Hearth Knight frowned at the girl. "You're one messed up person, ever figured that out?"

"Oh, I know." Via chuckled. "It's fun being this way. Don't even have to worry about regretting my wish anymore. I just get to have fun, serve myself. That's what magical girls really should do, you know?"

"Shut up," Yukie replied. "I don't need to hear the same traitorous rhetoric."

"Oh, but I think you do." Via insisted. "Besides, stop acting like you're better than me. You still lost. The only reason you're in this chair is because Yuki beat me. And her ebating me was a foregone conclusion."

"But don't worry," Via grinned, "Our positions will be reversed in three…" Yukie sighed, rolling her eyes as the girl counted down, wondering what trick she'd try to pull. "Two…"

"You're in the middle of-" Yukie leaned in, grinning proudly. Then a curved dagger was at her throat. Her eyes went wide. Via was in the chair. She had not moved at all. Somebody was behind her. The door was already opening. Yuki's hand moved like a flash of light, going for that blade.

Then it was gone. Then the cloaked girl holding it was slicing away all the restraints on Via. The girl was free in a matter of two seconds, right as Juno and the others burst inside. Yuki crossed the distance in an instant, striking at the cloaked girl.

The cloaked one was gone. Then she was grabbing Via and Yukie. Then all three were gone. The room was silent. Juno, Yuki, and the others looked around out of the room, Juno demanded, _did we trace that?! _It was addressed to everyone on the ship.

_There was no teleportation involved. _That was the general consensus after only a few minutes passed. That was impossible. That girl could have only been a master teleporter. Yet no one picked up on it. There was nothing to trace. She had not teleported.

Yet she was nowhere on the ship, as far as the others knew, or anywhere else on one of the ships. The scanning and searching took hours, but nothing came up in the end. Absolutely nothing at all.

But in that moment, "That power…" Juno whispered to herself.

Suddenly, she found herself questioning whether or not Ishna was really dead.


	44. Eve of the Festival

Yukie was thrown forwards as soon as she appeared. She hit the ground hard, only to feel a knee on her back. There was a flash of light, and she felt the knee become armored. Looking up found that an armored Via was above her. Yukie was being ground down into the dirt. The tip of the girl's scythe was held right over the spot where the soul gem in her chest was.

She was scared, as she looked back up at Via. "The armor, off," Via ordered. Yukie wanted to struggle, but she realized that she no choice. Via grinned. "Come on," she insisted. "You're only alive because I want you alive. You could be dead at the moment, and there'd be no change in the end."

Via's harshness in her voice intensified. "Do it." She demanded. Yukie dematerialized her armor. Right after this occurred, the traitor sliced off both Yukie's arms, before ripping apart the coat that was part of Yukie's costume. She used the cloth to bind the stumps of the girl's arms. Dragging her to her feet, Via looked into Yukie's eyes.

"See," Via said with a bright smile. "The roles are reversed."

Yukie looked around warily, "Where are we?" she asked, fazed less by the traitor and more by where she was.

"Some planet," Via replied with a shrug, "Closest place to where Juno's fleet was."

"Who was that girl?" Yukie asked.

Another shrug. "The honest answer is, none of us have any idea."

* * *

"Sometimes I feel like we're the only sane people around here." Celestine said quietly, staring up at the ceiling. The room was dark. Laelia lay next to her in the bed. She presumed that her companion was asleep, but was talking anyways.

"Sometimes I feel like you'll never let me sleep a full night," Laelia muttered, rolling onto her back from her side and staring up as well, realizing that Celestine was going to talk.

"No, really." Celestine said, almost laughing. "Like, we have Erwine running around ranting about how she's 'realized' everything. Almost seems like a maniac, if you as me. And then we have Wei, who has something going on. That girl, Mila, there's something off with her. Estelle is working things out, Nadine seems to be keeping secrets. I guess Justinia and Sechylia are a bit more normal, but from what I understand, even Justinia's got something going on."

"Do you need to raise yourself, ourselves I suppose, above others?" Laelia asked, "Really?"

"Not exactly. I was just observing something, I suppose." Celesitne shrugged. "I see nothing wrong in that."

"Sure, sure," Laelia grumbled. She lay on her side again. "Could you just shut up and go to sleep?"

"We're magical girls, we don't even need to sleep." Celestine pointed out. "Just rejuvenate your body, and terminate the current fragment."

"Yeah, but sleep is one habit that's usually not lost. I like sleeping. It allows me to relax. Besides, what else are we going to do?" Laelia asked.

"Well…we could…" Celestine was at a loss for ideas. "Fine…" she muttered. "I'll go to sleep."

"Yes, you will," Laelia insisted. The annoyance obvious. "We've been through enough, I'm fine with just resting until we get to Hadiens."

* * *

The general atmosphere was a happy one. The three young girls, and the two older ones, sat at the table, watching two of their number facing off against one another. The board between the two was filled with the ornately made pieces, and the color of white were definitely seeming to be triumphing over those of black.

"Oh come on…" Mila remarked, watching as Wei somehow beat her every move. "How did you get this good?"

"Journeys like this take a long time," Wei said. "Usually there is very little to do. So it's sitting around and doing nothing, reading books you've already read, talking with somebody else, or doing things like this." She gestured to the regicide board. "Or…" She glanced behind herself, eyes aimed at Laelia and Celestine, sitting elsewhere in the mess hall. "Spending some private time!"

The others in the room laughed, only for Laelia to glare angrily back at her with bright red cheeks, while Celestine merely chuckled, not biting at the bait. "Anyways, that's why I'm so good at regicide," Wei explained with a shrug. "We're all kind of good at it, I guess."

"Though I don't think I can be taken into consideration," Estelle pointed out, "I have quite an unfair advantage."

"Not unless you use it," Nadine reminded her. "So you're saying you actively use it?"

"Huh, I'd never cheat in such an underhanded manner." Estelle put on a fake air of haughtiness.

"Does it even matter if one cheats?" Erwine asked, "It's not like we're playing for gain. Sure, it removes all fun from the game for the person who's not cheating, but it's not _that _bad."

"Then we ought to apply some stakes to this," Wei said cheerfully, "Make it more exciting."

"What do we have to bargain?" Erwine asked. "The only material thing that actually truly matters is grief cubes, and seeds as well, but I don't feel comfortable losing the things I need to survive."

"You've nothing else?" Nadine asked.

"No!" Erwine cried. "All I have are the books I found interesting from the _Rosie's _library."

"What kind of books?" Estelle wondered.

"Is this an interrogation?" Erwine complained. "What do you people have?"

Estelle shrugged. Wei did the same, as did Mila. They all looked at Nadine. "How about...no, I suppose there's nothing." She shook her head.

"Being a magical girl is tough," Mila sighed, "Can't even have fun."

"After all of this wraps up, we'll probably have plenty of downtime." Estelle reminded them all. "Then you can all get some relaxation."

"We're really just relaxing right now." Erwine said, "Just not much to be done in the warp, and on a starship like this."

Estelle just shrugged. "You'll find a way to entertain yourself. There's really more than you think." She grinned, "But months of madly chasing down ghosts wouldn't teach you that, now would it."

Erwine rolled her eyes and otherwise refused to bite, before the inquisitor continued, "Even if it's just finding some talent of yours, you'll pass the time. Plenty of time to learn as well, we don't just know everything." She sighed, "In the end, we spend most of our lives heading from one place to another. You have no choice but to enjoy it, when it comes down to it."

_Barely a year as a magical girl, _Erwine thought as she listened to the girl speak, _but there is still much to be learned._

* * *

Erwine was walking back to her room, when Nadine shouted out to her. "Wait! Erwine!" the inquisitor ran up alongside the girl from behind. Erwine turned, looking at her. She was holding a case of some kind in her hand. Erwine frowned. She realized what that was.

"I was saving this," Nadine explained, as she held the thing out to Erwine. The shape of the thing was distinctive. "I didn't want to spring this on you till you cheered up a bit."

"You were expecting me to get over all of that…all along?" Erwine asked.

"Of course I was," Nadine smiled. "I knew that somebody like you." Her voice got a bit more serious. "Adrianne made you so that you wouldn't be sad all the time. I'd say she did a good job. She has done more than fulfill her goal."

"Really?" Erwine's eyes went wide. "You mean…all of this, everything that I'm feeling. "

Nadine sighed. "When I first met Adrianne, I'd always talk about some plan like this within our group. We'd discuss the things we might have to do to try and make a magical girl into the perfect, ideal form. Something that could handle any despair that came her way."

She pointed at Erwine. "You, Erwine. You're the person I envisioned. Adrianne tok my dream and ran with it, that's for certain. Perhaps I didn't envision her doing all that she did do." Nadine looked down. She seemed a bit sad. "But she did all of that based off of my dream."

"And I can do nothing but thank her." Nadine said. "And thank you. For holding out till all was made clear to you." Tears were coming to her eyes.

"Erwine…" she muttered. "You're a very special girl. You're not very powerful yourself, but you're not going to suffer despair, not in the ways others will. That means…" She looked up into Erwine's eyes. "That means that you will truly become a great leader. Someone who can be that hero you've always wanted to be."

She held the case out. "This was in Adrianne's room. I think you knew that. It may have been one of the things she loved the most about Airi, her ability to play the violin. I shan't force it on you, but I think you might just enjoy it."

Erwine hesitated. "You're not lying, right?" She asked. "Nadine…you have secrets. You're not lying to me about what you're feeling, right?"

Nadine kept her arms outstretched, the case still in-between them. Her body was trembling. She looked around herself, wondering if anyone else was around. "Erwine…I've said many lies. They've all been for a reason. That reason will become clear to you eventually. For now…I promise you, with all my heart, that what I feel right now is not a lie."

She choked up. "It's been a long time since I ever really thought about the way Adrianne was before everything happened. She was a bit like you. Her world was torn apart, and she lost everything, thanks to the cruelty of another. The difference is that she had no one. Estelle was the only one, and even then, the girl didn't trust her for so long. But here, you have so many wonderful people, not even counting myself, who are ready and willing to help you, who are willing to follow you into the depths of hell."

Nadine steadied herself. "Please, Erwine. Adrianne was a wonderful person her entire life. I don't really hate her. But you will be even more wonderful. Start by being happier than she was. Yet always remember the sacrifice she made."

"I shan't make you take this case," Nadine said again, "I suggest that you do."

Erwine reached out. Her hands closed around the sides of the thing. She opened it, seeing that violin that Airi had seemed to love so much. Erwine knew it was a shame she'd never heard the girl play.

"Not sure where to get started." Erwine remarked.

"I know a thing or two," Nadine smiled. "I could help you out."

"That…that sounds good," Erwine said with a smile.

Nadine made a similar expression. "Let's get started."

* * *

Erwine put the case down on the table. Slowly unclipping the case, she lifted the case up. She didn't know much about instruments, but common sense informed her that the violin was an incredibly expensive piece. It was constructed of a fine, smooth wood. It was a dark brown color, and Erwine couldn't help but stare at the special kind of beauty it had.

She gently lifted the instrument into her hands, her eyes looking back and forth over the thing. "This is beautiful…" she remarked softly. For a moment, she was just a little girl again, being amazed by something she'd never seen before.

"Truly beautiful," Nadine agreed. She lifted up the bow from its position, handing it to Erwine. "I've checked, it's all properly tuned."

"So what do I do with it?" Erwine almost laughed at her incompetence in this matter. She was capable of remaining resolute in the face of daemons, and thinking her way through many battles, yet she was unable to figure out how to do this simple task.

"Don't worry," Nadine said, seeing the look on Erwine's face. "It's not easy to get to learn to do something entirely new like this. No shame." She stepped around the table, coming up behind Erwine. She shifted the vinstrument to Erwine's left hand, and then put the bow in her right.

"This is actually the worst way to teach, just throwing you in like this, but you're a smart girl. I'm sure you can handle this." Nadine chuckled.

"Just give me a minute, be patient." The girl said. She messed around with Erwine's body, slowly shifting her into the proper posture. It was certainly annoying, but she let it occur. She'd had to wait for more important things.

Eventually Erwine was standing in what Nadine knew to be the right position. Or at least according to her somewhat limited understanding. "Alright," Nadine said, "Now…ummm…do something with it."

Erwine sighed. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

"One of the girls in my group used to play the viola. A bit different, but similar. I just had to dig up the memories of her. I say you'll do just fine."

"Sure I will," Erwine said with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh come now, don't be so rude," Nadine said. "Just play the thing. Do it until it sounds right."

Erwine rolled her eyes. Pulling the bow back and forth across the strings, a screeching noise came out. The action instantly ceased. "Well…" she muttered.

"Oh yeah, you have to do something with the strings with your left hand too," Nadine said, the details actually coming back to her.

"Do you actually remember anything, or are you just making things up?" Erwine snapped. She wasn't mad, just a bit annoyed. The lack of a response from the gilr behind her made her wonder if her reply had been misinterpreted.

Erwine turned around, two fingers holding the neck of the violin while her righthand held the bow. Nadine looked like she was crying. "I'm sorry to bring this up now. But I'm really not sure." Nadine shook her head.

"Nadine…" Erwine had never seen the girl act like this. "What's wrong?"

It didn't make any sense that the stoic inquisitor would suddenly break down. No sense at all. Erwine felt scared, as if there was something she didn't know.

"I just don't know…" Nadine said softly, "I just don't know if I'm actually Nadine Edicossen anymore…"

Erwine turned around, placing the violin and bow back into the case. "What do you mean?" Erwine asked, spinning about again to look at Nadine. She stepped in close, gently laying a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I…I don't know if my memories are my own…" Nadine choked out, "Ishna had me for twenty years…she was an incredibly powerful telepath. I'm nothing."

"You think she implanted false memories?" Erwine guessed, "You think that she's left some program in your mind, to make you do something?"

"I don't know!" Nadine cried, "And even if I did know, what could be done about it?!" She started crying even harder, her body curling up defensively. Erwine stepped closer, letting the girl collapse into her arms.

"Maybe you're just being paranoid, Nadine," Erwine was soft. "Don't worry. We can have Estelle look at you when we get back to Hadiens. We can have others as well, if something's in there, we can find it."

Nadine shook her head. "It's not even just that…I can't be sure if my memories are my own anymore. I can't know for certain if all I remembered of Adrianne was true." She grabbed onto Erwine tighter and tighter. "For all I know, everything I remember of my captivity is a lie." Nadine's eyes went wide. "She…she could have implanted false memories of my entire life…"

"I doubt she would do something like that without a reason…" Erwine said.

"To hurt me…" Nadine replied. "She had a sadistic streak, you saw that in her, right? She would do anything if it meant bringing pain to somebody, no matter how much."

"Yes, I could see that," Erwine replied, "But please, calm down. Reacting like this…it's not going to change anything if this is the case."

"I know that I can't change anything now…" Nadine muttered. She pressed herself in closer, almost knocking Erwine back. The younger girl stepped back and bit and sat back down into the chair. "Like I said, Erwine…you have no fears, no regrets, only hope. People will be attracted to you because of that fact." Nadine's hands gripped tight into Erwine's sleeves. "Keep that hope, and you'll go far."

Erwine understood what Nadine wanted. She held the girl tight, pleased that she could be of some assistance. "It'll be alright. Memories can't just go away." She grinned, dropping her voice into a soft whisper. "No matter what, I promise that your memories will be found, if they are gone right now."

"Until then, cherish the fact that the replacements allow you to live a happy life."

* * *

Yukie had managed to ascertain that they were on a feudal world. It made sense, she'd known that one was nearby Juno's fleet. It also didn't make sense, as no one could teleport in terms of light years. Yukie wasn't even sure that Ishna, with all her incredible power, could accomplish such a truly impossible feat.

Hundreds, even thousands at higher levels, of kilometers were not very difficult for skilled teleporters with plenty of grief cube support. Light years were something else, however. Yukie did have time to think about such things, as Via was just pulling her around the place, not really doing much more.

The traitor didn't seem to have a care in the world. That was rather concerning for Yukie. The stumps of her arms were still covered, and she knew that running was rather pointless, given that Via could easily chase her down and defeat her. What was more humiliating for the girl was the fact that she was actually on a leash.

Via had cut up more of Yukie's coat to make the strip of fabric, and bound it around Yukie's neck. Yukie knew that all traitors were in some way mentally unstable, or forced into their current state, and it seemed that Via was most certainly the former. So far, over the course of the past couple hours, Yukie had been entirely unharmed. But that did not mean that no harm would come to her.

The sun was going down as the two girls, one willing and the other not, walked through a sun-dappled forest. Yukie looked around, hearing sounds of movement that were obviously different from the normal animals she heard. If she heard them, then Via had heard them.

She cursed, praying that the humans would stray away. Via heard the words. "Scared, eh?" she asked. "Don't worry, I'll inflict no pain on the humans."

Yukie saw through that. The knight knew she was not being lied to, merely misdirected. Via paused. Yukie came to a stop as well. Pointlessly annoying the girl would accomplish nothing but making her angry. Via leaned her head back, turning it to the side, as a few humans emerged from the bushes.

They were hunters, from a nearby village perhaps. Their eyes went wide as they stood there, holding their bows. One dropped his in shock. They were denizens of a culture that was far behind the rest of the galaxy in technological terms. It was only natural that they had absolutely no idea what they were seeing.

"Hello," Via said, a sick grin spreading across her features. She let go of the leash. In an instant she crossed the five feet between them. Her scythe was curving down. Yukie looked up to the sky, then moved. The scythe never reached its target.

Yukie wished she was fast enough to take credit for such an action. But she was not that amazing. Rather, a projectile came from the sky, knocking the scythe away. Via spun backwards as several ore projectiles shot down. The balls curved as they came downwards, chasing Via as she rolled to pick up her weapon.

Even as the traitor stood up, Yukie was there, kicking out at her. Via ducked under it, only for Yukie to jump up with her other leg, as several cannonball shaped objects shot under her, going for the crouching Via. She deflected them, rolling backwards.

Yukie pressed her attack, kicking as she came down at Via. The traitor's scythe was poised to cut her apart as she came in, till Via spun around. From behind, back amidst the trees, there was a bright flash. A bright arrow of light shot forwards, accompanied by dozens of other bolts. They all curved inwards on Via.

Then the cannonballs came back from behind, several projectiles looping about to strike back at Via. Yukie's kick was now poised to hit the back of the traitor's head. Via spun around. She hit Yukie with the hilt of her scythe as she kept spinning. The girl completed a full three-hundred-and-sixty degree rotation as she jumped upwards, pushing her scythe downwards.

Yukie was put in the path of the arrows. The bolts landed all over her body, sending her flying back several feet. Yukie's soul gem was currently located in a pocket in Via's armor, there was no need to worry about her safety. The cannonballs went under her, curving upwards towards Via.

"Persistent, eh?!" the heretic shouted out, looking around for the controller of the things. She couldn't catch a glimpse of her, but she knew where the archer was. She knocked the cannonballs away once again, watching them bounce off the ground multiple times before turning around. She had to eliminate the controller.

There also had to be more. The answer came from behind. Via was still in the air when the girl came at her. She struck upwards with her long halberd. Via spun around, throwing her scythe at her. The weapon was knocked away, but it merely spun back to Via's hands.

Landing on the ground, Via leapt off into the woods, towards where she figured the archer was. There was no shield blocking her. _Invisibility, then, _she figured. She kicked off a tree, corkscrewing backwards right as it was cut in half. There was nothing there. _Guessed right. _

The cannonballs were still behind her. Another bright flash of light from ahead. Another storm of projectiles. Via slid forwards this time, striking out low. She didn't see anything move. The cannonballs were still coming. The halberdier was running in from behind.

"Then let's finish this right now!" Via shouted. She leapt upwards, knocking the cannonballs away once again. Her scythe started to glow a bright red color. Particles of that color swirled around it, the glow intensifying by the second as the air began to hum with the energy being gathered.

She leapt away from a strike of the halberdier. The girl then expanded a shield. Via was sent flipping backwards, right into a strike from behind. Via looked behind herself, seeing the gun aimed at her. She flipped herself up in the air, the musket ball hitting the back of her left knee. The majority of the impact was absorbed by her armor.

She flipped around, jumping past the girl. Her scythe was glowing a beautiful bright red. The glow was visible to all who might have line of sight to her, and even shone up into the air. The air hummed intensely, as Via grinned. The attacks of the five girls were coming at her. Only the cannonball one was nowhere to be seen.

She swing her scythe, her body broiling with energy. Her shout could be heard over almost anything else. "Schonen Tod!" she screamed. A red crescent of energy expanded outwards from her blade slicing through the forest.

There was a sharp crack as the shield generator's barrier was torn apart. The underbrush was ripped apart. Both young bushes and venerable old trees were cut apart by the expanding burst of power. The main blade sliced through the area, before Via spun her scythe several more times.

Several smaller crescents, at different angles, followed the blade, all focused on the area the shield had been covering. Via then stood there, taking slow, deep breaths.

The area was destroyed. The once verdant green forest was now a mess of fallen trees and ripped brush. It was like a tornado of the greatest power had raged through the area. Fifty meters had been ripped apart in an instant.

Via walked forwards slowly, not seeing the cannonballs anywhere. Yet she was still wary, as she knew not where the controller of them might be. She looked down, seeing a mangled corpse. She could recognize the vague features of the musket wielder. Something dropped to the ground.

Via looked down. It was the girl's soul gem. She'd been smart, having tossed it in the air to avoid the strike. Via laughed. She picked the thing up. She reached into her pocket, flipping a box open, and placing the gem inside. Then she walked towards the place where the shield had been. The halberdier was the first one she noticed. The girl was heavily wounded, blood spilling from a hundred cuts across her body. Yet she was still alive.

The archer had a broken bow clasped in her hands, lying face down in the ground. She looked to be alive as well. A third girl, presumably the stealth generator, was shuddering. She was the most unharmed of the three.

Via knelt down beside the girl. Her hands went under her chin. "And how are you doing?" she asked, tipping the girl's head upwards. "Looks like you've had a bit of a rough day…" She looked into the girl's eyes, the orbs full of fear.

Then she spat at Via. "Traitor…" she muttered. "Giving up on your wish…"

Via threw her head back and laughed. Her fingers tightened. The girl squealed in pain as Via crushed the bones of her chin between her two fingers. Via grinned, before she stood up, turning around. "Now where are you…" she wondered aloud, looking about for the fifth girl.

"Just look around you," a voice called. Via looked around. Several objects sprang up from the ground. A lot of objects, actually. Suddenly, around fifty cannonballs were all circling around Via. The girl called out, from an unknown location.

"Heretic, welcome to my sphere of annihilation," the voice called. Then the cannonballs moved. They all fired at once, shooting inwards at Via. She spun her scythe around, doing her best to try and knock away the attacks.

They kept making it through, ripping away at her armor piece by piece, knocking her off guard again and again. Then Via stopped trying to hit the balls. She kept striking at the ground with her scythe, trying to dodge them instead. Several more sounds echoed out as more cannonballs were shot off.

A few extra slammed into Via's back. She managed to hold her ground, but the shielding around her armor was broken. Then she planted the base of her scythe in the ground. "Sorry," she called out, "But game over."

"Sechs linien der bosheit," she whispered softly. A huge burst of energy erupted from the ground. The energy blasted away all the cannonballs, before forming into six large scythes. They all flew towards the source of the voice. She'd moved, of course, but Via had heard that movement.

Most of the cannonballs went towards the scythes in an attempt to stop them, but some were left remaining to try and finish Via. "Fool…" Via muttered. She managed to fend them off long enough before the six scythes slashed through the air.

Six dark red lines, all intersecting at the same point, appeared a ways away from Via. The lines then curved, forming into a sphere. Then there was a detonation of energy. The explosive expansion of energy formed a large half-sphere of dark red. When it cleared, even more of the forest had been torn away.

Via smiled. She walked towards where she knew the girl to be. "Don't be so foolish as to think there are only five of us on this world." The voice called out again. Via frowned. Her eyes went wide. She stumbled forwards a few steps.

Via didn't feel pain. But she could tell there was a hole in her stomach. She turned around, looking at two girls. In front of them was a whole battery of old cannons. One girl was aiming an automatic rifle at Via. She fired it several more times. The traitor knight stumbled back.

"Goodbye," the cannoneer said.

_Alive! _A voice popped into the two magical girl's minds. _I need her alive! Don't kill her! Just take her gem now! Please! _

The girls hesitated, but then decided to go ahead and do as was told. Just one of the cannons fired. The girl's head was detonated into a bright mess of red. Yukie was barely standing, as she came stumbling back towards the two girls. The cannoneer ran to help her, while the other girl went towards the traitor.

It was easy to rip open the chest plating and remove her gem, before recovering the box in which she held Yukie's and the musketeer's gems. The cannoneer caught Yukie's as it was tossed to her, while she undid the various bindings around Yukie. The girl whispered, "Thanks." Her voice was faint, she was quite tired.

The cannoneer needed her nettings, as she was low on magic from the battle. The girl with the rifle was distributing hers to the other wounded girls, giving the gem back to the musketeer.

"Yukie Cochis," the knight said softly, "Hearth Knights 8th Company."

"What would you be doing here?" the cannoneer asked. She reached her hand out, "Sorry, I'm Tatiana Koso, Commander of the Heregilis PDG."

"Thanks for the help," Yukie said, "You reacted fast when I called."

"How'd you even get here?" Tatiana asked, "There's not a ship in the system as far as we know."

"I'm not actually sure how I got here, but the traitor isn't either," Yukie said. "I was aboard the flagship of Lord Inquisitor Eskel, interrogating the traitor. Then someone appeared, freed her, grabbed me, before taking both of us here."

"She teleported you here?" Tatiana was astounded. The heretic's body was not regenerating at the moment, which made sense, given that she was low on magic and that her gem was in the hands of the enemy.

"She couldn't have. We were light years away. But it's really the only explanation, unless she has some kind of magic I don't know about," Yukie explained. She looked around. "You've an astrotelepath, right? I need to call out."

"We have one," Tatiana confirmed. "We'll take you back to our base."

She looked at the other mobile girl. She'd arranged the bodies of the three girl's whose bodies were intact beside one another. The musketeer's gem was safe. They would not be taking the body of Via. "Scotia, ready?"

The girl nodded. Yukie, her arms still healing, and Tatiana walked over to the girl. "You've the magic to jump?"

"I can do it, let's just hope no one else comes our way for a while." Scotia explained. An instant later, they were standing atop the gate of what looked like a castle.

Yukie looked around, noticing the deserted nature of the place. "This is it?" She asked.

"Far out in the northern highlands. The locals consider it haunted, they don't come here. It actually was the site of some daemonic issues, but we took care of them, the site was confirmed clean, and we set up shop. Pretty useful." Tatiana said. She lifted up one of the unconscious bodies. The invisibility generator stood up on her own, while Scotia lifted the last body. "Let's get them in," Tatiana said, walking along the gate towards the tower leading inside.

Yukie followed along, her arms slowly putting themselves back together as she went.

* * *

Yukie's arms were back, and she didn't have to worry now that she was supplied with more grief cubes. She didn't materialize her armor, choosing to stay out of it for the time being. She currently sat on the edge of a bed in the infirmary, watching the three girls rest. The fourth one, the one whose body hadn't come back, was still regenerating, so there would be plenty of time before she was back.

"Grief cube levels are adequate. We could check on them in a little bit, but otherwise they are good." Scotia explained.

Tatiana nodded, standing beside the girl. She looked at Yukie. "Would you like something to eat? We were going to sit down for dinner before you and your pal came along."

Yukie chuckled. "Sure," she replied, "Been a while since I ate." She stood up, following the two girls away from the infirmary.

Yukie was rather surprised to find that the girls had a very well-stocked kitchen, for being on such a remote location on a feudal world. "One of them," Scotia explained, "Meria, I think, had a wish related to food or something like that, so she's an amazing chef on top of being a ranged specialist. It also means we've a pretty well-stocked selection, as she can summon such things, and Tatiana makes sure we have plenty of materials to do the cooking with."

"What's it like, living on a feudal world like this?" Yukie asked, sitting at the table with Scotia while Tatiana cooked.

"Fairly interesting, a bit different from the rest." Scotia explained. "Recruitment is rare, but not many girls are needed due to the lower population levels. Basically we get to sit back and relax most of the time, since we're really only here to acquire grief cubes."

"You just sit up here most of the time, don't participate in everyday life?"

"Yes. It'd be difficult given the way things are. It'll be different form feudal world to feudal world, but on this one at least, people worship the Goddess, but don't know much else. So we figure that exposing everything won't be a good idea, given the tenuous state of things here. Too many conflicts occurring for good wishes to be made." Scotia explained. "So we'll generally look around and try to find a girl who has solid potential, then recruit her at some point. Everyone around them will just think they disappeared."

"That's a bit…I don't know…" Yukie said quietly.

"Cruel?" Tatiana offered, walking back over to the table. "It is. But we have to be sure that contracts are offered to only those who truly require one. There was an incident a while back of a high potential girl wishing death and destruction upon another kingdom, whose soldiers destroyed her village, before going on a rampage that would kill thousands. The natural disasters that resulted lasted for years and years before they finally petered out. In the end, the weakened kingdom was ripped to pieces by its neighbors, who proceeded to fight over what was basically a corpse. All because we weren't monitoring her properly. The Incubators understand to not make any contracts unless we approve."

Yukie nodded. "Makes sense," she agreed with the idea, especially after hearing of what had occurred.

"So we just live up here alone," Tatiana explained. "It's fine. We have this whole castle to ourselves, the whole area really, and there's plenty to do around the planet, even if it's just watching people go about their daily lives. We really did pull the easy card. Though I guess you could say we didn't, as this castle was once a site of daemons. We've traced another few possible spots, but they might come back here at some point. Really depends on how you want to look at it."

Yukie was reminded of something. "That's right, where is your telepath? I should probably inform Juno of where I am."

"Follow me," Scotia said, standing up. "She's in one of the separate towers. It's isolated, so that's basically why. Kind of like a princess from those cheesy old stories, huh?"

Yukie chuckled as she followed the girl through the old stone corridors of the castle. She looked around as they went, noticing just how old the place was. "What it's age, the castle?"

"We think it's about five hundred. We've put in some renovation work with the help of a girl who stops by every now and then. She's a telekine who absolutely loves castles and old buildings like this, so she was a big help last time she was around. The place would have fallen apart under us were it not for her." Scotia explained.

"When was this place brought back into the wider fold of things, it still pays taxes to the Imperium and all that, right?"

"About a thousand back," the other girl explained. "She was lost for a while before that. Magical girls operated here, and they actually did things like we have, just stuck around in some abandoned castle, as the populace didn't use to be so nice. Still aren't really. Bringing this world back in, according to the records, really just resulted in the magical girls getting some better support, the way they operated before wasn't too different."

"Well that's good to know." Yukie said. Every chance she got, she was looking out at the land outside. A low mist had settled over the land as the sun set, and cold gusts occasionally blew in. The grass was green outside, well-nourished, and the sky was darkened by clouds. Forests could be seen in the distance.

"A beautiful place," Yukie commented as they ascended the stairs up the tower to where the astrotelepath was.

"It really is. Completely untouched by technology, at least for the most part. Apparently this planet was hit pretty badly when the sector was scorched by Necrons a few thousand years ago. Nature has resurged, but the civilization was kicked back thousands of years for those who were left."

"I see…" Yukie said.

They came before a large wooden door. Scotia knocked gently. "Come in." Scotia opened the door, revealing a small room beyond the door. A large bed, draped with many fineries, was what the astrotelepath lay back on now. It was a huge bed, fit for two adults to be sleeping on, and really should have belonged in the palace of an emperor rather than a dusty old castle.

The room had many other things throughout it, but most prominent was the massive map that dominated the central part, roughly a half in total, of one wall. It was opposite the wall the bed was against. The map was a huge display of the entire planet, and was marked with numerous things. In front of it was a large table, with another large map entirely. This map on the table was the same map, but it had various pieces on it.

"Scotia!" the girl said excitedly, then she saw Yukie. "Oh, and that's the knight you guys found?" She was quite cheerful.

"She is," Scotia replied. Yukie introduced herself.

"Could you shift the main Coheren force for me?" the girl asked, her request aimed at Scotia as she pointed to the map on the table. "They took Arnus, and now march for the capital. Shift the Coheren right wing back about ten kilometers, and move the Ultrini up about eight. The latter has achieved a major breakthrough."

"What's this?" Yukie asked as Scotia went to do as she was told.

"Morgana here likes to read the minds of human commanders and leaders, and then keep up to date with all the battles that are going on. Sometimes we all go and watch them occur. It's fun in a strange way."

"I suppose it could be," Yukie said. "We never really get to see battles happen. We just get to be part of them. Especially a battle where there's no magical girls, xenos, daemons, or anything else that's outside the standard realm of understanding."

"It's refreshing." Scotia agreed. She looked at Morgana. "Pull out for the time being, Yukie here needs a message sent."

"To Juno Eskel," the mage knight picked up the explanation, "Tell her: Yukie Cochis. On Heregilis. Traitor subdued and captured, with the local PDG. Please send ship as soon as possible. Enemy may have their own on the way."

"On it," Morgana said happily. She tilted her head back, and Yukie knew that in a few seconds, the message was on its way.

About a minute passed. Then Morgana replied. "Fastest ship on the way. Estimated time of arrival is one day. Hold out until then. Retain hold of traitor at all costs."

"Send confirmation," Yukie ordered. Then that message was away.

"Done," Morgana answered.

Yukie took some time to look at the map of the world, before Morgana shouted out. "A-ha! The Coheren central force has been engaged by the combined armies of Ultrin. The battle will probably start in about…they mean to engage at night!"

Morgana looked at Scotia, wide eyes begging like a puppy. "Please…this battle shall decide the fate of the continent. And what's more, it's a night battle!"

"Fine, fine, let's go eat first." Scotia said, walking over and yanking a reluctant Morgana off of her bed. Yukie smiled at the simple life the girl's lived, some part of her wishing for a similar boon.

_Well, they're going to owe me and the girls a lot of time off after this one. Perhaps I can convince Juno to let me and them stick around here for a little while. _She smiled at the prospect, before following Scotia back down.

* * *

Nadine looked into Estelle's eyes. "You've grown up, haven't you?"

Estelle nodded. She looked over Nadine's shoulder, at the door. It was shut. Estelle stepped forwards. Her arm reached past Nadine and locked the door. "What's your game here?" she asked, her eyes staring into Nadine's.

"What do you mean?" Nadine asked.

Estelle stepped back. She spun about, flipping her hair out behind herself as she did so. "You, Nadine Edicossen, have been playing a game with all of this since the very beginning of all of this. Erwine trusts you, I don't blame her for that." She looked down at the floor, her hair settling down as she continued. "But you've been manipulating me from the moment we met aboard the _Rosie. _This has all been one big game for you, hasn't it?"

She turned her head. She still looked down, but her eyes glanced just barely over her left shoulder. Nadine was grinning, her arms crossed, one finger reaching up and twirling a strand of her hair.

"First, you were captured by Ishna over twenty years ago. You spent twenty years there. That girl ripped Adrianne and Erwine apart in seconds. You somehow remained sane."

"Second, you have been guiding me down a path of development, making me into a certain person. Just like Adrianne did with Erwine, just like Ishna did Adrianne, you've been manipulating me, toying with my feelings."

"Third, you always seem to know things before they occur. You always seem to have some idea of what's about to happen, even if it's vague."

Estelle spun around, a resolute gaze meeting Nadine's eyes. "Nadine Edicossen…" she narrowed her eyes, "You have been following, whether it be willingly or unwillingly, a plan laid down by Ishna Kleimar from the very start. Your rescue was planned. I know not what your intention is…but it cannot be benevolent."

She raised her right arm, and her glaive flashed into existence. "The others may not believe me. I know Erwine will defend you. So we remain here. I know for a fact you are not on my side, even if you are being controlled. She took a deep breath, shouting out. "Answer me, Nadine Edicossen, what is your intention?"

Nadine only grinned wider. "You're clever…probably all started when we just kept pushing back the time when you'd look into my mind."

"Yes, that's another reason. Answer my question, or stand down. I don't want to fight you." Estelle begged.

"That's not an option." Nadine said. Estelle moved forwards. Her arm had not been fully extended. She thrust forwards at Nadine, with the blue-haired girl ducking to her right, before lunging forwards. Her right fist struck out towards Estelle's stomach.

Estelle stepped back, bending her right arm and swinging her glaive down. Nadine opened her hand, bringing it up and backwards to parry the blade away. She ducked under it, striking out with her left. The blow took Estelle in the stomach. She staggered back, as she kicked out with her right foot.

The kick knocked out one of Nadine's legs. The girl fell to the ground. Estelle's glaive was right above the body. She stabbed it down into the girl's right leg, impaling it. Then she leapt atop Nadine, wrestling her arms down, pinning her left leg with her own legs.

"I see that she has gotten into your head. For that, I'm sorry." Estelle took a deep breath. "I can't believe I trusted you. I can't believe I didn't realize it till now. Come on, Nadine…" Estelle begged, "Are you doing all of this willingly?"

"You're the one accusing me," Nadine said. She wasn't struggling in the slightest. "How about you tell me?"

"You won't even answer me…" Estelle looked down. "You attacked me, don't play the innocent here."

"You struck first, actually. I won't deny that I countered, but I merely attempted to protect myself. I didn't even use any magic, I didn't want to hurt you. You wanted to hurt me, however." Estelle knew Nadine was right.

Nadine's right hand slipped away from Estelle's weakening grip. It reached up. Her hand petted Estelle's cheek. She gently ran her gloves of lace across the girl's smooth skin. Back and forth, her fingers gently ran. "Come on, Estelle…just calm down. It's been a long journey, a lot of things have happened. You're just scared."

Estelle's voice was much calmer when she spoke again. It was not quite the epitome of concentration, but she was no longer frantic with her words. Her right hand released Nadine's left. It traveled across Estelle's body and gripped onto the girl's right hand.

"Yet you kept pushing back the date when I'd look into your mind…why?"

Nadine nodded. "I understand your concern. The truth…" Nadine choked up. "The truth is that I'm afraid of what you might find."

"If Ishna planted some program in your mind, I want it found before you are forced to carry it out." Estelle said.

"No, it's about my memories. I'm afraid that she altered them somehow…but…I don't want to know if she did." Nadine explained.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know if I want to remember the truth of things. Perhaps some things are better buried away under lies." She teared up, "And there's so many other possibilities. What if the program is to be triggered by looking into my mind? What if there's a trap, that'll endanger whoever's inside? I'm just scared…"

Estelle let go of Nadine's arm. She reached behind herself, yanking her glaive from Nadine's leg. She tossed the thing aside. "Sorry," she said. "That was all my fault, wasn't it?"

"You were right for suspecting me, and I was wrong for not making things clearer earlier." Nadine reached behind Estelle's head with her right hand, and wrapped her left hand around the girl's side. She pulled the girl in close. "It's alright…" Nadine promised. "We'll get to Hadiens, well sort this all out. Everything will be fine."

"You promise?" Estelle hesitantly asked.

"With all my heart." Nadine said, quite sure of herself.

* * *

It'd been a few days since Erwine had actually first touched an instrument. She'd always heard of them in books she'd read, and sometimes listened to the people who somehow had them back home. Yet this was truly the first time she had the chance to play one herself.

Normally a few days was not the time it took to actually get good at something. Yet motivation always counts for something, and since Erwine had nothing better to do, she was rather motivated to actually learn how to play the instrument. And play it well.

It didn't take too long before she had sorted out the proper way to hold it. That posture was quickly programmed into her mind by herself, which made things significantly easier. She didn't need to worry about endurance or her muscles, as she was a magical girl.

Which left the proper movements. Her muscle control was solid, so she really just needed to figure out how to do everything. Once she knew the how, the actual doing of it wasn't too hard.

However, this was the first time when she'd actually got around to doing it in front of others. Wei and Mila sat there, both interested in what Erwine was going to play. She was doing her best to stop her cheeks from looking like a pair of bright red fruits, but that effort was slowly failing.

She adopted the proper posture, taking deep breaths as she stood there. Putting the bow to the strings, she studied the notes in front of herself. She pulled the bow across the strings.

The noise produced was not something which could be considered atrocious. However, it was not something that could be considered good. It was not quite in the middle either, sliding more towards the negative side of things than the positive. However, Erwine took solace in the fact that neither Mila nor Wei actually cringed, though she felt that both were restraining themselves.

Nevertheless, Erwine kept on playing, determined to try and finish the short practice piece she had been using. It finally ended a short while later, and she could have sworn that she heard Mila breathe a sigh of relief under her breath. "Thanks for the support," she shot at the girl. It was by no means a serious remark. Erwine understood that she had a long ways to go.

"You're welcome," Mila said, pretending that she'd never let anything slip.

"Well then," Wei said, "That was certainly an experience." She chuckled, "Perhaps in a few years I'd enjoy listening."

"How much later?" Erwine asked. "Perhaps a few dozen years?"

"No, not that long." Wei grinned, "I'd just prefer to not hear another one of your songs for another year or so, when they became a bit less torturous."

"A study made by an inquisitor reveals that you're playing of the violin is one of the most effective torture techniques possible," Mila added, "I mean, look at Wei, she's telling you everything, right?"

"Of course, anything to make the pain stop," Wei jested. "What do you want to know?"

"You two are funny. You should start your own comedy troupe." Erwine said, placing the violin and bow back in the case.

Mila giggled, "Wouldn't be fit without you. Or will you run off chasing down someone when we do?"

Wei added in, "Erwine wants us to think she'll be with us. Next thing we know, she's sided with Ishna or something like that. Raising her from the dead."

"Why might I do that?" Erwine asked, and though the others didn't notice, her tone was far from humorous.

"Well, you clearly can't get anyone else to like you, and if I must say, Ishna seemed to take quite the liking, from what I've heard from you." Erwine froze up.

Wei knew she'd crossed a line. "That was too far…sorry," Wei said. She looked away as Erwine turned around.

"No matter," Erwine said. She tried to put on a happy face. "It's just…I don't like thinking of her. She-Ishna, it's just not memories that I'm ready to face, not until I know what she's doing." A pause, "And my role in it."

Wei stood up, and nodded. "I'm sorry again, Erwine, I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine," Erwine abruptly cut in. "I can't face the future if I'm forever stuck in the past. Ishna did many things that still scare me, and while I won't let go of them until her legacy has been brought to a close, I can certainly just forget about them for the moment." She seemed all too happy to let those memories slip away.

Mila stood as well. "Well, we reach Hadiens in a few days…" she remarked, "I suppose that means we'll be splitting up?"

"The invitation stands," Erwine reminded the girl. "If you want to stick around with Nadine and I, you're more than welcome to. I could always use the help. Estelle also looks like she'll be helping out in the future, so I think things will start being a lot easier."

"I think I might take that invitation," Mila said. "Probably going to be the best idea, given that inserting into some new planet won't be the easiest job in the world." She grinned. "Besides, you people seem pretty nice."

"Yeah," Erwine agreed, "There's a certain thrill to the job after a while. Personally, I can't wait to keep the chase up. Especially since we know what the enemy is doing."

Erwine looked around the room, happiness only growing in her. For the first time in her life, she felt truly confident in herself and those around her. Perhaps the second time, really, but the amazing sensation had not died down at all.

* * *

Like two black darts highlighted by an unearthly floodlight, the starships shot away from the warp rift that highlighted their entrance into the system. The star system referred to as Hadiens. The system that, for those aboard the two starships, had really become a symbol of hope and salvation from the stress that had been forced upon them all.

It was still its normal buzz of activity, and the two starships that traveled side-by-side were no different in any observable way from the many others that plied the darkness. Yet the bright globe before these craft meant so much more than just another planet.

Answers were expected by those who had questions. Yet so far, the answers had only raised more questions. Expectations were still high, but after what had transpired, few had expected to find something in this system that could be considered 'bad'.

For some reason, Erwine found herself feeling incredibly pleased that their approach towards the planet was going perfectly well. Her mind flashed back to the first time she'd been flying towards this place, and the unpleasantness that accompanied that. But this was a different time now.

They had already made contact with the sect on Hadiens. The younger girls from Janicelle would be sent down first, made comfortable, and then the long process of reassigning them would begin. The other girls would then get involved in the longer and more tedious task of sorting out the mess that had just unfolded.

Despite the tension from previous visits, Erwine felt a wave of relief wash through her body as the ship settled into orbit. She'd been almost holding her breath the entire way insystem, somehow expecting the perfection to be shattered. Such an event never came, however.

She looked around at the others standing on the bridge. Their faces were ones of relief. Estelle had a grin that had been spreading for the past hour as they came closer and closer. Nadine seemed pleased, with no hint of something else. Justinia had her usual emotionless expression, yet there was a hint of a hidden satisfaction beneath that.

Erwine realized that she had indeed reached the end of this leg of her journey. She let a smile spread across her face, as she realized that for once there was nothing stopping her from being happy.

* * *

Megumi and Reitia leaned beside the window, both their heads turned to look out through the glass. The first hints of the arriving shuttlecraft were already appearing. "We just get this over with, and we move on." Megumi said quietly, "There's no need to try anything now."

"I know that…" Reitia said. "We have our chance, but with Juno sitting so close by, there's no way we'll be able to survive. What's worse is that if some of us are found out, chances are the rest will be going as well, no matter how innocent or guilty they are."

"All we have to do at this point is be patient," Megumi said. "As soon as attention is shifted away, we can start acting once again."

Reitia nodded. She took a deep breath, letting the air fill her lungs. Her body was still shaking. "Arietta has been missing for about nine months now, right?"

"Indeed she has," Megumi replied. Reitia nodded. She spun on her heel. Megumi followed as Reitia walked off. They went through the building for some time, before they came before a door. A normal door. Reitia reached out with a key. Reitia opened it. They were in the middle of the area reserved for the rooms of the ranking officers.

The two girls entered the room. The door was shut. The room was tiny, containing nothing but a small space before another large door. This door was heavy and large. Another key was placed in the door. Megumi contributed her key.

The heavy door, roughly five feet thick, was pushed backwards. The two girls walked into the room. Reitia shut the thing, sealing it tight. What was before them now was a windowless room. It was dark inside. They faced a large bed. It was a grand bed.

It was surrounded by medical equipment, multiple tubes connecting to the girl in the bed. The sheets were pulled over her body, covering up the numerous restraints which bound her limbs and torso. The girl's eyes were closed at the moment. She seemed to be in a deep sleep.

Her soul gem was not on her body. It was on a small pedestal in front of her. It was surrounded by grief cubes. Reitia and Megumi both walked around to an opposite side of the bed, the former girl to the right, and the other to the left. There were chairs to either side of the bed out of the way of what was connected to the girl.

Megumi took a seat, as Reitia leaned over the body. Her hand reached out, gently brushing across the girl's face. Arietta's eyes fluttered open. She looked up at Reitia. "Is it time again?" she asked, her voice a low, tired whisper.

"No," Reitia replied, smiling. "Don't worry. I just wanted to tell you that we'll be in the clear soon. Then…then we'll make those dreams come true."

* * *

It was a bright day. The sun shone down over the city. The city that had once been a much more impressive sight. Yet in a way, the city of Hadiens was still impressive, just for different reasons. The massive trail of destruction left by the witch was visible in many areas, but the more important buildings had recovered quite quickly.

Erwine stared out at the collage of ruin, rebuilding, and normalcy that the city was. The hot sun threatened to increase her temperature to levels that were honestly unbearable, so she simply decreased the temperature of her skin, cooling herself at a decent rate to compensate.

She looked at the building. She almost winced as she saw it. It brought back memories that she did not want brought back to the forefront of her mind. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be alright?" Estelle asked.

"I've come to terms with things," Erwine reminded her.

"Doesn't mean that they don't affect you," Estelle reminded her. Erwine knew that well.

"Thank you for the concern," Erwine said. "What are we doing here, exactly? Or what will we be doing?"

"Submitting reports, paperwork…" Estelle trailed off. Erwine found it strange.

"Just say it," she requested.

"Your case…" Estelle said, "If Nadine, I, and Theodora all waive away any official investigation, then you can probably get off free. However, it's going to take three to sign off on the approval to have you avoid a trial. And even then, Juno could override that if she finds reason to."

"You think she will?" Erwine didn't sound very concerned.

"Probably not. There are better things to do than put you on trial for something like that. Besides, from the reports it'll be clear that if you go, other people are going to have to get in trouble as well."

"Then there's absolutely nothing to worry about, unless you think Theodora is going to change her mind. Or if you are."

"Not even considering Nadine?" Estelle asked. Theodora had already headed inside with her girls. Nadine was waiting for Erwine. Mila and Sabula had went in as well. The rest of Estelle's girls were still waiting for their inquisitor.

"She won't change her mind," Their conversation was off to the side. The wind ensured that most of their words did not make it to the ears of the other girls, as they were doing their best to not listen.

"I won't either, unless you intend to do something more," Estelle promised.

"Then Theodora is the only thing we have to worry about, but even then, Juno would most likely waive off an official investigation even if Theodora somehow decides against it. I doubt there is any need to worry in this area." Erwine said.

"I don't know how you're so calm when talking about this. Even considering the fact that you have probably have nothing to worry about, this is still something serious that could actually affect your career."

"You think I don't know that?" Erwine asked. "I understand that this could do bad things. It will, as it will still go on my record. It's just a challenge I have to overcome."

"Erwine…" Estelle felt a bit worried, Erwine's haughtiness seeming a bit too much.

"I understand that my words are a bit _too _prideful, even for me." Erwine looked down. "But trust me, Estelle. I've fought my way through a lot of things." Her head made a little nod in the direction of the building. "I promise you, I will only run for something that I know I can't overcome."

"I'm not sure what to think anymore, of you." Estelle said.

"I don't know what you should think of me either," Erwine said. She looked up.

Estelle thought for a few moments. "Let's get inside," She said. The inquisitor started walking towards the building. Her girls followed. Erwine did not. Wei did not. Nadine remained.

Estelle paused as she walked. She saw the way Wei stood there, unmoving. Her loyalty was clear. Nadine's support was clear as well. Estelle muttered to herself. "That's what you are…Erwine Braune."

She pushed aside the others, marching back down the walkway towards Erwine. She looked the girl in the eyes as she approached. "Erwine Braune," Estelle declared, "You…" The inquisitor sighed, shaking her head. "You are Adrianne, if Adrianne never suffered what she did suffer." A smile spread across her face.

"Erwine Braune…you want Adrianne's legacy to live on? Then I promise you, as long as you live, it shall remain." Estelle turned around, heading the direction she had been going.

Erwine paused. She looked down at herself, looking all over. She took a deep breath. Looking up at the bright sunny sky, she grinned. "Adrianne…" she whispered, the sound stolen by the wind.

She remembered those vows she made so long ago. _Were they really so long ago?_ _I'm a magical girl. For me, and my possible lifespan, it could have been mere moments ago. _"But it matters not…Adrianne…Airi…everyone who's lost their lives in my or Adrianne's name…I'll never forget you…"

She looked back down. "Come on then…I suppose I have a legacy of my own to forge. Best I get started soon."

Erwine Braune felt the greatest happiness she had felt in her life up to that point.

* * *

Yukie looked out at the scene before her. The rocks were hard under her, not the most comfortable spot, but the view the cliff side provided was easily worth the trouble. Seven girls were around her. Some standing, some sitting. They all had binoculars around their necks, but their normal eyes were enough to see the wider movements of what was before them.

Before them, a battle raged on. It was a battle between humans, part of a larger war that had raged for a long time. Yukie was simply amazed. She'd rarely gotten the chance to observe such a battle, and there was a certain charm when there was no magic involved.

Even though people were dying before her eyes, she was somehow able to relax. War had become such a constant for her that she really didn't get how to live without the constant shadow of it looking over her shoulder. But here, she was that shadow looking over another's shoulder.

The girls around her with happy, their expressions ones of joy as they bet on which side would win. Yukie had joined in that as well. It was a cruel game they played, but a game nonetheless. They were magical girls. They had orders to not interfere with the kingdoms, and doing so wouldn't help much anyways.

Moderating between two rival groups was not the place of magical girls. They were supposed to protect humans from outside threats. Not from themselves. Yukie felt a pang of remorse in her heart as she took in the enjoyment from watching a war unfold, but at the same time, she relaxed, and let herself go.

Telepathic messages came in. Her ride was there. It was time for her to be going. Yet she had a few minutes more to enjoy the strange peace she had. She savored them.

* * *

Sabula stood beside Mila as they spoke to the girl before them. Reitia was bright and happy, obviously replying to something previously said. "Of course. Janicelle is technically not within our jurisdiction, but it'd be no problem to send a message over and get confirmation. From then on, all we would need is approval from you," She looked at Sabula, "And Ms. Edicossen. Otherwise, there is not much more that you need to be directly involved with." Most of her words were clearly directed at Mila.

Sabula nodded. She turned to look at Mila. "I support your decision," she said. "Please understand that becoming a full agent like this is not going to be easy. But if you think you have the mental capability to handle the stress that will certainly come your way, then I see no problem."

"I believe that I am ready," Mila said. It was just a belief. That word made her doubt herself. _After all, beliefs can do a lot to people. _Yet she did her best to try and shake the thought out of her mind. She had conviction, and that was what counted just as much as anything else when it came to being a magical girl.

Sabula looked back to Reitia. "Then you've my word." She said.

"The astrotelepaths are already messaging the Marcostas sect," Reitia replied, "The reply should be very soon. Just Nadine's approval is required."

Mila smiled. "Thank you," she said, brimming with excitement. She spun around, quickly exiting the office.

Sabula watched her go, a grin spreading out across her face. "She's bright for someone who lost their homeworld," Reitia observed.

"Indeed she is," Sabula said, still looking at the door. "It's good, however. I'd hate for a girl like her to waste away because of something like that."

"I can only imagine the pain," Reitia said. Her words were sincere.

"Marcostas get back to you about reassignments?" Sabula asked.

"They've chosen to put you in charge of who goes where. You know them the best. I have the list of openings, as well as any PDG that are actively searching for new girls. Ultimately, it's all up to you."

Sabula nodded. Reitia handed the lists to her, sending them telepathically as well. "I guess I'll go get that sorted out then."

"You'll be taken to your room," Reitia assured her, as the girl left the room. Reitia sat back down in her seat. The seat that used to be Juno's. After Juno had come Arietta…

* * *

"But she disappeared nine months ago," Reitia said, explaining the full details of the incident to Nadine, Estelle, and Theodora as they stood in the office. "She was bound to take an investigative team to take another look at the Expanse. Her ship disappeared on the way there, never heard or seen again. I assure you of this."

"Mind if we take a look?" Theodora asked.

"That's fine," Reitia said. The three inquisitors across from her were seated. Nadine leaned back, her lips spreading just a tiny little bit. It was looking like more of a smirk by the time the settled into place, and by the way the rest of her face looked.

She had no idea what was really occurring, only that the two telepaths were going into the mind of someone who was not a telepath. Unless Reitia had spectacular mental shielding, then her secrets, if she had any, were going to be found out.

Nadine knew that the basic tricks to prevent mind-reading wouldn't work here. Distracting the telepath, forcing them out, they weren't options, as they would prove that Reitia had things to hide. The only way for anything to be protected was through very careful misdirection.

Nadine did have a basic understanding of how mind-reading worked, at least when a specific thing was being searched for. That concept was entered into the telepath's mental form, almost like a keyword into a cogitator search, and the mind would then be hunted for traces of that concept.

So overloading the search with a large number of thoughts about Arietta would easily throw attention away from the deeper things. If those deeper parts were well-shielded, and embedded very deeply then it would be hard for them to be found. Even then, anyone under serious scrutiny would still be found out.

So basically, all Reitia could do was hope that Estelle and Theodora were not playing seriously.

_A third option as well, _Nadine thought. The memories could have been buried. If she actually knew something about what was going on, then those memories could have been erased. Well, not erased, just pushed to the depths of Reitia's subconscious. Reading that far down was very hard, and very, very intrusive.

Erasing memories like that would be the ideal way to hide from an investigation like this. Minutes passed. Nadine kept sitting and watching, absolutely silent save for her breathing. Finally Reitia broke the silence. "Satisfied?"

Estelle nodded. "We are, I think." She looked at Theodora, who similarly nodded. Estelle looked at Nadine. "You see anything off?"

"I believe that she is telling the truth." Nadine replied.

"Then Liselotte was indeed an agent working for Ishna, and did not at all follow the jurisdiction of this sect." Estelle said, "And in effect, the Hadiens Sect is free of all charges, at least at this point in time."

"I agree," Theodora said.

"I do as well," Nadine said. "We'll stick around a bit more, perhaps look into things a little deeper just to make sure we don't miss anything, but otherwise, we'll submit a report to Juno, and see what she thinks. I doubt much trouble will come of this in the end."

"Thank you," Reitia said, wearing a smile on her face as the inquisitors left. A telepathic message came from Rilliana.

_They finished reading you?_

_Yes, why?_

Another message. This one contained something more. The moment it was received, Reitia felt her mind change. Memories returned to her. One of the most recent was when her memories were altered.

"Clever girl…" she whispered.

* * *

Sechylia sat on the edge of her bed. Justinia was sitting in the room with her. The older girl was staring out the window at the setting sun. Her arms were crossed, head leaning back against the padded chair she sat in. Although the sunset was certainly obscured by many other factors, it still had a beauty to it.

The little girl with the greenish hair was silent, about as silent as her companion in the room. Neither said much. Sechylia shuddered sometimes, just looking out at the world beyond. She wasn't sure why. She just did.

"Any particular reason why you're feeling down?" Justinia asked. "It's too obvious, really." The sudden breaking of the silence put Sechylia on edge.

"Just how utterly useless I am," Sechylia replied, putting the truth out there flatly. "Think about it, I've never been able to really do that much, especially over the course of the past few weeks. I've just been a sideshow, a person to fill up space."

"That's not true," Justinia replied. "Don't say that about yourself."

"What do you mean it's not true? I'm an incredibly weak girl. I can barely fight on my own, I'm just able to be clever about the use of my magic. If I can't use it, then it's worthless." Sechylia shook her head.

Justinia stood up. She turned to face Sechylia. "Don't ever call yourself worthless," the tall girl said, "You are not worthless. All of us have some kind of value to us. Whether it's what we do or what we mean to others, we all have a value."

"I just want to do something on my own. You taught me how to be strong, but for what reason?" Sechylia looked up at Justinia.

"Secrets are meant to be kept. As things are, you'll know why very soon, Sechylia. I swear to you." Justinia took a few steps forwards. She knelt down in front of the small girl. She took her hands in her own.

"You promise me?" Sechylia asked.

"I promise you," Justinia nodded. "You really are a good girl. You've been an anchor for me…something that I can look at and be reminded of all the good things in this world. You're so innocent, so pure."

She looked down, "I prefer that you're so helpless, it only makes you so much better to be around."

Sechylia chuckled, "You're making it sound like you bear the weight of many sins yourself…"

"Perhaps some consider me to. I don't." Justinia stood up.

"You really didn't lead a perfect life, did you? Not in the way you'd have Wei and I believe, right?" Sechylia asked.

"That's correct." Justinia agreed. "My past was an interesting one." Justinia shrugged. "Honestly, I'll tell you in just a little while. For now, I need to go speak to Elle, hopefully she's still on the _Yslevia._ Just have some business I need to wrap up."

"Come back soon, alright?" Sechylia said.

Justinia nodded. "We'll see each other again soon." With that, she left the room. Sechylia was left sitting there.

Her heart warmed, she lay back in the bed, pulling the covers over herself. The sun was setting, so she figured it best to get some rest.

* * *

She wasn't sure why she sought out this one person in particular. _No, _she realized that she knew. What she wasn't sure about was why she felt the connection. She wasn't sure what event had bound them together, seemingly irrevocably. _Maybe things would have been easier had we never met, had I never made that choice back then. _

The way her feet echoed on the cold floor was somehow nostalgic. Perhaps it was the wider setting, the planet she was on, but she recalled things that she had sought to bury for so long. The first time they ever saw each other.

Wei finished her ascent up the stairs. She looked out, trying to find that building in particular. It had been in a part of the city that had avoided much of the witch's damage. She saw it. That place where they had seen each other. That place where she had seen so much strength and courage in someone who was younger than herself.

For some reason, the mere sight of the place darkened her mood. Her eyelids fell shut, and she realized just how long it had been since then. Her body shuddered a little as the cold wind blew. Her hair was blown in front of her face, the wind coming from behind.

Opening her eyes, she looked down over herself. Her vision was getting a little cloudy. Her arms shook just a bit more. Her legs fell out beneath herself. Supporting herself on her arms, she stared down at the unmoving metal below her. Her mind rushed with thoughts. Thoughts of what could have been. Thoughts of what things may have been like had she not joined Estelle.

Had she not pestered the inquisitor to take her in. Had she not wanted to fight further. Had she not wanted to go to the stars.

She wondered what might have been then.

What if she just never contracted?

A pair of feet were in front of her now. They suddenly appeared there. No one had walked up to Wei. Wei looked up and saw what must have been an angel. She hated how cheesy it sounded in her head, but with the bright ethereal wings, Erwine definitely resembled one of those mythical creatures.

"Was looking for you…" Erwine said, "You alright?" Her bright appendages flashed away into small clouds of shimmering particles. She knelt down in front of Wei.

"What's wrong?" Erwine asked.

Wei leapt forwards. She tackled Erwine backwards, pushing the girl onto her rear. "Thank you!" Wei shouted. She wrapped her arms around Erwine, holding her tightly. "Thank you so much!"

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked, blushing fiercely, "What have I done?"

"You made my life worth it…" Wei said, "You made my wish that I made worth it." She was crying as she held Erwine.

"Wei…what do you mean?" Erwine asked. She shook herself. The scenario before her was impossible.

"You remember when we first met, right?" Wei asked. She lifted one arm away, pointing behind Erwine at that building. The girl couldn't turn her head around to look at it, her eyes too fixated on Wei's face as it stared up at her own.

"Yeah, I do…" Erwine said. Some unhappy memories of that night came back to her.

"Well…you remember how I said you were so brave, and I was nothing? I really did feel that way. I didn't think that I would amount to anything. I was a coward, a fool. Yet…you seemed to make everything better. You were so brave. You made me aspire to be something more…" Wei broke down into tears. Tears of joy. Erwine realized that she'd been holding Wei the entire time as well.

"You really…" Erwine's eyes had slowly been widening. She gripped Wei tighter. "I really did that for you?"

"You've done many things for me…" Wei said. "You've overcome so much…you've made me want to be like you. I realize that I can't. I can only accompany you, do the best I can to help you. You deserve no less than all the help in the world, given what you've been through."

Erwine nodded. "I want to say I don't deserve such help." A sigh escaped her lips. "But I think I do…is it wrong to think that?"

"I don't know. I don't care." Wei replied. "Erwine…you've been through an entire lifetime of pain. You've struggled to overcome things that have destroyed other girls."

"I haven't overcome anything…" Erwine countered. "I've only accepted things as true facts. I've accepted them, but that's so very different from actually overcoming them and moving forwards."

"It doesn't matter. Stop degrading yourself. You're amazingly strong."

"Only because of the way Adrianne raised me." Erwine said. "I would be nothing were it not for that girl."

"You like that?" Wei asked.

"If it ends up giving me the strength to accomplish the many things I desire, then yes, I like that fact." Erwine said. "But really, what have I done for you?"

"I said so already…" Wei said softly. "You made me want to be brave. And though you were gone for so long…when you came back you still made an impact. A positive one. You promised me so much, then tore those promises you made apart. It made me realize the truth, that this world is cruel. Even then, there's not one thing that you did or made me do. It's just that you've been something that I can look at and be amazed by."

Erwine felt her vision getting cloudy. She didn't want to admit that she was about to cry thanks to Wei. "I'm barely fifteen years old…" she whispered. "And here I am, light years from my home, having fought through situations that a veteran human wouldn't have survived, and crying because I want to go back."

"We're magical girls…this is the way we live…" Wei said.

"I know that…" Erwine replied. "We're so young, yet all the responsibility in the world is thrust upon our shoulders."

She held Wei tighter. "Yet that is the way the world works," Erwine continued. "We're strong. We're magical girls." She remembered something from before. Something about the way two people acted around each other.

They fell silent for a few moments. Erwine had started to think about what Wei really wanted here. Was it just her wanting to say 'thanks'? Or was there more?

"You need me…don't you?" Erwine asked. She recalled Airi and Adrianne. How the former girl clearly loved the latter with all her heart, yet that love wasn't even acknowledged as far as Erwine knew.

"I'll admit to that…" Wei said. "I'm afraid, Erwine. That you'll leave me again."

"I'll never leave you again," Erwine said. "Promises won't cut it this time."

"I guess asking for assurance would be foolish. You seem to know that…" Wei muttered. Erwine stood up, carrying Wei with her. She stood the girl up, before she turned around. Adjusting to stand beside Wei, she looked out at the building, upon the roof of which they first met.

"I remember that night so fondly," Erwine said. "Because I met someone that shocked a bit of sense into me."

"What do you mean?"

"You made me realize just how lucky I was." Erwine turned to face Wei. "You made me understand just how much Adrianne had done. And while it may have been in the wrong ways or for the wrong reasons, Adrianne had still done me a great service."

"Wei, I need to thank you as well. I wouldn't have forgiven Adrianne were it not for the realization that your cowardice, cowardice that was only so natural for someone of your age, provided to me." Erwine grinned.

"So we can both thank each other?" Wei smiled.

"I think we do…" Erwine took a deep breath. "But…I think there is a way in which I might just be able to promise things to you. To promise that you'll never find yourself without me, as least not as long as we both live."

Her cheeks were blushing bright red. Wei honestly wondered what was about to happen. Then the world seemed to slow down. Erwine leaned in towards Wei.

Their lips made contact with one another. Wei found Erwine going a bit farther than she would have liked. Her mind was overloaded with the fact that this was even occurring. It was very much less the physical sensation, and much more the significance of it. Wei was pulled in towards Erwine. Wei was almost frozen in place, realizing that it was Erwine who was holding onto her.

The younger girl didn't pull Wei in like Wei was the one who needed the hug. She pulled Wei in like Erwine needed something to hold onto. The kiss broke. Wei sworn that a thousand years could have come and gone in those few seconds.

She would have stumbled back, but Erwine kept holding her. "I'll always be with you, as long as you promise you'll always be with me." Erwine whispered. "I need someone to hold onto."

Wei raised her arms, wrapping them tight around Erwine. "You love me, right? I'm pretty sure those words should come along with things like this…"

Erwine nodded, "I can definitely say that I love you."

"And I love you," Wei grinned. She laughed as she cried, "I never saw this happening…"

"Why not?" Erwine asked. She stepped back, letting Wei go. Wei shook her head at her own thoughts.

"You seemed to be looking at Mila a bit too much," Wei said, "Thought you liked or something."

"She's a friend, a good one certainly," Erwine chuckled, "But not nearly like that. It's honestly just because she looks exactly like Nada. I guess it's just one big coincidence."

"Yeah…" Wei agreed. They were at a bit of a loss for words. "Perhaps it's about time we got to bed?"

"It is very late…" Erwine agreed. Then her eyes went wide. Wei's did as well.

"What is Nadine doing?!" Erwine shouted as the two leapt away from the roof, heading off for another part of the city.

* * *

It would be later that day when Mila finally got a chance to speak to Nadine. She ran up to the inquisitor, brightness on her face. "I know what you're going to ask," Nadine replied. Mila was surprised by the abruptness as the inquisitor continued, "Don't worry, I have already decided upon my answer. What I need to know is what yours is."

"What do you mean?" Mila asked.

Nadine held up a finger. _Erwine, sorry if I'm not around for a little while. I need to go out and have a talk with Mila._

_About what? _Erwine was concerned.

_I want to make sure she doesn't make a poor choice. Just give me some time. _Nadine waved for Mila to accompany her. The younger girl followed Nadine. The two girls were about the same height, with Mila just making it above Nadine's head, but that might have been an illusion thanks to her beret.

An opening to the outside led to a balcony. Nadine jumped off. Mila watched the soar through the air. She fell a long ways before making a safe landing on a roof far below, in an entirely different level of the city.

Mila jumped as well, falling for a while before reducing her momentum to zero with a quick deployment of magic. Nadine walked a few feet away from her. "You want to become a full agent, which is something I don't want you to do."

"What do you mean?" Mila asked. She'd never said more than a few words to Nadine before this point, so she wasn't expecting such a conversation to be coming from this person of all people.

"What I mean is that this task is something that is very, very difficult." Nadine said.

"I know that," Mila replied. "I think I experienced it to an extent back on Janicelle. I think I'm ready for that to become something like the norm. Besides, I've nowhere else I want to go."

"It's not about what you want to do. It's about what would be best for you." Nadine explained. She leapt away. Mila followed again. The inquisitor kept jumping away every time Mila got close. The sun had set over the city. It was dark.

Finally she came to a stop, after perhaps ten minutes of Mila chasing her around. "Have you thought about things?" Nadine asked, looking the girl in the eyes.

"I apologize, I'm really not quite sure what you mean," Mila said. She was concerned, wondering what the bigger issue was.

"The issue here is that I'm afraid you won't like being a full agent after a while. I need to make sure you enjoy it." Nadine said.

"How can you do that?"

"I can't," she replied. "All I can do is make you think more and more until you might finally come to the conclusion that this may not be the best choice for you."

Mila stomped her foot on the metal roof below her. "Make sense, please!" she shouted, "Stop being so cryptic. Ask me some questions, let me give the answers. I've made my decision, I want to become a full agent."

"What's so bad about staying PDG?" Nadine asked. She turned around, gesturing at the city around her. "I mean, there's little danger. All you have to do is kill wraiths." Her arms were raised up around herself. Her whip flashed into existence. "And wraiths are so easy to kill."

She looked out, her eyes shutting. Her nose breathed in a deep breath, the air coming out of her mouth. "So very easy. It's been a long time since I've had to lay my hands on the creatures. It'd be satisfying to get some relief tonight."

"The local patrols are already handling them all," Mila said, "There's no need."

"I want to, however. I'm an inquisitor. They'll make an exception." Minutes later the messages were sent off, and the local girls had left a horde running about. Nadine was already headed to the location of the group of creatures.

Mila was following. She wasn't sure why. She knew that she had every right to just turn around and head back. Yet she needed Nadine's approval if she was to join. There was also the option of going along with Estelle, or perhaps even Theodora, but she decided to see this conversation to its end, and not bail out because things were too deep for her.

She saw the wraiths ahead. A thick miasma settled into the air. A murky darkness, which would obscure all from human sight. Her gun flashed into her hand, and she was about to raise it. "My prey…" Nadine's words were just loud enough for her to hear. The things congregated on the surface below, running about the back alleys.

Mila waited atop the building. There were perhaps five dozen of the creatures running about through the spaces. Hives usually generated massive numbers of the things. Nadine leapt from the roof, falling downwards. She was set to fall into a cluster of wraiths.

She spun around before she impacted, holding her whip out all around her. A magnificent circle of bright blue energy shot out from where she landed, slicing wraiths apart into masses of dark particles. Nadine looked perfectly calm as she held her whip out in front of herself, balancing her weight on her back leg.

Located in the middle of the intersection, the girl could be attacked from all sides. The creatures rushed in from all directions. Their heads flashed bright red, and their multicolored beams of energy shot out forwards. Curving through the air to get at Nadine, not a single one found its mark.

Nadine whipped her weapon all around herself. Tracing blue lines in the air, the whip moved as a blue, deflecting the beams of energy. The wraiths still rushed. Flashing bright, the whip was cast to the right by the girl whose eyes were closed. Two wraiths were ripped in half.

Across her body to the left the weapon went. It sent out a crescent of energy, curving through the air to hit the creatures in that direction. It trailed across the ground as Nadine sent her arm forwards and upwards at the same time, dragging the whip up across the bodies of the creatures.

The three wraiths were vertically bisected with a flash of light. Then Nadine swung her right foot backwards, bringing the whip down. The creatures had congregated behind her. Fresh new beams sliced through the cool night air towards her. The whip knocked the beams away, before it hit the ground.

A blast of energy was sent out towards the wraiths, wiping them out or knocking them back. The entire scene had taken place over the course of roughly ten seconds. The wraith horde's numbers were reduced by a third.

Nadine moved again. Mila watched her go through the streets like a blue blur. She struck with impunity, knocking the creatures away with ease. They could barely slow her down. Being creatures obsessed with grief only, they fought to the end. Not a single one made it towards Mila, Nadine catching them all.

It was something both scary and amazing. Mila did know that Nadine was around seventy years old, so a horde of wraiths was like fighting an army of toddlers for her.

Her feet touched down without a sound back on the roof. "That was fun…" she said, a smile spreading across her face. "Why wouldn't you want to do that for the rest of your life?" She turned towards Mila, holding her whip behind herself.

"I have no home to live at. I'd just be running out in the night and staying inside all day long. Perhaps I could live out in the world, but I'd not be able to have any serious friends." Mila said. "Besides, I've taken an interest in being a full agent. I figure you would want help."

"You've fought other magical girls, right? In training?"

"And during the whole incident, yes," Mila replied.

"Did you like it?" A shrug. "Did you like it as much as you like killing wraiths?" Mila hesitated. Then she shook her head.

"But I don't think that one should," she argued.

"Maybe, maybe not." Nadine said. "Let's find out how much fun you really have."

* * *

A gun fired. Six shots. Six bright projectiles streaking through the dark night. The miasma was entirely gone. The barking of the gun attracted all to the source. Humans on the streets, wondering what that blue flash had been, looked around for the source of this shooting.

The six shots had traveled towards Nadine's legs. "Self-defense is good, then," Nadine observed. The six shots had not made an impact anywhere. Mila's gun was raised, worry on her face. It was slowly turning into total fear.

Nadine moved. The dominant emotion in her mind was one of a murderous intent. Mila could read that easily. Several blue flashes traveled out towards the girl as Mila leapt backwards, energy focusing around the barrel of her gun. Mila moved in the air, dodging around them as she traveled back towards another roof.

The whip wrapped around her right leg, yanking her towards Nadine. She started moving downwards as her momentum was negated. The charged shot fired up at Nadine. The whip was retracted. A single strike to the single bright bullet ripped it apart. Six bullets split out and curved around towards Nadine.

A web of blurs formed around the girl as her whip moved faster than observable to prevent a single one from striking her. Mila fired another volley as she landed, rolling away and firing up again. She ran down the alleyway, turning to fire behind her every other second.

Nadine was nowhere to be seen. The bright flashes were shooting off into the night, not hitting anything. Mila looked all around. She was panicking. Nothing was making sense at this point. She was already calling for help, shouting that Nadine had this murderous intent. Erwine was a minute away.

A blue shadow descended from above in front of her. Mila slid back, holding her gun out and firing over and over again. Nadine rushed forwards. Her movement was like a shadow as her whip shot out. It wrapped around Mila's hand. She was flying through the air.

She was thrown on her back. Nadine moved her in an arc above herself in less than a second. Mila still fired backwards. Nadine merely leapt upwards, too fast for Mila's shaking hands to track. Tightening her grip on the whip, Nadine came downwards quickly, pulling Mila's right arm up straight.

Her straightened legs impacted not on Mila. She split them at the last second, landing them to either side of the girl. Mila was taking stuttered breaths as she looked up at Nadine. The inquisitor released Mila's hand. She stepped off the girl, before offering a hand to her. "I accept your transfer request," Nadine said.

"What?!" Mila screamed out, "Why?!"

Humans were gathering around the scene. All were the poorer people who lived in this certain section of the slums. Many had been at first wondering what gangs were fighting this time. Most had run the moment they realized that two magical girls were fighting.

"The way you fired. You read my murderous intent, and you defended yourself. Few other girls would show such ability to actually act against someone who was on their side, especially if they had little experience going against other girls. That means that you are dedicated to your duty and trust your instincts." Nadine explained with a smug grin.

What looked like an angel swooped in at her. A sword went for her legs. Nadine wrapped her whip around the sword, rolling aside as she sought to tear it away. Erwine pushed herself backwards, pulling her sword back in towards herself as she spun around. The whip was torn away, and Erwine stood a foot from Nadine, her sword extended.

"Explain yourself," Erwine demanded. Nadine looked around, noticing the other magical girls who had arrived as support.

"I think Mila knows why I did what I did," Nadine replied.

Mila stood up shakily. Breathing hard, she explained "She wanted to ensure that…that I had the will to be a full agent."

"So you attacked her?" Erwine asked her question to Nadine.

Nadine shrugged. "Is she mad at me?"

"She didn't hurt me," Mila said. She took a deep breath. "It only made me realize that this is something that I want."

Erwine sighed. "Then…" her arm outstretched, and her hand opened. Suddenly, Estelle landed. The silver-haired girl's fist clenched, and she saw that it was time to stand down.

"Stand down," the inquisitor ordered, "Give them some time. It's Nadine being Nadine."

"Besides," Mila said, "I fired the first shot. I merely read that Nadine had a streak of sudden hatred towards me. I now understand that it was fabricated to facilitate that reaction."

Nadine grinned. Erwine walked up to her. "I will be very pleased the day you tell me all your secrets…" she said. Wei hopped down from the rooftop, having been following Estelle before.

Nadine shook her head. "This was no secret." She turned and started walking away from the girls. She leaned her head back at an unnatural angle, looking into Erwine's eyes. "I've just been ensuring that everyone involved here is in the right mental state to progress forwards from here."

"You know something we don't," Erwine insisted.

"That's true." Nadine. "And that thing…is that this is far larger than anything we have encountered before."

"What do you mean?" Erwine asked, "This entire situation?"

"Of course," Nadine said. "You three need to prepare yourselves for what is to come. I think I have sufficiently connected all of you."

"This was all your game from the beginning?" Erwine asked.

"Yeah, it has been. Sorry I never said anything," Nadine replied. "I just wasn't sure. But after Janicelle, I know for certain that Ishna was right about what she said. We're not just dealing with an isolated incident here."

She spun around to face them normally. She took a deep breath. "You three…are to become the cornerstones of something quite incredibly large, merely because of your connections to Erwine."

"You're serious?" Wei asked.

"Are you joking?" Mila asked, "Us?"

"Fate can choose anybody," Nadine said, "But perhaps it was not fate. I do believe that Ishna chose Erwine to be the one who completes her goals in the end, so I can only assume that those close to Erwine are the ones who will be the largest players overall."

Nadine smiled. "You three…I can't say welcome to a wider world, for all of you have already experienced it for some time now." She shrugged. "I don't even know what to say, other than that we have a lot of work to do." Nadine smiled as she looked proudly at Erwine. "The universe is out there, waiting for you to make your mark…"

* * *

Elle was surprised as she saw the girl striding onto the bridge. "You came all the way back up here for me?" the captain asked.

"I had nothing much to do down there. Most of its stuff that the people in charge need to be dealing with," Justinia said with a smile. "You know…Elle…I'm really amazed that we've come this far."

"The two of us, or this journey in general?" Elle asked.

"Both," the magical girl said. She felt tears coming to her eyes. She knew the reason why. "Really…I have to say that I'm so incredibly happy."

* * *

The girl leaned back against the wall. She lifted a small box to her lips. Speaking softly into the vox, she whispered.

"The beautiful green flower awakes and sees the new dawn."

There was a sense of hesitation from the voice on the other end. But the reply came.

"The beautiful green flower rises and magnificently blooms,"


	45. Two Betrayals

Erwine sat on her bed. She recalled quite vividly waking up to see Adrianne in a position similar to the one she was in now. No one else lay in her bed, however. She was alone in the room. It was late at night. She needed the sleep.

She was about to lay back, gently relax into the sheets, and shut her eyes. The tiredness that she felt would easily lead her away to sleep from there.

Theodora slowly walked through the halls er face emotionless. Her pace was an intent one, but she smiled or nodded to acknowledge those she passed. Any casual glance at her would show she was headed towards her quarters.

She stopped before a door. Turning to face it, her head looked to either side. She raised her hand. A gun appeared in that hand. A silencer then formed over the barrel. There was a gentle sound as the lock was ripped through. Theodora pushed the door open.

She stepped inside the room, turning immediately to the left. Her hand was raised. The gun was aimed at the figure before her. A bullet found its way into Erwine's chest. Two more just to be sure. The girl had not sent out any telepathic message before dying. Theodora had made sure of that.

_Angel good. _The inquisitor sent out to a certain number of people.

* * *

Elsewhere in the building, there was a hum in the air. Several magical girls lay on the ground, blood running from their bodies. Their soul gems were quite intact. Multiple circles rotated about a doorway. A bright flash illuminated the hallway. Several girls stormed into the room beyond through the smoking hole in the door.

The shattered pieces of the armored door were held back by the telekine, the others moved to secure the body that lay on the bed before them. The message was sent out. _Prophet good. _

Estelle walked in silence down the hall. She was tired, and though she ought to be asleep, something was keeping her awake. Some fear or worry, she couldn't quite place it. The inquisitor had come to the conclusion that a short walk would calm her, just to ensure that for once, things really were quiet.

The building shook suddenly, as though an explosion had gone off. _We're under attack, _came a cry from the sect, and Estelle's glaive was instantly in her hand. Her mind was out, searching for any sign of who or where the attackers were.

The building was slipping into chaos, but of all the girls inside, six were moving much faster than the others, but there was a direction to them. Theodora had six girls. _Damn it. _Estelle thought to herself, right before the hall detonated behind her.

* * *

Sanae and Ayelen were in the same room. They had been enjoying themselves. Sharing a few drinks, taking about good memories. They were content with their new states of existence. Then the building shook like it was a storm. Messages from Estelle, warning of an attack.

The klaxon blared. There was a blur outside the window. The glass brook open. Blood shot out through the air as the two magical girls were cut at. They barely reacted in time. Sanae suffered a long cut across her chest and another deep into her legs. Ayelen lost an arm and suffered one down her face

A whirlwind of blades had come into the room. A girl wielding a pair of long swords stood between the two, the bed they had been sitting on was crushed. Right before Ayelen and Sanae could move, the girl was leaping at the wall, striking out to break through. Weapons in hand, Ayelen and Sanae moved to pursue. A group of javelins was about to follow the girl.

Then both girls collapsed to the ground as another one entered the room. A few lasrifles floating around her body, the whip cracks of the echoed loud in the small room as the bright bolts blasted Ayelen and Sanae's heads to pieces.

* * *

Sechylia had been asleep in her room. She was disturbed by the noises. Her mind was cut off from anything else, not wanting to hear the sounds of the technology. She slowly sat up, eyes widening in fear. "Justinia…" she called out softly. She'd been sleeping for a while. Had the girl gone somewhere?

Looking around in fear, she realized that the girl wasn't there. She shuddered, hearing things that scared her. She summoned her gun into her hands, and started to rebuild her connection.

The door opened. Sechylia aimed her gun at that door, her body shaking. A message came through right as she looked up at one of Theodora's girls. The girl reached her hand out. "Come with me," she insisted, "Justinia's up on the _Yslevia. _She needs you."

Sechylia took the girl's hand. Right as she got a coherent message from Estelle. _It's Theodora, watch out for her girls. _But it was too late. Sechylia was already far above the planet.

* * *

Laelia and Celestine were sharing a bed, as was usual for the two of them. They were currently in a state of undress. "You know what's funny to think about?" Celestine asked.

"What?" Laelia was tired. She really did want to just sleep, or at least lay in silence.

"Who Erwine's going to go for?" Celestine wondered.

"What?" Laelia muttered.

"Mila or Wei? They both clearly like her," Celestine said. "She's got to choose at some point."

"What if they're just friends…?" Laelia muttered, "There's such a thing as being friends, you know that right? Mila's not exactly doing things for Erwine, from what I can see. She seems very interested in becoming a full agent because she lost her home. Wei has attached herself to Erwine because Erwine dragged her down with her. I'd say that at this point, those two are sticking with Erwine merely because it's best for them."

"That's boring," Celestine said. Then they heard from Estelle.

"Damn it!" Laelia shouted, leaping from the bed as her shield went up and her weapons flew out all around herself. Sure enough, a second later the glass broke. A huge detonation ripped apart the room. Laelia and Celestine were both toppling down to the next floor.

They were invisible when they landed, with Celestine's rapier in her hand. The room they were in now was empty. They waited in silence, as chaos unfolded outside. Moving might mean exposing themselves. Then the room exploded again. The detonation was more forceful this time, coming from all sides as well.

The shield was severely weakened, right before it was hit by a barrage of projectiles from multiple angles. Laelia tried to return fire as they started dropping against, this time crashing through the next floor. Through the smoke and dust they both saw multiple explosives dropping down towards them.

Laelia shot them out of the air, detonating them above the two. Her shield was severely weakened thanks to the series of attacks, but she was otherwise strong. The two girls kept looking around. Then Laelia looked down, seeing explosives teleported into the shield.

She leapt upwards, Celestine following, shrinking the shield down. One blast did hit them, and was contained in the shield. Instinctively guarding their gems, they were heavily injured, unable to move, but otherwise alive.

They lay there, cursing their failure.

* * *

Wei awoke to the commotion. Her uniform flashing in, she started weaving a program immediately. She tried to call out for help, but everyone was occupied with something else. She knew that Ayelen, Sanae and Mila were all near her. But she got a response from only Mila. Then it cut enough.

Then a girl burst through the door, hacking the thing to pieces. Wei leapt for the window, knowing she could at least escape. A multitude of blades emerged around the girl and fired out, all converging on Wei. Her body ended up impacting against the solidly made window and slumping to the floor, multiple blades sticking out of her chest.

* * *

Mila had her gun raised, she was looking all around as she moved through the hall, understanding the enemy could come from any direction. She heard battle everywhere, the warning sirens still blared loudly. Shouts and gunshots meshed together, along with explosions and the sound of collapse.

She was moving slowly, finding that she couldn't get into telepathic contact with anybody. She didn't have a vox. Something rushed at her from ahead. She realized that it was a magical girl. Her empathy told her of murderous intent. That the enemy was going to destroy her.

Adopting a well-trained posture, she aimed her gun at the enemy. She raised her weapon. She had about half a second to react. Her mind told her no. Yet her finger pulled the trigger. She'd had the magic, so a charged shot had been saved up.

The bright bolt flashed down the hall. The orange energy went right towards the other girl. She had some kind of double-ended spear. The bolt was cut apart. It was accompanied by a bright flash. The flash did not come from Mila's magic, but it did seemingly nothing. Six more came out. The girl was moving forwards quickly. Her spear was clumsy to use in the tight hallway. The bullets curved around to hit her.

She rolled forwards, right as a bright array of flowers erupted down the hallway, covering Mila's sight. She had no idea what she was seeing, but the girl was no longer there. She looked all around, no longer seeing walls, a ceiling, or a floor. Instead there was just a bright space, with flower patterns dancing all about.

It was like a witch's labyrinth in its absurdity, but Mila could feel that it was most certainly not. Her eyes went wide. She looked down to see a spear penetrating her stomach. She was lifted up, jaw dropping, before she was kicked forwards, flying off what impaled her.

The bright array disappeared. The hallway was back. Mila looked up, seeing a fading image of the girl rolling. It hit her. _An illusionist. _The girl split an illusion off to roll forwards while she casted the massive space of flowers. It had distracted Mila, prevented her from seeing anything, while she got stabbed in the back.

Loosing blood quickly, the last thing she heard was the girl walking up beside her, before the spear plunged down into the back of her neck.

* * *

Estelle rolled forwards as a hail of fire came at her from down the hallway. Her glaive flashed into existence as she spun about, weaving around the fire directed at her from what seemed like a multitude of crossbows. She tossed it out in front of herself, leaping into a flying kick that hit the base of the hilt.

The weapon was sent flying down the hallway as she kicked off the wall and dove off into a room. There was an exit into another hallway. She ran through that way, rounding the corner to find several more girls. She recognized them as being part of the Hadiens sect, but still summoned her glaive back to her hand as she backed away.

"We're on your side!" they shouted, right before someone burst through the wall between them. They were all forced to block multiple strikes from multiple blades, flashing out to either side. A girl with claws was attacking, but Estelle targeted her with her telepathy, only to find that she was being targeted.

Cursing, the inquisitor fended off the enemy telepath, someone who she didn't recognize. At least for a moment. Until she realized who it was. It was the girl from the attack on Curia.

Which meant…_Theodora's been playing us all along! The attack on Curia was a part of her plan! _Yet she did not know that most of her girls were bodily dead. Estelle now knew that they were going up against around two dozen girls, and with a large number already knocked out via ambushes, there was no way they could stop Theodora from asserting control here.

Estelle struck in at the claw-wielding girl, before bolts came from within the room she just exited. She rolled down the hall, retreating with the other girls as they sought to find a place to bunker down and ascertain the situation.

Estelle continued her telepathic struggle with the enemy girl, not managing to make any progress, but also preventing her from making any progress. That was all she needed to do. She brought up her vox. "Reitia! Where are you?!"

"Holed up in the main meeting room. Try to make your way back here. We have seven other girls, we believe the others are gone. We've made contact with all armed ships in the system, they are surrounding Theodora's vessel."

"Got it," Estelle replied, ducking beneath a volley. One girl blew a hole in the ceiling, and they jumped up through. She switched channels to the _Yslevia. _She did not get a connection. _Oh no…_she thought.

"You're tracing teleports, right?" Estelle asked Reitia.

"Yes. None so far."

"The Yslevia may be being jammed, I hope they can figure out what's going on." Estelle cursed as she kept her retreat up.

"It doesn't matter. We already have ships closing in that will disable Theodora's vessel. She can't escape. We're gathering the PDG, and will start sending them up to other ships just in case they are boarded. Even then, they'll still be slowed down. I don't think Theodora will be making a clean getaway."

"Good job," Estelle said, "Keep it up. Try to locate where she is. We're looking at a number of around thirteen enemies."

"Understood," Reitia replied.

Estelle and the other three girls kept up their run through the halls, as the building was shot to pieces around them.

Then Estelle was no longer under attack. The enemy was still out there. She scanned the area. "There are more!" she shouted into the vox, forgetting telepathic channels were clear.

_Clairvoyant reports another force. They are engaging Theodora's girls. _Reitia explained. _They are not out own. They are not replying to our messages. _

_Who are they?! _Estelle shouted, not expecting a solid answer.

* * *

Nadine sighed. She was sitting atop a rather precarious position. It was one of the higher towers in the hive that she sat off the edge of. The wind would threaten to sweep her away were she not holding onto the edge tightly. She leaned back, looking up at the night sky. It was filled with so many bright lights.

"Well Theodora, you've played your hand…" she whispered to nobody. "A very good hand. We'll have to see how far this takes you…unless, that is, you have some more aces up your sleeve."

The girl just smiled. She started counting down from ten. The harsh wind and lack of atmosphere meant that no one would have heard her words, if anyone was there.

When she reached one, she leapt off the building, spreading her arms out and beginning the long descent into the city below.

Elle frowned. She wasn't quite sure what had just been said. Justinia had spoken a few words into a vox. They were strangely poetic in nature. "What was that?" The captain asked.

Justinia's hand opened, and let the vox fall to the ground. It clattered on the floor before her foot raised up. A stomp down crushed the thing into piece. She took a deep breath. "That was an unfortunate truth coming back to haunt me." Justinia sadly admitted, before she looked into Elle's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Elle asked, tilting her head to the side, furrowing her eyebrows. When no response came, she said more frantically, "What's going on?"

"Theodora has betrayed us." Justinia replied, voice still cracked, "We need to ensure that her ship does not leave the system. Others are already on the move, please, let's hurry."

Elle nodded as she stood up. "Who was that, why'd you say all of that?" she asked. Her eyes went wide. "Did you know?"

Justinia nodded. Suddenly her voice snapped back to her normal dull tone, "That was someone else confirming it. I was hoping that Theodora had changed, but it seems that she has not. We've no choice but to do what we can. Let's hurry, we need to move far enough away so that they won't be able to teleport up to us."

"Then let's go!" Elle shouted, running from the room. Justinia hurried after her, merely taking long strides.

She heard the voice coming through to the captain's vox, explaining, "Captain! Communications are dead! Something's wrong!"

Elle looked at Justinia. The crimson-haired girl frowned. "Someone's aboard already." She observed. A moment later, she said, "Estelle's not replying, nor is anyone else down there. We've no time to lose."

They were even faster than before, Elle breaking into a sprint while Justinia picked up her pace only a little bit, her head carefully looking from side to side. It didn't take long for them to reach the bridge, the doors rumbling open to reveal an untouched room. Elle ran to her chair and shouted, "Start the engines! Theodora has gone rogue, there is a saboteur aboard! Can she move?"

"Yes ma'am," the reply came from the first officer."

"Then get her moving!" The captain barked out, "Prepare to engage with Theodora's vessel. We need to move far enough away from the planet so that she can't get at us, but we can stop her ship from leaving. Be quick about it." Elle turned to Justinia. "What's your move?" she asked.

Justinia explained quickly, "I've been searching with clairvoyancy. There's plenty of area to cover, so give me some time. About half the ship so far. Once I find her I'll move, but at this rate, going out would only be exposing myself and the bridge."

Elle sat down in the chair, breathing hard. She asked, "You said you knew about this? You're serious, right?"

"Theodora may have been influenced by Ishna during her time there." Justinia calmly explained, "Chances are this is Ishna's influence. She's managed to get a lot of support, however. But we know that Ishna can manipulate the system very well. I can't say that I knew for sure but I had a very good idea."

"So what's her plan, then?" Elle wondered.

"Well, the Hadiens Sect may have had something telling them what to do. Theodora would want to get that. She may also be after Erwine, seeing as how she's very important, and we already know that Ishna's forces want Erwine alive."

"So as long as we prevent her from leaving the system…" Elle said.

"Then we prevent her from gaining anything out of this, correct." Justinia agreed.

The _Yslevia _pulled out of its orbit, heading towards Theodora's starship. It kept a good distance from the planet, and slowed as she exposed her broadsides to the thing. The ship's engines were already out of commission, and the defense ships were already ordering all other ships to pull away so that they could not be boarded. And if they were, then it would not be hard to knock them out.

"Found the saboteur?" Elle asked, as the _Yslevia _passed by.

"She's gone…" Justinia said. "They may have left some kind of timed explosives or something like that. Most likely a teleporter." Justinia paused, thinking for a few seconds. "Get us closer to the planet."

"What? Why?"

Justinia called out to the other vessels around, specifically their astrotelepaths. _We're going to approach the planet. All ships, if you have magical girls aboard, get them over here. We'll try to lure some of the enemy aboard, give the ones below a breather. _

She explained her reasoning to Elle. "Alright," the captain said in understanding. "Get us closer to Hadiens." she ordered, as the other ships moved in to send their own girls over. As they started to move, Justinia took a deep breath, then slowly released it, as though she legitimately feared what lay ahead. "What's the matter?" Elle asked in astonishment, "You're…"

"Scared?" Justinia finished for her. She nodded. "Yes, I'm scared."

* * *

Estelle leapt into the meeting room. A girl had been left behind. Estelle herself was covered in wounds. The girls already inside laid down covering fire, but there was no concerted attempt to breach through the single entrance to the meeting room. It seemed that the new arrivals were doing much to prevent Theodora's force from doing anything.

"What do we do?!" One of the girls in the room shouted.

"We get out there," Estelle suggested, "We need to start taking back this building. If they've turned on each other, then we have a huge change right now. Come on, let's not wait."

Reitia nodded. She waved for the other girls to follow. "We have the PDG converging on our position right now, we should be able to put up a good fight. But there's just one thing."

"What?" Estelle asked.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Reitia's voice was heavy with regret. Estelle's body died without knowing what hit it.

"Restrain her in here. Once we find the others under her, do the same. I think Nadine is out in the city somewhere, watch out for her. Recover everyone, but our girls take priority. Hopefully, we can successfully intercept their ship." The girls nodded, and split off. Reitia leapt over the barricade with the others, moving forwards as the battle raged on throughout the building.

* * *

Theodora cursed as she rolled aside, with Erwine's body in the room with her. Two other girls were backing her up. Other her head shot a series of lightning bolts. One girl returned fire with volleys of bright ruby beams, while the other was busy setting up a large enough illusion to distract whoever was attacking them at the moment.

The entire building was being torn up by what was becoming a massive three-way brawl._ Reinforcements from PDG incoming, the sect is working to reclaim the building. Pushing us back, the new enemy is being pushed back as well. _

_Collapse in and teleport out. _She cocked her head to the side. _Our ride is in range. _Theodora called out. _Get out! _She called. She leapt back, as several other girls teleported into the room with her. She stepped back into a group of three other girls and then they were gone.

* * *

"Scared?" Elle was confused, "Why?"

"I mentioned my unfortunate past coming back to haunt me…" Justinia said. Her voice was low. "All I can really remember now is flickers of back then…" Elle's head was turned to face the girl.

She saw her hand move. "But…Elle. I didn't expect things between you and me to go to this level. I was wishing so desperately that I could restrain myself."

Elle watched Justinia move over to a console, the girl's hand still reaching for her belt. The crimson-haired magical girl hit a few buttons, having pushed the crewman aside. "There was once an ancient ruler named Justinian. His wife was a woman named Theodora." Was what Justinia said. A pause, "At least, that's what she tells me."

Elle's eyes went wide as she realized the anti-magic defenses were being taken done. The bridge doors were open. But that was not why. She was in pain.

Sincere pain showed on her face. It was a terrible kind of pain. One of the worst. The pain of watching someone who you well and truly loved betray you. "The truth is that I've been lying to everyone for a very long time. I can't say I'm entirely sorry to anyone but you, Elle." Justinia looked her in the eyes, even as she kicked out to snap the leg of the man beside her.

Her knife was drawn as she vaulted the railing back up to the command throne. She raised the weapon, before flicking it behind herself. It sliced into another man's arm. He had a gun in his hand. A scream echoed through the bridge, the other crew members frozen in shock, debating between risking their lives or allowing a traitor to take the ship.

Justinia knelt down in front of Elle. Her hand reached out, and grasped the woman's own hand. Gently, she pressed her lips against the back of Elle's hand. "I don't request forgiveness or understanding, merely compliance." Justinia stood up, looking behind the chair.

Other girls appeared on the bridge. Theodora, and three others. Theodora had Erwine draped across her arms. "Don't worry, Ms. Langnesse, we'll take control of things from here."

The crew came under the telepathic control of the three telepaths there. "You'll never make it out! You can't do anything without the navigator!" Elle screamed.

"She's already on our side. The entire reason I was here to convince her and her partner to assist our cause." Justinia quietly explained. She paused, and looked back across the bridge. A short leap over the consoles landed her beside the man whose arm her had knife in it.

From her pocket came a handkerchief that cleaned the blood off the weapon as she returned, "Please, follow me." She insisted to Elle as she stepped back over to the two. Theodora offered Erwine to Justinia when she arrived.

The crimson-haired girl took Erwine's dead body in her arms. "Get them comfortable," Theodora said. "We've already secured Arietta in the sickbay."

The crewman were already being controlled to turn the ship about. It now accelerated at full speed towards the edge of the system.

It shot away from Hadiens, out to the safe distance to warp. As far as the other ships knew, it was already under attack, and was pulling away so that the other ships could not be taken over.

"What are you doing?" Elle asked, as she was led Justinia off the bridge.

Justinia paused. Without looking behind herself, she stated, sure of herself, "The right thing to do."

* * *

The sect ships reorganized and moved to converge on the believed-to-be taken over vessel as Reitia called out to stop the _Yslevia. _But they would not be able to catch her in time.

It would be a long chase outwards, before a whole multitude of new players appeared on the stage. Pulling out from around the moon of the planet came a pair of craft. They were not Hadiens. They were not Inquisitorial. Two rogue starships flew out towards the _Yslevia. _Everyone expected them to turn and fight.

About that point was when they opened fire. Lances flashed through the void, shooting out at the solitary vessel. Yet it was fast, and was made for speed. It would easily outpace them, as it had taken a long trajectory to avoid the moon. But the ships were still in lance range.

The sect vessels closed in, warming up their own guns as they prepared to open fire. A new warp rift opened at the edge of the system. A single small vessel shot out.

"What do things look like?" Antoinette asked, looking out through the viewscreen at the system beyond. "What?!" she shouted in a split second, seeing the battle unfolding.

"The _Yslevia _is being attacked by two enemy warships," the captain reported. "Other ships are moving to assist, it seems."

"What's going on?! Open channels to Hadiens and the _Yslevia, _find out what's going on! Open up a channel to Juno, start giving her live updates!"

"What do we do?" the captain asked, "The ship?"

"Bring us towards Hadiens. We can't fight in this ship, but we can try and get down there and assure everything's alright."

The Yslevia shook intensely as the gunfire from the other ships tore at the shield, threatening to rip them apart. The crew returned fire for the sake of their lives, not for the lives of those currently in control.

There was a further moon, just a bit away from Hadiens's first moon. From beyond that Moon came a third ship. It was marked as a sect vessel. It attacked the _Yslevia. _Its own weapons opened up on the vessel, torpedoes heading out towards the ship that was in front of it.

"What in the Goddess's name is going on?!" Antoinette screamed. "The Hadiens Sect has gone rogue! Send confirmation to Juno! We need back-up!"

* * *

Theodora swore as she saw the vessel come out in front of them, losing a spread of torpedoes. It was going to be in boarding range soon as well. The shuttlecraft were already flying out towards the ship. "Damn it, damn it…" Theodora muttered.

She had a plan. All she had to do was execute it. About an hour was left before they could safely jump to warp, and she was starting to question her own plan. The shields weren't doing so well. This torpedo spread would fully rip them to pieces. She ordered the ship to turn towards the approaching cruiser.

"They're awfully close to us. If the torpedoes hit us head on, then we lose control and smash right into them, then they'll suffer as well." Theodora explained. They had been heading right towards the Moon when the sect cruiser emerged. At first she turned to avert a collision, but now it was obvious that she was not going to turn away.

That resulted in the torpedoes being detonated mid-flight. The shields shuddered and snapped under the pressure. "Fire everything!" Theodora ordered. The weapons in the nose of the ship were loosed at the cruiser, which was desperately turning away. Theodora tilted the Yslevia as well. It was going to pass dangerously close to the Moon, but there was no way that it would be pulled in by the small body and its tiny gravity field.

The Yslevia and the sect ship shot right past one another. The intention was that the sect ship was now shielding the _Yslevia _from her other pursuers. Although she was heavily cut up, there was no chance of the _Yslevia _being lost.

However, they had been boarded successfully. Theodora and the telepaths remained on the bridge, handling the issue from there, while the other girls aboard dealt with the members of the Hadiens Sect.

* * *

Fighting raged throughout the ship was Justinia finished securing Elle in her room. Erwine had already been placed by another girl in the brig, but Justinia decided to be a bit nicer to Elle.

Bound in her chair, Elle looked up at Justinia. "Thank you for cooperating," Justinia said, "Excuse me, I have other matters to attend to now."

"You're going to kill me at some point, right?" Elle spat, "Ransom me off? What'll it be?"

"Does it matter?" Justinia asked. "If you must know, you won't be hurt. In fact, we can't control the crew all on our own. We'll need you back in command once we get into the warp."

Justinia left the room, shutting the door. Elle struggled against her bonds, but Justinia had secured her very well. She swore that she'd never seen this many layers of cuffs and rope anywhere. She learned fairly quickly that there was to be no escape.

So she leaned her head back. She felt a few tears coming from her eyes, slipping down her cheeks. "Justinia…why?"

* * *

The lower decks were the main source of commotion as the six Hadiens girls fought their way through things. Megumi and Rilliana led the charge, making sure to non-lethally deal with any humans they encountered. Magical girls were another issue entirely.

They would prefer to kill none, but if they had to, they would destroy them all. Yet they had not killed a single one yet. Megumi's shield was covering them all, while a cryomancer sent shards of ice at them. Rilliana was telepathically battling them, but they were well-shielded.

She was going to go for the ones on the bridge, but the current nine girls coming at them were a more immediate issue. A teleporter summoning automatic shotguns fired storms of pellets at the enemy shields, while a programmer prepared a large program to fire off. They also had a healer, flinging boomerangs at the enemy.

However, more fire was being put out by the large traitor force. Of course, traitor was a relative word. The girls of the Hadiens Sect understood that they were traitors. However, their intentions were good ones, so they felt that justified some of their crimes.

* * *

Justinia came up behind the others. "How are things going?" she asked.

"Fairly well," the one in charge replied. She was the illusionist. "We haven't made much progress, but we're holding them. Care to sort things out for us?"

Justinia looked into the corridor beyond with her magic. There was not much space to use her weapons. "Can't exactly, my magic won't do much."

"You know you can do it." The illusionist replied, "Just get it done already."

Justinia sighed. She pulled out her knife as a hand flipped her hair out behind herself. "Understood." She rounded the corner. The fire from her side stopped as she leapt down the hall. She tracked all the fire. Multiple boomerangs spinning around. Shotgun pellets. Ice shards, meaning a cryomancer. Arrows, and then one girl wasn't firing.

_Either explosive or melee specialist…_Justinia summoned fifty rocket launchers in front of herself. She aimed them straight up, organizing them to create a wall in front of her body. The pellets and shards slammed into the wall, while Justinia knocked the boomerangs away.

The launchers were quickly torn apart, but Justinia's leap was fast enough to take her down the corridor to her destination. She kicked off the shield, before she kicked off the ceiling. Rolling atop the shield, she came down on the opposite side. The girls switched directions of their fire.

The fire from the other side started up again. The shotgunner turned, firing non-stop at her. Justinia danced around the hallway, bringing up more launchers. She was merely distracting them, but it was working so well. One less girl firing meant less pressure on the others.

Justinia realized that her mind was becoming less and less cloudy. Things in the past were becoming more apparent to her. She was moving faster and faster, faster as a veteran magical girl might. A veteran mage knight with full magic.

She danced around the fire, blocking what she could not somehow dodge. The girl felt as if she became nothing more than a crimson and black blur. Then someone was coming out of the shield. A large axe was swung at her, Rilliana being the one to swing it.

Justinia ducked under it. She moved faster than Rilliana to kick out at her leg. She hit the girl multiple times in her face. She was moving her body incredibly fast. It was because she was actually pushing her body beyond the limits. It was so overcharged with energy that it was deteriorating by the second, only for Justinia's magic to regenerate herself as she tore herself apart.

A strange glow came from every part of her body as she struck at Rilliana again and again, the glow signifying the magic coursing through her. _We need to get out. I don't know what this girl is, but she's more powerful than any of us. _The telepath leapt back into the shield, her body covered in wounds from Justinia's knife and hands. She had barely made it out of the endeavor alive.

Rilliana couldn't see any grief seeds on the emotionless girl's body, yet her gem was still bright red. Not even a hint of despair. _Come on! _Rilliana insisted, _we have to! _

_Go where, we'll be trapped in space! _Megumi shouted back._ To the hangar bay, we know where it is. We brought up the schematics._

_Teleporting without seeing the location will be dangerous! _The shield was about to break.

_Do it! _Rilliana screamed at the top of her lungs. The girls disappeared from the hallway. They appeared in a hangar bay elsewhere in the ship. Luckily, they were all in one piece. _Open the doors, _Megumi ordered. The teleporter was off to do that as the others ran into a shuttle.

The doors were opened, no one attempting to bar their escape. The shuttle flew out with all six girls aboard, the ship not opening fire.

* * *

The rogue vessels were now engaging with the full might of the Hadiens Sect fleet. The battle raged through the starry dark canvas. The Chaos vessels were outnumbered by several times, but were putting up a good fight.

_Disengage! Disengage! _Reitia shouted to the astrotelepaths, hoping that the captains would listen. From the way she was hearing the battle unfold, she knew that if the enemy vessels got in close, then they could easily board and take out most of the vessels. They knew that they were going up against traitor knights.

Besides, the Sect was going to need every ship they had for the upcoming struggles. The sect fleet made a concerted effort to back off, consisting of twenty-seven vessels. The enemy ships did not pursue, nor even attempt to catch out the stragglers. They instead made a wide arc, circling back around towards the planet.

Meanwhile, the sect cruiser had turned to pursue the _Yslevia. _The damaged ship was still warp-capable, and would survive a journey into the warp, but if more damage could be done, it might be restrained there.

Lance beams pierced the void to scratch at the recovered shields of the ship. The cruiser picked up the magical girls who had attempted to board. However, it would not be able to get in range to pick up more of them.

At the same time, Antoinette could only watch as the chaos unfolded as her ship approached Hadiens. The other girls standing on the bridge with her were eager for battle, and figuring out exactly what was going on. _Hold on, _Antoinette said to the astrotelepath, _no one is talking to us. Tell Juno that she needs to get here right now, but also inform her that she should not come in guns blazing. _

_Sure? _The astrotelepath asked. _Seems like things are indicating who is traitorous. _

_And this may be a misunderstanding. We don't know what's happening exactly. _Antoinette reminded her. "For now, just get us closer to the planet. We'll head down there on our own and figure things out."

* * *

Estelle awoke. She found that her arms were bound behind herself. She recognized the room as being the meeting room within the sect. She saw that a couple other girls were in the room. At first she thought they were traitors. Then she saw that they were from the sect.

Which meant…"You were traitors all along as well?" Estelle muttered, a bit of amazement in her voice. She wasn't sure if she'd missed some obvious facts that hinted towards this. But she couldn't have.

"What's your intention?" Estelle asked. She looked around, seeing the other girls in the room. Laelia, Celestine, Ayelen, Sanae. They were all similarly bound, but the latter two were in states of unconsciousness, still recovering. The first two were awake and well, and just as displeased.

The girls were not answering her. They seemed more focused on watching the entrance. Reitia was nowhere to be seen. _They're not collaborating with Theodora, or the others who were attacking, theoretically. Hopefully they're just working for themselves. If we can avoid major casualties, they have a chance at redemption. _

She reached out with her mind. She started to dig into the mind of one of the girls in the room. It wasn't too difficult, and as long as she could slip in unnoticed, she would have a chance at somehow escaping with the other girls. Then the girl turned towards her.

"Please do not try to escape. We are keeping you conscious and in your body at the moment for your convenience. We will not hesitate to end that if we must."

Estelle groaned. She checked the minds of the others briefly, realizing that they must have a telepath elsewhere in the area checking her. She retreated back into her own mind, preferring this state to anything else.

She tried to ascertain the situation from the way the girls were reacting to the goings on. However, they were suppressing any reactions to anything that occurred, if much was going on. Estelle imagined that the third group was still present.

* * *

Reitia ducked behind the corner, locked in a mental battle with the enemy girls. They had figured out that they were most likely real heretics, Ishna's forces most likely. The battle had been raging throughout the building, and was closer and closer to coming to a close at this point.

The enemy was being pushed out, now that they were facing roughly thirty PDGs bolstering the ranks of their opponents. However, from what Reitia understood, they had nowhere to retreat to. That did not mean that she would pursue and punish them. She knew that forces from Juno were insystem, and that meant trouble.

If they were going to go all the way with their heresy at this point, then they had to make sure that their plans were not disrupted. Reitia had already issued the orders for the worst-case scenario, and the contingency plans were being initiated already. The sect's forces were ready to converge on wherever the _Yslevia_ went.

The ships they had stockpiled would also be mobilized soon, and a full operation to recover what they had lost would be underway. From then on, it would be a bitter fight against the rest of the Inquisition as they sought to do what they had to do.

Reitia wasn't at all pleased with the way things were turning out. Yet she was a loyal servant of the Goddess and Her Imperium. As long as she lived, she would work towards ensuring its survival.

* * *

Estelle had given up on her attempts to struggle against her bonds, with Ayelen and Sanae waking up. They had not much to talk about, and they figured that if they did talk, their captors might not be pleased, so they tried to keep that to a minimum.

This particular room was deep inside the building, so there was only one way in, unless one wanted to get through thick layers of walls between the room and the rest of the building.

There was a huge booming sound, and then the wall crashed down. Layers of metal were blasted apart in an instant, with a single figure clad in blue leaping through the chaos. Estelle's eyes went wide as the other girls reacted. Fire was concentrated on Nadine as she leapt about the room kicking off the walls and deflecting fire with her whip.

She leapt towards Estelle, scooping the girl up in one arm before leaping backwards, spinning about before diving for the entrance she had created. The entire thing took barely three seconds. Right as she recovered, Nadine was running away from the room. _What did you do?! _Estelle shouted.

_Simple, the building has an armory. I broke in amidst the chaos, and planted the explosives to destroy the wall. My eyes helped with that. _The girl answered as she kept up her retreat.

_How did you know we were in there? How did you know what was happening? _Estelle had no idea what was going on. She was shifted to being draped across Nadine's arms, her back over her left and her legs over her right.

_I didn't get any word from you, and the sect was not replying to my messages. Listening over the vox before revealed that you were in that room. So I made a bet that you were still in there, and decided to get you out. _

_Why not the others? _

_No time. _Nadine rounded a corner and leapt out a hole in the side of the building. They fall downwards towards the city below. Their velocity increasing, the cold midnight wind blew past their faces. _Start shielding us, she ordered_.

They kept going downwards as Estelle started to set up the mental shield around them. Her arms and legs were still bound. The ground was a long ways away. They fell for an amount of time that was short, but Estelle perceived it as being long.

She looked into Nadine's eyes, blood still on her own face. Nadine wore a confident smile. She knew what she was doing. That much reassured Estelle.

They fell towards a back alley. Nadine tossed Estelle out in front of herself. She summoned her whip. A number of blue streaks flashed before Estelle's eyes.

Her bindings were cut. By the time Nadine gently landed, her whip was gone. She stood up straight, facing down the alleyway. Estelle was behind her. She struggled to get up from her feet.

"What's going on here?" Estelle asked eyes looking over her shoulder. They were both fully shielded from any attempts to strike at their minds.

"That's a very good question," Nadine remarked. She took a few steps forwards, feet dancing around on the metal of the alley. She never once turned around. "Theodora has gone rogue. She works for her own interests. The forces of Ishna are after her. The Hadiens Sect is after her."

"Why would the sect go rogue? What do they want?" Estelle demanded as she turned around to face the girl's back.

"I don't know everything," Nadine replied pointedly. She continued to explain, "Presumably, they want whatever there is to gain from this. Which means that they need Erwine, and whatever else Theodora stole."

"What do we do?" Estelle asked.

"Stay alive, and find a way to follow them wherever they go." Nadine said. She turned around, looking Estelle in the eyes. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"You've kept so many secrets. You were conveniently not present when everything happened." Estelle took a deep breath. "You know I suspect you. No matter how deep I dive into your mind, I can't find anything of suspect."

"But I also know that you're goals do not align with my own, nor Erwine's." Estelle took several steps forwards. "What do you really want, Nadine? I asked this before, I want a straight answer this time."

"What makes you think you have the right to such a thing?" Nadine asked. "Is it that you can't stand living out without the truth? Do you desperately need answers?"

"Secrets killed Adrianne," Estelle said. "She died for a reason I still don't understand. Ishna let herself die for a reason I still don't understand. There's something going on here."

Then the inquisitor's eyes went wide. Her jaw dropped open. Estelle grinned. "No, I get it now…"

She shook her head at the impossibility of it. She looked down, wanting to deny it. _The mysteriousness. The hints of something more. Even just her...hair. _Then she looked into Nadine's eyes. Her glaive was raised at the girl. "What is the answer to my question…" The slightest bit of hesitation showed on her face before she staunchly said, "Ishna Kleimar?"

* * *

"It really is a beautiful thing, isn't it?" the words were spoken to the sight before them. The somehow beautiful clash of armies. The death of hundreds, maybe even thousands, at the hands of their own species. The moon looked down upon the chaos, the clouds perhaps swooping in to protect the innocence of the pure celestial body.

Yet the words were not spoken by a voice that any of the girls there recognized. They all stood up, spinning to look at the cloaked figure that was suddenly there. She was off to the side, standing atop the very tip of a pointed rock formation. A cloak obscured all her features.

She turned her head to look at the girls there. Somehow, the cloak brought darkness with it. None could see her face, despite all the enhanced vision they had. She moved.

Maybe she didn't actually move, because Yukie's legs were cut under hair. Slices across the back of her knees appeared, and she cried out as her hamstrings were cut. The other girls leapt into the air. One by one, they fell. Multitudes of cuts appeared over their bodies. It wasn't possible. There was no indication of energy.

Even a telekine had a limit to their range and ability. All the girls were projecting repulsive fields, so a telekine would still have trouble cutting like this. The seven girls were lying on the ground, along with Yukie. Their muscles cut, unable to move. They could have all been killed.

Why were they not? The cloaked girl stepped down from the rock. She fell the few feet to the ground, landing with straight legs. She slowly walked towards Yukie. Several girls could still use their weapons. Cannonballs shot out towards the girl, followed by a huge volley of musket shots.

Yukie moved her arms, flinging forth an array of her shurikens. The weapons multiplied in flight, till a huge storm was heading toward the cloaked girl. She made no effort to dodge it all, simply moving forwards. None of it hit her. All the projectiles disappeared before they came into contact with her body.

Then everything went black for Yukie. Had she somehow maintained awareness, she'd have known that a single instant saw the brain stems of every girl in the vicinity sliced.

* * *

Nadine looked into Estelle's eyes. The strange silence of the alleyway was incredibly apparent as they stared at each other. "Well…what is it, Ishna? Mad that somebody found you out?" Estelle asked. "I should have remembered back at that mansion. The shapeshifting duplicate. The one that Adrianne fought…was just another one of you, right?"

Nadine shook her head. "Don't lie to me." Estelle ordered, "Stop assuming that form. I don't want you to defile a dead girl's memory anymore."

"I'm not defiling anyone's memory. I'm Nadine Edicossen." Nadine said softly, "You think I'm hiding that fact from you, go ahead, kill me."

"Then why all the mystery? Why do you need to hide from me?" Estelle demanded, her anger rising. "Just tell me what you know!"

Nadine nodded. "It has been long enough. Yet…you'll have to make a deal with the devil. Adrianne did the same."

"What do you mean?" Estelle asked.

"Well, it's like this. You get all the knowledge," she extended her left arm out to the side. "But you can't tell anyone about it." She extended her right arm out to the side.

"Ishna did tell you her plan, didn't she? That's what you're offering, isn't it?" Nadine looked away down at the ground. Slowly, as she exhaled a deep breath, her eyes ran up the wall to its top. She stopped as she stared up at the middle of what could be seen of the sky.

Estelle shivered at the tone, one she couldn't quite categorize, the girl spoke in. "Indeed it is. You could say that I carry quite a few cards."

"Why couldn't she tell me?!" Estelle shouted.

"You won't know until I tell you," Nadine's eyes came to Estelle once more. The girl wasn't happy, and she wasn't sad. She drifted somewhere in between.

It took a moment for Estelle to understand, but when she did, the reaction was immediate. The inquisitor's eyes widened suddenly, her breathe caught in her throat. "Does this mean that…I'll be dying soon?" Estelle asked.

Nadine looked down, her voice sad, "If you accept this gift I am offering, then certainly, you will have to die."

Estelle lowered her weapon. "Then I refuse your gift. I shall remain alive for as long as I can. What you have to say can't be worth death."

"I doubt it is," Nadine agreed, then frowned, "You might not die."

"Then why did Adrianne?" Estelle said, "They told her she would die, and she did."

"You're wrong," Nadine said. She started walking forwards towards the inquisitor. "If I talked, I would simply tell you of what is going to happen at the end of all of this. This current situation, that is."

"Will it brings things to a conclusion?" Estelle asked, "Everything?"

"Yes, it certainly will bring it all to _an_ end." Nadine promised.

Estelle looked deep into the girl's eyes. Mind reading wasn't an option, she had to keep the shield up. But she saw that the truth was being spoken. "Ishna told you all of this?"

"She did," Nadine admitted. "But I realized that telling too much…it would only make things worse."

"You swear that this is the end?" Estelle asked.

"I swear. Once this is resolved, Erwine will find…resolution." Nadine promised, though she was undoubtedly uncertain of herself.

"So this whole thing, it ultimately revolves around those parchments that Ishna got. It also has to do with that vault she opened on Vasillica…" Estelle shook her head, "What does she want out of all of this?!"

Nadine thought for a few moments, then shook her head. "I don't know."

"Are you working for her goals?" Estelle asked.

"I am not." Nadine said. Estelle scrutinized her tone, half-prepared to go in and rip apart the girl's mind, but protecting the two of them was more important. The older inquisitor continued, "I know that there's no real way to assure you, not after all that you've been through with me, but I request that you believe me, at least for now."

Estelle nodded. "I will, but give me another reason to question you…" Her threat lost much of its impact as she fell down to one knee. A short gasp came from her lips as the wave of exhaustion hit her. The strain of telepathy was catching up to her, with the city being meticulously scanned by the sect.

Nadine walked forwards. She offered her hand to the girl. Estelle dissipated her glaive. "Come on," Nadine said, "The PDG is almost certainly on their side, we need to stay safe."

Estelle took the hand and found Nadine gently rousing her to her feet. "Hurry," Nadine insisted, leading the girl along down the alleyway. It was the strangest feeling that came to Estelle in those moments. Both a warm glow in her chest, and a shiver up and down her spine that her mind refused to forget.

She wasn't sure what she should think.

* * *

They found an abandoned hab elsewhere in the city, much farther away from the center. After confirming that no one lived there, Nadine settled Estelle down into the old bed off to the side of the multi-family housing unit. She shut the door as best she could, and prayed that they wouldn't be found.

There was nothing to eat, but Nadine had taken some extra grief cubes from the sect, so they would be fine for a good while. She walked back to where Estelle lay. The girl was staring up at the ceiling. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"Why do you care about me so much?" Estelle asked. She asked in disbelief, "Am I really that important?"

Nadine didn't reply for a few seconds. Finally "You have a role," she replied. "All I know is how this ends. Ishna told me no more." She looked to the side, "Again…if I could tell I would. But it would do far more harm than good."

"The Eldar told Adrianne of her death, is it so that she was ready?" Estelle asked, "To ensure that she didn't try to avert her death?" Her voice grew more frantic, "That she just accepted it and prepared for it?"

"Probably…" Nadine said. "Ishna expected me to be weak, and tell everyone of how it will end. They'll try to avert that ending. They would try to steer things away from this mess, and only make things worse in the end."

"I'm sorry that you carry such a burden," Estelle said. She switched her gaze to staring at the girl beside the bed she lay in.

"It's by no means your fault. Not in the slightest. I'd say that it's more my fault. For getting caught, walking into the trap in the first place." She shook her head. Estelle saw her choking up. "I really messed up back then. I wish I could go back and chance things…but for all we know, that might just be worse."

She looked into Estelle's eyes. "I hope that this proves I'm not Ishna…" Nadine found tears coming to her eyes. "I'm really not Ishna." She sat back on the edge of the bed. "She just used me…for twenty years. She took pleasure in hurting people. Whenever she seemed to feel down, she'd just come and hurt me. She'd override all my attempts to block the pain out."

"She kept finding new ways, exposing me to my worst fears, tearing apart my mind…" Estelle could tell the hurt she saw in the girl was very sincere. "They say that if you torture someone for long enough, they'll stop feeling pain. Ishna just moved on to a different way to hurt me."

Nadine was almost silent when she replied to the girl. She sounded more sincere than ever before. "I'm afraid that as I am now, I'm nothing more than a broken shell who knows too much. Who's merely tried to do her best to avert the cruel destiny forced upon you all."

Estelle sat up. She embraced Nadine from behind. Her arms wrapped around the girl's shoulders, pulling her head back against her chest. "Don't worry, Nadine. Ishna's long gone now. She's been gone for a long time…she won't be coming back."

"You can't say that with certainty…" Nadine whispered.

Estelle did doubt her promises. "But that doesn't matter. Because I'll be there for you when that comes. I'll be there…and I'll make everything better, alright?"

Nadine gripped tight onto Estelle's hands. "You will be, huh?"

"Yeah. A promise is a promise." Estelle sighed. "Though…I guess I did fail to save Adrianne…"

Nadine reached her hand up. She clasped her fingers down around Estelle's hands on her chest. She gripped tightly, perhaps a little too tightly. Estelle couldn't even feel the pain from the intensely tight grip. "You did what you could for Adrianne…there's nothing wrong in that."

"I promised myself that I would save that girl, when she ran off on her own…it was so long ago now. But I made a promise. And here we are, she's dead." Estelle shuddered, "Tell me it isn't my fault, please…"

"It wasn't your fault," Nadine said. "I'm serious. There's nothing you could have done to save her. Not from the fate that awaited her."

Estelle held on tighter. "Am I useless?" she asked, "I've barely done anything this whole time…it's just been everyone else. I feel worthless."

"You have value." Nadine promised, though Estelle found herself hard-pressed to believe such a simple assurance. She turned around. She gently pushed Estelle back down onto the bed. "All of us have some value. Please, get some sleep."

"I don't think I can rest," Estelle asked.

"Just do it, please," Nadine ordered. "I'll keep watch for anyone else, alright? You need the rest far more than I do?"

"You're burdened with the knowledge of how things will end, right?" Estelle asked, "And how there's nothing you can do about it?"

The older girl nodded. "That is correct. It is a burden I have chosen to bear…I will bear it to the end."

"There's really nothing that can be done, right?" Estelle asked.

Nadine nodded. "It would only make things worse. Please believe me." Nadine's face was still streaked with her dried out tears.

"Alright," Estelle nodded. I'll believe you…"

"Thank you…so much," Estelle said, not averting her eyes from the girl as she older girl exited the room, leaving Estelle in silence. There was no light, so her vision was a bit dimmer than usual. Estelle pulled the sheets over herself, but her mind wouldn't, _couldn't_, let go of what had happened. "Adrianne…" she whispered to herself, as she found a new wave of emotions surging forth to prevent her sleep.


	46. In Defiance of an Unwritten Fate

The _Yslevia _was nearing jump range. The pursuit attempts by the sect ship had failed, the _Yslevia _pulling too far ahead after a certain point. The two Chaos vessels had turned back towards the moon, keeping a good distance away from the planet and the rest of the sect fleet.

Meanwhile, on Hadiens itself, the hunt for the chaos girls began. They'd fled away from the headquarters and were now scattering across the city. Their mental shielding meant that they'd easily avoid detection for a good long time.

So Reitia was more focused on bunkering down in the headquarters and preparing to chase down those that had fled with what she wanted. The members of Estelle's team were all secured, as were all the girls from Janicelle.

PDG girls were combing the city for the traitors, as well as Nadine and Estelle. The conspiracy arranged by the sect stretched far and wide, as new warships already pulled out from secretive positions throughout the system to converge on the planet.

_I would request that you back away from the planet immediately. If you attempt to come any closer, we will be forced to disable your vessel. _Reitia communicated with Antoinette's ship as it approached the planet.

_Not an option. Explain yourself this instant, or we will bring the force of the Inquisition crashing down upon you. _Antoinette replied. She was angered by what looked like an incredibly massive betrayal. A betrayal on a scale that she had not seen in a long time. _Is getting the power at stake here so important to you? _

_This has nothing to do with power, _Reitia replied. _We are doing this so that the rest of you do not have to deal with this._

_What are you talking about?! _Antoinette shouted.

_I don't know. All I know is that if we don't act, things will get worse in the future. _Reitia replied.

_Make sense! How do you know, what will get worse?! Give me something to work with, I don't want to start a war! _Antoinette screamed.

_She told us the future. Arietta, I mean. She showed us what would happen if things continued down this path. We are going to stop that future from ever occurring. It's a future that's too cruel, even in this cruel world. _Reitia replied. Antoinette could hear the conviction in the girl's voice.

She looked down, taking a deep breath. That conviction told her that the only way this would end was through violence. _If this is the path you choose, then walk down that path. _She told the girl. _We will have to stop you. You have acted against our people. _

_I welcome the challenge. We won't back down. _Reitia promised her. _We're fighting for a better future for everyone. There's no way that we'll back down now. So turn around, and wait for Juno to follow you. We'll destroy you if we have to. _

The connection was cut. Antoinette cursed. She spun around, staring at the other three girls in the ship. "We're going to get in there, somehow." She looked at the captain.

"Keep going till they prepare to fire on us. We'll get out in a shuttle at that point, then turn around and get out of this system," Antoinette ordered. "We'll stop them."

The captain nodded, and began to close faster with the planet, even as the sect fleet moved in towards them.

* * *

Time passed, and soon Antoinette and the others were away on the shuttle, flying out towards Hadiens, while the small starship behind them hastily turned about and fled. A few lance beams flickered out towards it, but the shields deflected the shots, and the fire stopped soon.

The focus was now on the small craft darting towards the planet. It would be about thirty minutes to make it there, and they would be opposed by whatever the sect could throw at them. Yet there was a good chance that they would attempt to non-lethally dispose of the girls.

Fighter craft converged on the shuttle, and while Antoinette did her best to maneuver, there was only so much that could be done. She cursed, the other girls in the shuttle feeling uneasy as the enemy ripped away at the flimsy defenses of their small vessel.

They still had a long way to the planet._ Just give up, _Reitia called them, _we won't hurt you if you just surrender. _

Antoinette didn't believe that, but she also had an idea. _Fine…_she replied. Pulling into a low orbit, a destroyer came by as the shuttle was escorted by the squadron of fighters. Antoinette's idea was no longer the best, as she'd hoped that a ship would not pick them up, but she'd work with what she had.

* * *

Out away from the planet, a hole in reality was ripped open leapt into only seconds later by the fleeing cruiser. The pursuing warship had already turned about, and headed back in-system, only for the girls aboard to realize that they would have to get past the two chaos vessels that were still in their direction.

The two ships swung around menacingly towards the single ship. Each one was capable of outfighting it, and with their magical girl complements, it would not be hard for boarding to easily take the cruiser.

_What do we do? _Rilliana asked the others, as they stood watching on the bridge.

_We can't surrender. We can try and outrun them. Perhaps we turn around and jump away to another system. _Megumi suggested.

_That would definitely work. _Rilliana agreed. The order was given, and the cruiser turned about. Accelerating at maximum speed, it tore through the void towards the nearest point where a jump would be safe.

They were going to make it in time. Then something came out ahead of them. It was emerging from the warp. Another vessel. It was an enemy battle-barge. One of the most powerful types of warships emerged out in front of them.

_They had to have planned this down to the second! _Megumi screamed. There was no way for them to turn around with the other ships pursuing them now. They were trapped.

The battle-barge was nearby, and almost immediately opened fire with the full brunt of its frontal guns. The shields of the cruiser were taxed as they struggled to return fire. Then lance shots came from behind. There was no way they could survive to reach Hadiens.

"Surrender," Megumi ordered, "There's no point in dying here. If we surrender, we have a chance to be rescued, and perhaps find something out about our enemy."

"The battle-barge is right there!" Rilliana shouted, "Ram us into them. It'll rip the thing apart, it's right in front of us!" She had a point. Doing so would kill everyone aboard the ship, but it would rob the enemy of their most powerful weapon.

They had only a few minutes to decide. After that point, the shields would break and the ship would be torn apart. "Thunderhawks incoming," the captain announced. They had to choose now. The enemy could easily teleport aboard.

The captain choose for them. He was an older man, a veteran of a few campaigns of Megumi remember correctly. "You girls, get out of here." The orders to them were followed by another, "Abandon ship! I'll make sure this gives them hell. You can teleport, right? Get into a shuttle, and fly out."

Megumi nodded. "Thank you, your sacrifice will be remembered." The girls gathered in a group before blinking down to the hangar. They were soon flying out of the vessel.

Alarms blared throughout the cruiser as the less-essential members of the crew rushed to evacuate. The cruiser accelerated to full speed as the barge realized the plan and tried to turn aside, but the distance, despite being tens of thousands of kilometers, was too little for them to escape the rush.

Fire shot through the space where it was, the enemy gunners from behind having to keep up with the incredibly fast moving target. Yet the broadsides of the barge started to rip into the thing. The shields of the craft were up.

It was a race against time. The six magical girls watched with remorse in their hearts as the cruiser shot towards the battle-barge. Flames trailed down its length, oxygen bleeding from the interior to allow the fires. It looked like the spear of a god, flung towards the enemy.

It started to fall apart. A massive detonation went up as something vital was touched off. Several more as ballistics, missiles, and beams alike ripped apart the structure of the vessel.

Then its back broke. The ship split into a multitude of pieces. They crashed against the void shields, smashing apart at first. Then the things popped. The bright flash of them breaking was like the sun. The gunners aboard the ship kept desperately firing against and again.

Yet the debris struck. Hundreds of thousands of tons of metal smashed into the barge at close to a hundred thousand miles per hour. The battle barge was ripped apart, the flaming carcass of the proud vessel wreaking a vengeance upon that which had ripped it apart.

The battle barge collapsed in on itself, flames shooting up as the two ships collided. Chunks of debris ripped and teared the ship apart. The entire process took barely three seconds, for all the major debris to strike.

Yet when it was done, the battle-barge had been torn apart. "Did we just get unlucky?" Antoinette asked, "A plan so meticulous would take into account a ramming attempt."

Then they realized that they were surrounded by four Thunderhawks. A communication came in. _To whoever is aboard, we suggest that you stand down. If you do so, and by doing so allow our telepaths into your mind to disable you, then we shall certainly ensure that you do not die. If you choose to resist, we will tear you apart. A reminder that your nearest vessel is approximately six hours flight time away. _

_We surrender. _Megumi replied. The others glared at her, but they knew it was for the best. It was all they could do in this situation. And dying an undignified death out in the middle of space would not in any way honor the sacrifice they had just born witness to.

* * *

Sechylia was scared. She had suddenly found herself standing in a room on the _Yslevia, _before the teleporter who had brought her was gone. The door she found to be sealed. She looked around, quickly realizing it to be Justinia's room. She figured that if they had malicious intentions for her, then she was not going to be able to do much by escaping.

So she just sat down, waiting for someone to hopefully give her a hint of what was going on. A few minutes passed, till she realized what she could do. She woke up her mind, diving into the mainframe of the _Yslevia. _She knew that she could easily start disabling the systems of the ship, and probably even get information on whoever was doing this.

Then the door opened. She looked up at Justinia. Her eyes went wide. She thought that she was being saved. She ran towards the girl. "What happened?!" she cried, "Were we attacked? By Theodora?"

"Yes," Justinia said. She stepped inside. Justinia looked down at Sechylia as she shut the door.

"What're you doing?" Sechylia asked.

"I said I was keeping secrets…that there were things that I was ashamed of." Justinia looked away as she muttered. "Unfortunately, I can't hide them any longer."

"You're on her side?" Sechylia gasped as it came to her.

"I am," Justinia confirmed. "I don't have much time to talk, but I request that you not use your powers. It would force me to have to hurt you. I don't want to do that."

"Do you have all the other girls?" Sechylia asked. Justinia shook her head.

"Then why only me?"

"Because you trust me," Justinia said. "So I think that you'll understand when I say that I'm doing this for a very good reason. I will explain things better once we get into the warp. Until then, I need to wrap up some other concerns. Just hang on for now."

The girl turned around and walked towards the door. "You really have good intentions in mind?"

Justinia nodded without turning around. She exited the room.

Sechylia was left just as alone and scared as she was in the first place.

* * *

Later, the door would open again. It was Justinia. The crimson-haired girl stared at the scared little girl within the well-lit room. "Again, I can't apologize enough," Justinia said. "But this is all necessary."

"Come with me, please," Justinia said. "Elle needs to know things as well. I'd rather tell both of you at once."

Sechylia followed Justinia out of the room. They walked through the halls, making their way to Elle's room where the captain was located. Justinia opened the door. Sechylia went in first, seeing Elle bound in her chair.

Justinia urged the girl inside. She shut the door. "Now that both of you are here, I think it's time I explained things."

"I was planted amidst Estelle's ranks long ago. The intention was that both the astrotelepath and navigator would be prepared to assist us in our plans when the time came. I was also expected to get help from the captain of the vessel." She took a deep breath. "I was afraid you would tell Estelle," she said to Elle, "So I did not tell you. I will now. When we enter the warp, the crew will no longer be telepathically controllable. You will need to rein them in."

"Why would I do that?" Elle asked, throwing a harsh gaze at Justinia.

"For reasons I will tell you now," Justinia replied. She took a deep breath. "It all relates to what Ishna's plan was…"

"She created a grand, long-reaching plan, something that she could not carry out on her own. It relied on Erwine doing things. She somehow planned out what Erwine would do based on what others would do. She has a plan that reaches far into the future, and it is in action as we speak." The girl explained.

"However, the plan relies on Erwine. Erwine has to be the one to go around and do everything. What we are doing right now is something that could be done by Erwine, but we cannot let her, for it would result in an outcome that would only further Ishna's plans."

"What's her ultimate goal?" Elle asked.

"We are not sure. All we know is that Erwine will awaken something that Ishna referred to as some ancient weapon." Justinia explained. "If we allow this thing to be awoken, then there is most likely going to be no way of stopping it."

"Do you even have any idea what this thing is?" Elle demanded.

"We don't," Justinia replied. "But understand, if Erwine is allowed to act, then this thing is awoken and destroys things. We believe that if we find the path to it independent of Erwine, then we can successfully destroy this creation, whatever it is. Perhaps something from the Golden Age, perhaps something from an even farther-off time. We don't know for sure."

"That's why you've done all of this?" Elle asked. "To ensure Erwine could do nothing?"

"To an extent yes. We also want to limit the involvement of any other factors. We believe that a select group of individuals who are acting knowing the general layout of Ishna's plan will be able to avert it. The plan she created has taken things like fate into account as well."

"You're not making much sense…" Elle shook her head. She took a deep breath. "But I trust you…" She looked into Justinia's eyes, a gentler look this time. "Why take Erwine? If she can't be involved in any of this, why did you take her?"

"To ensure that she does not get herself involved. In this way, we can control her involvement. In addition, we believe that in order to find this thing, we're going to need Erwine, to an extent."

"Your theory is shaky," Elle observed. "There seem to be some holes."

"I can't answer any questions you have, I did not create the theory." She cocked her head to the side. "Theodora will be here in a few moments, she'll be able to speak more on the matter. Till then," she looked at Sechylia, "Can you get into the ship's mainframe and start handling the control of some systems until Elle is entirely convinced. We can't have the crew taking back control of the ship from us, or even delaying us, understand?"

The little girl nodded. "I can do that."

"Then please do so," Justinia requested. Sechylia went to take a seat, instantly beginning to hook her mind into the ship's cogitator system. A few minutes later, the door opened, with Theodora arriving.

The inquisitor nodded to the people within. She looked particularly at Elle. "I understand that you're not exactly understanding my theory?"

"I am not," Elle replied. "It becomes even more suspicious now that I understand that you made it."

"But it makes sense, does it not?" Theodora asked. "I've examined the case files for the Hadiens Incident Investigation dozens of times. I was there while we were digging up the vault on Vasillica. There was something incredibly important there, something that Ishna took. Multiple times, she made it clear that Erwine was the center of all of these events. Furthermore, she explicitly mentioned the presence of some great weapon to Adrianne and Erwine."

"But the case files also paint her character as a strange one, if I recall correctly. She seemed to regret her actions," Elle said.

"Some heretics do. We're technically traitors ourselves now, and we regret our actions to an extent. Ishna was a genius, and that genius, combined with her magic, gave her the ability to understand far more than any being should be able to understand." Theodora explained. "Her insane genius led her to this weapon, whatever it is. She just seemed to want to destroy everything with it, I don't know if there's any reason, or if she was just insane."

"Still," Justinia cut back in, "Elle, you need to trust me here. We cannot hang onto this ship if we don't have your support. As soon as we get into the warp, none of our telepathy is going to be viable. You have to do something."

Elle glared at the two girls standing before her. "You're not lying. You're not going to use this weapon for yourselves?"

Justinia shook her head. She leaned in towards Elle. "I swear on my very soul, we will not do anything wrong with whatever we find." She leaned in more, gently pressing her lips against those of the taller woman. "Please, Elle, we've trusted each other so much…I let you in…please do this thing for me…"

Elle nodded. "I will." Justinia started undoing her bindings immediately. She was soon free, and then being led away towards the bridge.

Theodora followed them. Sechylia quickly ran after them as well, able to keep her magic up while move. There was a strange atmosphere about them. An atmosphere of remorse. Yet also determination. To do what could only be the right thing. To them, at least.

* * *

Yukie opened her eyes. She was no longer on that planet. With those girls who she'd grown to quickly enjoy. No, she was somewhere else. At least it seemed that way. The soul gem was placed down in front of her. She could barely move, her body heavily restrained. She looked around. A metal room.

She looked up into a familiar face. "Hello there," Via said, "Not entirely sure how we made our way back to my friends…" she shrugged, "But here we are…"

Yukie's eyes went wide. "The cloaked girl…"

"Oh, her?" Via asked, "That's interesting. I mean, it really is. You can tell me all about it. Indeed, you can tell me _all _about yourself." She gestured to the small tables all around the chair Yukie was restrained in. They were lined with various instruments of torture.

"You know, torture doesn't actually work to get people to give you want you want," Yukie said dryly, figuring she'd toss out that pointless counter to the obvious threat.

"True. But I think it's very good at making people scream," Via said. Yukie could hear the insanity in the girl's voice. "I definitely want to hear that from you, so maybe you're just lying."

"Well that was assuming you wanted something resembling the truth," the Hearth Knight shot back. She shook her head, "What do you even need me for?" Yukie asked. "Did you take the other girls?"

"Nope, only you. You're something that we happen to need. Just a component, really, but you're still important." Yukie explained.

Yukie glared at Via. The girl snapped up the soul gem in front of the girl. "I'll be taking this." The girl explained, "Don't try anything, or else I might have to get rid of it for good. It's so pretty."

Yukie sighed, leaning her head back and staring up at the ceiling. She'd been hurt quite severely before, but never tortured. _Always a first, I suppose, _the girl thought.

* * *

From the opposite side of Hadiens came two other vessels. They were small fast escort craft, shooting as fast as they possible could past the planet. No one could react in time to intercept them. A teleportation would be traced from Hadiens itself to those darting ships.

Reitia would lose track of the heretics running about the city, and they could only assume that they were gone on those two escorts. They shot off out away from the planet, back towards where the wreckage of the battle-barge still smoldered in the void.

Celestine was not entirely pleased with the current situation she found herself in. She couldn't think why she should be pleased, as she was restrained within what she was fairly certain was the basement of the Hadiens Sect headquarters.

She couldn't communicate thanks to the gross amounts of anti-magic shielding, to the point where the air itself was alive with the hum of the energy. She lay against the wall, waiting for something to actually occur. She'd lost track of the time, but could take solace in the fact that Nadine and Estelle had gotten away.

They were hopefully still safe.

* * *

Mila was desperately struggling against her bonds. She was not going to go down without a fight. Of course, she'd been doing this for quite a long time now, and was not about to just let things go and wait until they came to her. However, her current efforts seemed to all be for naught.

She was going to continue resisting, and not give into them. They'd already asked multiple times, tried to convince her to assist them. But she was not about to give in. She'd made too many promises, she'd come too far to give up now. To turn her back on the Imperium. To do so now would be unacceptable.

* * *

Wei was in her own room as well. She was not worried about her own safety. Erwine was the only thing on her mind. She prayed for that girl's safety. Of course, she had no idea that Erwine was currently in the warp. She believed that the girl was located in another cell.

If she could have, she would have escaped already, even if it meant harming herself. For she had to find Erwine. She shut her eyes, hoping that Nadine and Estelle would find a way to get them out.

* * *

Laelia was merely angry at herself for messing up in the first place and getting hurt. Although the attack had come by complete surprise, she still should have been able to fight better than she had. She would have hurt herself in some way if she were assured that her soul gem was fine. But she had no idea where it was and what state it was in, so she had to try and conserve her magic.

The contempt she felt for herself was high.

* * *

Sanae prayed that Ayelen was alright. Ayelen, the girl who had managed to bring light back to her life after so long, though that was becoming a distant memory. Ayelen, the thing that she had almost killed once, and who had almost killed her once. The girl was hard to get out of her head. She was slowly coming to the realization that she was obsessed with the girl.

For Ayelen, the specifics were different, though her thoughts still centered around Sanae.

* * *

Elle sat back down in the chair. The crew looked around warily. They understood how outgunned they were, but resistance was in their eyes. The captain opened up the intercom for the entire ship. The warp had been entered only a few minutes before.

"This is Captain Langnesse. As you all know, this ship has been commandeered by a girl who could be considered a traitor. However, she has good intentions at heart, and although such intentions pave the road to hell, we have little choice but to trust her. Understand, any attempt at revolting will only result in your lives being lost. They are magical girls, and no matter how heavily you outnumber them, they only need to control a few key locations, and they will be fine."

"I beg you, follow their commands, and all of you will make it out of this alive. I shall take full responsibility for your compliance, and all punishment shall fall on me, I assure you." Elle said. "Please, trust me when I say that this is the right thing to do. The traitors have not seriously hurt anyone as of yet, don't make them start."

The crewmembers on the bridge grudgingly accepted what was said. They went back to their tasks, as Elle looked to Justinia. "What do we do now?"

"We're going to drop out of the warp in approximately an hour. Once in interstellar space, we will find out where we need to go next. You don't need to know how." Theodora looked at Justinia. "Go speak to Erwine, please. Calm her down if you can. Use whatever measures necessary."

Justinia nodded. Sechylia followed her off the bridge. The girl had nothing to do, seeing as how the warp prevented her from safely using her powers. "Get back to your room," Justinia said, "Get some rest. Let me handle Erwine."

"Are you going to hurt her?"

"Not in any serious way if I have to, and only if I have to." Justinia said.

"You're certain?" Sechylia asked.

"Absolutely certain. Please trust me on this," Justinia requested. Sechylia nodded. They split after a while, Justinia heading down towards the brig.

Justinia reached the brig. It was guarded by a couple girls. Both followed her to the first door. There was one door which was the entrance to the brig area. It was a heavy door, and needed two keys. It was opened, and one guard followed Justinia inside.

The brig area was quite small, a single row of space connected to five separate entirely enclosed cells. The cells had no windows, and were incredibly small. The doors to them were heavy, and opened outwards for the sake of allowing the inside to be small. The girl opened up the door.

Justinia stepped inside. She did not have a key. That was because it was not possible for the doors to be opened from the inside. The door was shut. It was completely dark inside the room. Justinia's vision allowed her to easily see.

The room itself was about eight feet tall, and was a square, ten by ten feet. There was a single cot going along the back wall. Erwine had regenerated fully, and was currently awake.

Her soul gem was placed in a small box built into the wall beside the cell. There were some grief cubes inside. The girl herself was blindfolded and gagged. Straps ran across her torso, arms, and legs, tying her down to the cot. These were accompanied by metallic cuffs on the arms and legs, to ensure she couldn't use her magical strength to break away.

Multiple small tubes were connected to her, running sedative agents through her body. An anti-magic field reinforced the little prison. It was a system designed to hold a magical girl.

Justinia walked up beside the girl. Erwine wasn't even aware of Justinia's approach. Her eyes had been entirely sealed off as well. She was basically complete deprived of all sensory input. The whole system was designed to anger people. And Justinia figured that Erwine was just the kind of a girl to be annoyed by such containment.

Justinia reached down. She yanked the plugs out of the girl's ears. They were embedded rather deeply. "You understand that we are in the warp, Erwine." Justinia said, "There is going to be no escaping from this ship, at least not for a while, so I'd prefer if you didn't try."

She knew that preventing Erwine from biting back would only anger the girl more and more. "Do understand that we're doing this for a good cause. You see, Ishna said a lot about how you were a crucial part of her plans. It turns out you are. If you continue on your journey, then Ishna's plans will be fulfilled. We need to control you, so we're going to from now on, at least until we can find out whatever it is you were supposed to find."

"Apologies for all this confinement. Back when I was discussing ways to improve the brig with Estelle, you were what I had in mind. From the beginning we knew that Ishna would choose _someone._" Justinia explained. She hesitated, then continued, speaking heartedly to the girl, "Anyways…I'm sorry. I really am. But if you are allowed to continue, then bad things will happen. Therefore…we're just going to keep you like this for a while, alright? You can stay like this, with magic our bodies really don't need to do anything. We might need you for a few events, but I hope that we don't."

Justinia turned around, walking towards the door out, "But they probably shouldn't. Thanks for all that you've done, especially getting that daemon out of me. I…this is how I am repaying you though. Otherwise…there's no way you could continue on and be a hero. I'm sorry, Erwine, I really am. This is for your good, and the good of us all."

Even as the cell door was opened, Justinia paused. She turned around. Stepping over to Erwine. "Sorry, forgot to replace these." She stuck the plugs back into the girl's ears. One last glance was sent back before Justinia left.

* * *

Estelle woke with a start. She looked around, the events of before rushing back to her. Her internal clock told her it was sometime around mid-morning. She leapt from the bed, heading out into the broken-down room beyond. She looked around, wondering where Nadine was.

Though she searched all around, Estelle found her nowhere. Searching every possible space in the hab revealed nothing. It suddenly occurred to her that the girl might have vanished. _Did she just leave?_ Estelle wondered, _but what for? Did she abandon me here intentionally? Damn her if she did._

She figured that waiting was going to be the only option. She decided to stick around for another hour, but after that she was going to go and find out if there was something she could do about the Hadiens Sect.

That decision was made right before she found a small note, crumpled up and thrown aside. It was obviously new, but Estelle wondered why it was placed in such a manner.

_Assuming you are Estelle, my intention is to find out how much the sect knows. With you sleeping, your mental barrier is still up. We need someone to get information from, so I intentionally left to draw them towards me. I should return soon with a suitable target for interrogation. _

Estelle didn't dare reach outside of the barrier, but she did bring out her glaive, wondering when the girl would come back. If she would come back.

Eventually, Nadine did return. The door opened. A body was tossed onto the floor. It was a light-haired girl, wearing a dark brown uniform. She was unconscious. "The others?" Estelle asked.

"I lost them as I slipped into the zone you're covering," Nadine said. "They apparently underestimated my strength as well, which means I correctly undersold myself to them when we met with Reitia and the rest."

"That's good," Estelle said, "Now what about this one? It's your intention to make her talk?"

"Yes, however that'll be hard without your ability to read her. However, I know some ways to do things. Give me some time with her. I'll be mean, then you can come in and be nice. She'll probably break. She isn't too old, but hopefully she has a vague idea of the real reasons behind all of this. She was certainly a magical girl during the Hadiens Incident, so there's that."

Nadine walked off into the bedroom with the girl. She shut the door. Over the course of the next hour or so, Estelle would hear an incredible chorus of sounds that didn't quite make her sick to the stomach, for her experience with sickening sensations was great, but were still enough to make her raise an eyebrow every now and then.

Estelle could only imagine what things Nadine had learned from her captor. However, she did find the time to occupy herself with her own thoughts, and managed to ignore it all after a while. They were lucky the building was abandoned.

Eventually, she'd heard enough of the ruckus. She threw open the door, glaring at Estelle. The girl was slumped against the wall, blood covering every part of her body. Estelle grimaced as she saw the multitude of wounds that covered her. The way she breathed indicated that she was only a few steps away from unconsciousness.

Estelle looked for her gem. It sat on the bed, surrounded by a few cubes. The gem was not darkening, not very much at least. That meant the girl was being smart, and not trying to actively heal her wounds as she leaned against the wall.

Nadine had a few splotches of blood across her body. She glared at Estelle, obviously very annoyed that her work had been interrupted. "Oh, an interrupted," Nadine observed with a scowl.

"This has gone far enough," Estelle scolded, "There's no need to hurt her like this. Let me talk to her, at least for a little while."

"I was about to get through to her," Nadine muttered. She stepped away from the girl. "But fine, take your chance. When it falls, you'll find me laughing." She exited the room.

Estelle glared at her as she left, continuing for stare for a few seconds. Yet her expression brightened by a large degree when she looked back to the girl. She knelt down in front of the girl. She reached out with her hand, gently running her fingers across her cheek.

"Sorry she hurt you so much," Estelle said softly, "She can't restrain herself, I swear something's wrong with her…" She smiled. "I know you're hard pressed to trust me, and I know that the sect has probably been saying a lot of things about the two of us and what we really are, right?"

The girl gently nodded. "I thought so, probably saying we're traitors, just like Theodora?"

"Not really," the girl whispered back. "We know what we're doing."

"Care to tell me everything?" Estelle asked, "Really, just _why _are you doing all of this?"

"I can't say," the girl replied. She was obviously young. Most likely in her twenties or so.

"Well, the one, out there, she's not going to be pleased. I can't imagine it feels good being hurt like that. I would certainly hate it for you to be hurt like that." Estelle said. "You know that you're not going to be rescued for a while. How about you just tell me _why? _That's all I'm asking."

The girl looked around, as if somebody else would be listening. "You can't get involved," the girl replied. "You can't possibly get involved in all of this. It'll be bad. I can't tell you why."

"It seems like the intention is to prevent my involvement," Estelle said. "So why? Why are you doing this?"

"That's what we were told. We were told that if we were to allow this to progress, the whole world would come crashing down. She saw it." The girl said quietly.

"Who saw this?" Estelle asked, "You have a diviner?"

"Arietta…" the girl whispered softly, "After the Hadiens Incident, she…she changed. I don't really know how to describe it. She just changed. At first she just started acting differently, it didn't seem like much. But then…then she started to go crazy. She'd lose her mind, start hurting herself and others. She'd rant about the future." The girl paused, as though worried about relating the rest of the story. "Four months ago, we had to seclude her away from everyone else, and say that she just disappeared. But then her visions got clearer and clearer. Till she started seeing what would happen if…if well, it's not really clear. She described these three pieces of paper, and how if their contents were known, then the world would come to an end. She said that one was held by the mastermind's kin. She'd made previous references to Ishna, so we figured that her forces had one. Next, she said that the nightmare had another. That would be Juno. Lastly, she mentioned the fated one."

Estelle thought for a moment while the girl hesitated. "That would be Erwine, right? If she's the center of all this, especially given what Ishna said."

"Yes," She confirmed, "We figured that it was Erwine. But we couldn't go after any of them, due to all that has been going on. Recently, about four months ago, Arietta started to tell how to read the parchments. She only gave one direction, and that direction was to kill the nine and make the star in the land to the east. The Marcostas sector lies to the galactic east, so we choose a random planet. We hoped to draw out Ishna's forces."

"So Liselotte was sent there, and that's why she killed," Estelle realized, the pieces of the puzzle starting to fit together. "Anything more?"

"Us lower levels are locked out of new information. I only know all of that because it happened months ago. Information is slowly disseminated. So that's all I can tell you, sorry. I don't even know what the plan is now." Estelle nodded. She lay her hands on the girl, palms glowing softly as she started to restore her body.

"We'll get you back there," Estelle promised, "You've told us all you know."

"Sure that's the best idea?" Nadine asked. She was standing in the doorway. "We could use her to get ourselves in. She could also be a bargaining chip."

"They outnumber us. If we go out in the open, they'll just crush us." Estelle retorted.

Nadine nodded. "Agreed. Want me to bring her back there."

The girl tensed up at that. She looked at Estelle with fight in her eyes. Nadine chuckled. "Sorry about the torture," she said. "Just had to make sure you talked."

"What do you mean?!" the girl cried.

"I mean that Nadine hurt you so that I could come in, push her out, then be friendly to you," Estelle said, grinning. The girl's eyes widened. "Would you have spoken otherwise?"

The girl realized just how softened up she'd been. "No…" she was obviously ashamed of herself.

"No matter," Estelle said, "We aren't going to hurt you anymore. We also understand what your organization is actually after. We'd prefer that they be more cooperative with everyone else, but I think that we can find a way to settle things peacefully."

"What's your name?" the inquisitor asked.

"Viola Clemensen," the girl replied.

"Well Viola, stand up. Get out of here," Estelle ordered.

"You're really not going to do anything more?" Viola asked, fear in her eyes.

"Nothing more," Nadine promised. "Right now, our goal is to rescue our people, and try to reach a solution with your people. So get out of here before your people come, and we have to get into a fight."

Viola nodded. She ran out of the room, quickly exiting the place. "You heard all that, right?" Estelle asked.

"You know she'll tell them where we are, right?" Nadine asked.

"Precisely," Estelle said, "So let's get out of here. We could draw them in and execute some stupidly complex plan, but we need more time. The hunt needs to die down, we really need to wait until they start to focus on the much larger threat of Juno coming in."

* * *

There were several magical girls waiting in the hangar as the four girls disembarked from the shuttle. Several might not be the right word, as there truly was a lot of them. Eleven stood there warily, there weapons out. Antoinette could tell their shields were up.

Antoinette sighed. Their telepathy was already being blocked, and their minds were under a limited kind of control. There was only one telepath there, but their mental barriers had been lowered, so she could at least prevent them from using their magic.

The girls moved forwards to secure Antoinette and the others. The real issue is that there was only one telepath. Antoinette knew that if there had been more time to prepare, there would be more, but the sect was probably dealing with many other factors.

The four girls were led away and secured in the brig of the ship, kept under guard. "The intention seems to be to simply lock us up here. They know that if they prevent us from getting onto the planet, then we can't actually do very much." Antoinette explained. The four girls were in once cell, due to the limited amount of space, and the ease of keeping them all in one place.

"They are of course in our minds, so we can't actually focus much on getting out." The leader of the group continued. "However, she's going to run out of magic eventually. They should know that, though. Therefore, there will be more coming up here to assist, as we've already started to chip away at her control in our minds."

Skelia shrugged. "Well, all we can is wait till they want to do more with us, right?"

"Not true," Rozenn replied. She was perhaps the most relaxed person at the moment. "They're obviously listening to us in here," the cells were enclosed spaces, not exactly made for fitting four people. The heavy door blocked off any light form the outside, leaving the dim light on the ceiling to provide any luminance. "And they're probably watching us as well. So we can't really discuss what to do. But we are on the middle of the ship, and they're probably decreased the number of girls here, which reduces the number of people we have to worry about."

Guan stood up. She stretched her arms out to either side. "Well…bloom."

And so the four girls initiated their plan. The telepath's control was only so powerful, but if they all pushed against it at the same time, she would be thrown out. Especially since they were all older than she was.

Antoinette was the strongest. She struck hard at the door. The heavy slab of metal, which a human would be hard pressed to move even if it was entirely unhindered, was knocked off its hinges. They leapt out of the cell. Three girls in the room.

Antoinette leapt towards one. She staggered her with a blast of force, before wrapping her hand around the girl's arm. She twisted the arm. The girl grunted in pain as the thing was effectively ripped off her, twisted far more than an arm should be twisted.

A blast of lightning from Skelia sent another girl to the ground. Rozenn sent a storm of ice shards towards another one. None of them had any chance to dodge or resist. They were all far too young to stand a chance. "They want to contain us here," Antoinette observed. "It's not about actually holding us, they just don't want us down on Hadiens. I doubt there will be any shuttles in the hangars."

"We go for the bridge," Rozenn suggested, "We take the ship. We can still be a nuisance. I doubt the humans will want to continue their betrayal."

"Debatable," Antoinette said. "Let's just clean out the other magical girls, then figure out where to go from there."

* * *

Reitia slammed her fist on the table. "They're captured!" she shouted.

"Yes. The _Nillant _went on a suicide run. Megumi sent out a message indicating the only option they had left was surrender. They are presumably alive, but in the hands of the enemy." The aide replied.

The four chaos vessels were currently meeting up around the wreckage of the two vessels who had destroyed each other. They would be warping out soon, presumably.

Hadiens was a buzz of activity. Ships were organizing about the planet, especially a few smaller transport ships. On the planet itself, there was a large number of movement amongst the PDF forces. It was if the planet was mobilizing for war. And it really was.

Large landers loaded ranks of soldiers inside, while the PDF regiments organized on the mass landing fields. The city was filled with people wondering just what exactly was going on. But the Hadiens sect had long since won over the support of the Hadiens PDF. They'd gathered troops from across the sector. The soldiers would be a good source of assistance, especially when combined with the magical girls of the sect.

"So we've lost one of our ships, and six of our girls. But in return we took down a battle-barge…" Reitia nodded. She couldn't help but say, "An acceptable trade. We still have a chance. Get everyone prepared. As soon as find the _Yslevia's _trajectory, we need to be leaving. Be scanning the proper areas."

* * *

The _Yslevia _came out of the warp amidst the vast gulf that existed between stars, and the spheres of influence those stars had. The silence and calm of the empty space was really something special. Truly special, as telepathy didn't work in the warp. Other things like divination and clairvoyancy were quite dangerous to use as well.

Yet in the normal realm, these things worked just fine. And in interstellar space, there was no one else around to even be disruptive.

Arietta was in the sickbay. She was tied down to the bed in a separate space. The space was there in case of a need to quarantine a patient. Arietta did need to be quarantined. She looked up as Justinia and Theodora stood beside her.

"We're out of the warp…" Arietta observed. Her voice was faint, incredibly soft. The room was isolated form the rest of the sickbay. The door was shut. The small room looked like any other one, save for the isolation.

"Correct," Theodora said, "And if you could give us one of your visions?"

"They don't come at will…" Arietta whispered, "I don't even know what you want from me."

Theodora smiled. She reached into her coat. She recovered the laminated parchment Erwine had. It was easy taking Erwine's gem and opening the safe. Justinia had seen the whole process after all.

"This is what we need to be able to read. You should be able to tell us how to read it. At least where we need to go in order to do so." Theodora explained. "So go on…" the girl intoned, "Do tell us the answer."

"I can't," Arietta replied. "Not that…" She shook her head. "Do you understand what you are doing with that thing? You're dooming us all…"

"Oh, I know that," Theodora said, "But we will take control of whatever it is Ishna wants. We'll use it for the good of the Imperium. We're not going to destroy the path to it. Or else someone else will dig up the way, and what will we do then?"

Arietta sighed. "Still, there's no way I can tell you on demand." She looked closer at the parchment. Then her eyes went wide. These things…they…" Her eyes rolled back into her head. Her breath stopped all of a sudden. Theodora grinned.

"These things come randomly, right?" Theodora asked. "That's correct, I figured they would. However, you have to have some kind of trigger. So really, this parchment is the best."

She sighed, "Now I wonder…will you tell me what it says, or how to read what it says?"

Arietta started to convulse. Her mouth opened wide. She began to scream. The scream was long and drawn out, her body yanking at the restrains. Theodora wasn't afraid of the girl as the scream continued. There was a look of horror on her features. Theodora could only manage the immense pain Arietta had to be feeling right now. Then it stopped.

Arietta's eyes rolled back down into the right spot. She looked into Theodora's eyes. Her voice was distant, but it was still her voice. "There is a place. A desert place. A place in the desert. A planet. With a desert. Go there, and things shall be clear. Clear as glass."

Theodora nodded. She looked at Justinia. "Milita," the girl said, "Not too far from here. Probably about a week or so to get there."

"Then off we go," Theodora said. She looked at Arietta as the girl's normal functions started to return to herself, "Thanks for that…"

* * *

_Got them! _The astroclairvoyant shouted. They had been scanning the interstellar void around the Hadiens system for any sign of a warp exit. They knew that Theodora would have to drop from the warp in order for Arietta to give her anything.

Therefore, tracking the ship would be relatively easy, as they had traced the vector it exited the system on. They only had a small area to be searching. Now that they found the warp breach, they could zoom in on the ship.

Reitia didn't need to order them what to do. She merely looked around the ruined room. The building was still in ruins, but that didn't matter. They were almost entirely mobilized.

_Chaos ships are leaving the system! _Another girl called.

_Don't trace them, we need to find where Theodora is headed. As soon as we know, we are getting out of here. _Reitia said. _To everyone else, prepare to leave the planet. Have we found Estelle and Nadine? _

_They were gone when we got there, _the search party replied. _Should we continue, or return? _

_Return. They'll probably find a way to sneak in, but that doesn't matter. We can handle them when we need to. _Reitia said. _Have we packed up Estelle's girls and the Janicelle ones? _

She got the confirmations she needed. Some time passed. _Vector traced. We are estimating the current possibilities now. Wait, towards the edge of the sector. Towards the rim. Most likely Milita. _

Reitia gave the order for everyone to leave the planet. They would fly up into the waiting ships. The combined forces of the sect would converge towards Milita. They didn't have much time to save the world.

* * *

Nadine and Estelle watched as the sky was filled with the departing craft. "Now how are we going to get up there?" She asked.

"Simple," Nadine said. "We get back to the headquarters, and get onboard one of them."

"How might we do that?" Estelle asked.

"We just get in there, and get on one of them, it's not very hard." Nadine said. She spoke as if what she was saying was obvious. "You can use your shielding to protect us."

"It doesn't make us invisible," Estelle said. She looked in disbelief at Nadine.

"Yeah, but we have a new friend, don't you think?" the inquisitor grinned mischievously.

"What are you talking about?" Estelle raised her eyebrows. "I don't think that Viola's going to let us onboard, or sneak us up here. You kind of tortured her."

"Yet you planted the seed of doubt. You showed concern, you said that you were going to stop the sect. She's young, she doesn't have an idea of why they are doing this." Nadine said, "Call her up. She's our best chance at this point. Hopefully she has some like-minded comrades, who will at least allow us to tag along."

Estelle sighed. "I guess I've not much of a choice. But if I drop my barrier now, then they'll find us."

"Not at this point. The sect is leaving, they're headed elsewhere. As long as we're trapped here, they don't care about us." Nadine explained.

"Fine…" Estelle muttered. She dropped the barrier. A few seconds later, her mental form was fully coherent. She looked out towards the sect headquarters. She quickly darted into the minds of each person there.

Luckily, she found that she was not detected by any of the telepaths. She didn't encounter anyone else searching for her, so she figured that Nadine was correct. Then she came across someone she recognized as Viola. Simply skimming a person's mind usually brought out simple things like their name, so it was easy to find.

She then communicated more with the girl. _Viola, right? _Estelle asked.

_What?! Where are you?! What do you want?! _The girl shouted back.

_We need to get up to the ships. Are you still on the surface? _Estelle asked. She found the girl's mind unprotected. _You are. May we come along? _

_Why would I let you? _Said the skeptic reply.

_The fact that you haven't reported this yet tells me you are considering this. Listen, we don't want to hurt anyone. We want to come along so that we can observe what happens. We want to ensure that you people don't suffer. The more you do that is wrong, the less of a chance you have of making it out of this without being punished. Let us aboard, and we can try and make things less bad for everyone, especially you and anyone else who can help us. I'm serious, we don't want to hurt you. I apologize for even hurting you, but we need this one thing from you…_

* * *

The uncertainty from before hadn't passed, even as she was about to step into the shuttle. Brief glances were made at the other girls getting in. All friends for what she'd consider a long time. She was their friend. "Hey…" she said quietly, "You guys ever thought about why this is all happening?"

The others looked at her suspiciously. "What do you mean?" one asked. "We know that this is for a greater purpose."

"Yeah…but I don't think that means we need to betray the rest of the Imperium, right?" Viola asked.

Another asked, "Why are you asking, is something wrong? Having second thoughts about this?"

"Yeah, I am," Viola said. "Don't tell me you guys aren't either."

They looked around at themselves. There was definitely an air of unease. "Well…we're still doing what we know to be right. We wouldn't do anything wrong, and I doubt we're being deceived so incredibly well." Another said.

"Again, why?" the girl who has asked why before asked again.

"Because I think that while we are doing something that is right, I think that we should still try and help some others…" Viola sighed. Two figured landed behind her. "Come on," she said, as the girls inside the shuttle reacted by pulling out weapons and preparing their magic. "They won't hurt us. They just need to get up there, and they won't ask anything else of us."

A tense minute passed, before the other girls agreed. Nadine and Estelle stood near the end of the shuttle, and the others ordered it to lift off. The thing flew into the air, the two inquisitors awkwardly standing amidst the glares of suspicion.

"Listen," Estelle said while she stepped out into the center of the compartment. "I'm going to give you five some words of advice. The less you actually do, the better things will be in the end. But if you must act, then listen to me. Do not intentionally kill any loyalist forces. Disabling them, putting them out of the fight temporarily, that's all fine, but don't kill, or you're in big trouble. Secondly, if you find yourself captured or surrounded, just let them take you. Don't resist or make a fuss. Furthermore, allow them to read your minds completely and deeply. Cooperate with them if they do take you. I understand what you are doing, and I know that you all honestly think it is towards a better world, and I can't blame you for that. However, I want to ensure that you do not get punished too harshly for believing in something different. Spread this information around, and hammer it in."

They all nodded. Viola especially was worried. "You won't hurt us?" She asked.

"No, we won't," Nadine replied. "I hurt you because we needed you to tell us everything. And it looks like that actually paid off in the end as we got the message to your head. While I don't want to torture anyone else, I'd prefer that everyone else have their doubts. Though they might. Reitia didn't show much of her feelings back then, before this all happened."

The two inquisitors were silent once again as the shuttle approached the ship above. The craft came to land. Nadine ordered them, "We'll wait in here, get out. If questioned, we somehow got on without your knowing. Or perhaps you were under Estelle's control. Go on now, get out of here."

Estelle looked at Nadine. "You expected all of this to occur?"

"I know the ending, not how it will be reached." Nadine assured her, then requested, "Believe me."

"I believe you…" Estelle sighed, "For some reason." Nadine's reply was a mere chuckle.

* * *

Elle was crying. She didn't think she would find herself doing such a thing, at least not twenty-four hours before. Twenty-four hours before, she was prepared for her crew and herself to get a nice rest on Hadiens before they would depart to their next assignment, whatever that would be.

But now she was traveling through the warp towards a place that she didn't want to go to. Now she knew that Justinia had never been loyal. Now she knew that Theodora had never been loyal. Erwine was tied up in the brig, Sechylia was blindly following Justinia.

Elle felt she was the only sane person left, but she knew she wasn't. Merely following Justinia's orders indicated that she was no longer sane. It meant that she was just blindly following the girl.

There was a gentle knock on the door. She recognized the force as being that of Justinia. She didn't get up from her bed. Her bed was located off to the side of the main room of her quarters. They were of course large, being those of the captain.

Justinia opened the door. She walked through the room towards the bedroom. The door was just a bit open. Pushing the thing open, she Elle crying there.

"Get away from me," Elle said. She had tears in her eyes, but her determination was strong. "Don't come near me."

Justinia shook her head. "I doubt you could stop me if you tried…" she said. She took a few steps forwards. Elle screamed the command louder. Justinia sighed.

She looked down, suddenly pausing. Elle saw a shudder pause through the girl's body. "Can't you tell that this hurts me too?" Justinia asked. Elle didn't expect tears on the girl's face. And she didn't see any.

Justinia's typical emotionless expression stared back at her. No not emotionless. It was strong with conviction. "Betraying you was the entire reason I was inserted. Gaining your trust, gaining the trust of the navigator and astrotelepath, gaining the trust of everyone, that was the entire reason I was sent here in the first place. I have been preparing for this moment for eleven years."

"It is the moment I have been waiting so long for," Justinia explained. She shook her head, "It hurts me because it hurts you. I don't regret my action personally. If you accepted all that I have done, I wouldn't feel bad in the slightest."

'You don't care that you betrayed everything you've fought for?!" Elle cried. "You just don't care?!"

"I care," Justinia replied. She walked over to Elle. Her hand reached out. Her fingers grabbed the girl's chin. "I care about you. If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't feel bad at the moment. If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't even be in this room, speaking to you at this time."

"I'm here because I care about you. I want to make you feel better." Justinia said.

Elle froze up. "You've always cared about me?"

"Precisely. I gained you trust a long time ago. I knew that trust was enough to get what I wanted done. However, I also started to feel affection towards you. I realized that affection would make things worse, so I tried to suppress it. I apologize that me lack of control made your suffering worse."

"I hate you…" Elle muttered angrily.

"So be it. I do this for a good that no one else can see but me and the others."

"You're doing things based on a stupid theory!" Elle shouted, "You don't even know if this is right!"

"It doesn't matter. I've prepared my entire life to do this. To do this to get revenge on Ishna."

"What did Ishna do to you?" Elle asked.

Justinia opened her mouth. No sound came out. It was almost sad, watching her stand there unable to utter a single word. "You shouldn't…you shouldn't be old enough for that…" Elle said. "You shouldn't have been alive back then. So you did lie about your age, but that's easy to understand. Still…you never talked about your past. Is this why?" Justinia nodded. "It must hurt..." Elle whispered.

"Yes…she killed somebody I cared deeply for." Justinia found herself unable to utter the name. She took multiple deep breaths, looking all about the room. For the first time, Elle saw the girl's composure break. "Ileve Nashiandra. That was the person she killed. One of many back there on Vasillica."

Justinia turned around and left. Elle wanted to cry out to her, but she realized that girl wouldn't come back. The door opened and closed. Elle was once again alone. She looked around, shuddering as she realized just what she had said. Still…that past explained some things about Justinia.

Elle shook her head, finding new tears coming to her eyes. Simply because of the way Justinia had shut herself down for so long. Elle looked up at the ceiling, "The Goddess Protects…" she whispered, thinking that being was the only thing she could rely upon at this point, after so much betrayal.

* * *

Theodora flopped down onto the bed that wasn't really hers. The ship had flown back into the warp. It made its way now through the tides of the Immaterium, said tides being rather calm at the moment. Hopefully they would stay that way and allow for a nice, peaceful voyage over to Milita.

Justinia followed her into the room. The room that she had stayed in for so long. The room that she still did stay in. she looked at the smaller girl who lay on the bed. "So how are you doing?" Theodora asked, looking up at Justinia. The suit-wearing girl had her hands by her sides.

"Perfectly fine," she replied. "And you?"

"Even better!" Theodora said. She grinned happily. "Things are going so well. We've already got the location of one page's site. We'll drag Juno to the location, and then take her piece. The traitors already have the last piece for themselves, so if we take that from them, we'll have all three!"

Theodora leapt up. She leapt forwards, wrapping her arms around Justinia. "Best of all, your performance was great!" She hugged the girl very tightly. Justinia remembered the girl well from her time before the incident on Vasillica. "It really just shows why I love you." Theodora grinned as she reached up to give the girl a kiss. Thought it was a bit jarring for a moment, those memories returned to Justinia as well.

"Thanks for the compliment," Justinia said, finding that her face smiled on its own.

"The others are all ready. As soon as we get the instructions, they'll get moving. And Vovis is waiting nearby, just in case we need immediate assistance. But for now, I think it's better if we limited the size of the conspiracy, just in case we lose."

Justinia agreed. "The others can still go on in case of things going wrong."

"Exactly," Theodora said. She took a few steps back from Justinia. Brightly, she said, "I'm really happy we've been able to meet after so long. I didn't think we'd ever see each other again, not after what happened back there. But here we are, reunited finally." She took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "What can go wrong at this point?"

"Don't talk like that. There's a higher chance something will go wrong the more we question things in that way." Justinia said.

"Oh, you think I'll jinx this?" Theodora grinned, "Well I have something of a streak of bad luck. I don't think I'll be able to recover anytime soon."

"Nevertheless," Justinia said, "Can't be too careful with something like this."

Theodora nodded. She spun around sat on the bed. "You seem to remember Nashiandra, do you?"

"I do. The memory came back to me." Just in case her mind was deeply read by someone like Estelle, her memories had been heavily suppressed, and new ones implemented. She did have the end goal in mind, however. But she was remembering more and more now.

"Well that's good, or maybe not, depending on how you want to see things."

Justinia shook her head. "It hurts, definitely. But it's given me more of a conviction. Ileve's memory doesn't deserve to be tarnished by allowing Ishna to win in the end."

Theodora stood up. She saw the sadness in the girl's eyes. "Oh don't worry, I'll be here for you. We can be here for each other." She wrapped her arms around Justinia again. The height difference between the two was rather clear.

"Thanks," Justinia said. She felt a wave of sadness pass over herself. She didn't feel very well, all of a sudden. She raised her arms, and wrapped them around Theodora, pulling her in tight.

Justinia said, "Thank you for all that you've done for me…"

"I've done nothing. You're the one who allowed all of this to be possible. By volunteering back there…it was so brave."

"How do you know all of this about me?" Justinia asked. She frowned. "We figured out that I should infiltrate the ranks of Estelle after you were lost on Vasillica."

"Oh, they told me all about it. I met with Vovis and Leao, they brought me up to speed on the state of things. Sorry if I confused you for a second."

"It's fine," Justinia said. She lifted Theodora up, and sat her down on the bed. She looked into the girl's eyes. "Now you ought to get some sleep. It's been far too long since you got some serious rest. Go on, lay down," She insisted, pushing the girl onto her back.

"You're coming onto me, that's what this looks like," Theodora observed.

"Not now," Justinia said, "I need to make sure Sechylia isn't losing her mind."

"You already went to see Elle, right?" Theodora asked.

" I did. We talked. Her condition is far from her ideal," Justinia replied.

"You really like that girl, don't you?" Theodora asked.

The girl above her nodded. "I suppose I did fall for her. But I won't betray you because of that. It'd be a stupid reason to turn my back on a brighter future."

"Right," Theodora said, she grinned. "Love is such a silly thing, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I definitely think so…" Justinia said. She leaned in, laying her lips on Theodora's. Then she stood up. "Sorry to tease you like this, but I really should go check on Sechylia and the rest of the crew."

"You're so mean…" Theodora complained jokingly.

"We have a whole week," Justinia replied, "I don't see how bad this is, to be perfectly honest with you." She walked out of the room. Theodora giggled as the girl left. It was a strange sound. An especially strange one.

* * *

Justinia opened the door to the room where she knew Sechylia would be. She found the girl laying on her bed. Wide empty eyes stared up at the ceiling. Justinia shut the door. She quickly ran over to the girl. She found her gem, and was relieved to see that it was not pitch black.

Retrieving some grief cubes, Justinia set about healing the thing, as Sechylia was clearly suffering. "I'm not going to let you turn…" Justinia promised. "I won't let you turn into a witch…"

Sechylia turned to look at her. "But you're so different…is there even any point to resisting such a change. It might just bring me to a state…a state I would enjoy so much more than this current existence."

"Sechylia…" Justinia whispered, "Please…I'm sorry I did all of this. But I had to do this. I have a reason to do this…please, believe that I won't hurt you."

"But you were everything to me…" Sechylia reached out, her hand brushing against Justinia's face. "I…I didn't think you'd ever do something like this…not to me, not like this."

"Please Sechylia, listen to me!" Justinia begged, holding on tight to her hand, "I've explained my reasons, I don't know what more you want. I promise I won't hurt you. I'll never hurt you." She looked down, grabbing onto the little girl's hand tighter and tighter, "I'll never, ever hurt you. I promise you."

Sechylia went silent. Justinia kept kneeling there, gripping tightly onto her hand. She swore that she was going to crush all the bones in that hand before Sechylia spoke, her tension and anxiety forcing her to hold on tighter and tighter. "Justinia…that hurts…" The hand was released.

"Sorry," Justinia said, suddenly embarrassed of her own hypocrisy. "I really am."

"I know you are…" Sechylia said. Her voice was shaky. Justinia stood up. She picked up Sechylia, slowly shifting her aside in the bed. She lay down beside the girl, pulling the sheets over the two. She gently wrapped her arms around the petite person, bringing her in close.

"I won't let you die, as long as I live." Justinia said. "I swear."

"Really? Can you really promise such a thing?" Sechylia replied.

"Of course I can," Justinia, confident in herself, "I absolutely can."

* * *

She stood angered next to the captain's chair. Even now, the destroyer was pulling away from Hadiens, pursued by the elements of the sect forces that had a chance of catching up. With the ship under the command of Antoinette and her girls, the captain was more than happy to do whatever they asked of him, which meant getting as far from Hadiens as possible.

_Looks like they're leaving the system. _She sent all the way back to her own ship, as the astrotelepath of this one was not being cooperative in the slightest. _Tell Juno to wait, we need to figure out where they're going before she can leave. That is, if she hasn't departed yet. _

_She hasn't there seems to be another issue. _The astrotelepath filled Antoinette on the events surrounding Yukie and Via. Especially the fact that the mage knight had been recaptured. Antoinette cursed. _By who? _

_By whoever took her in the first place. The only possibility for that person's identity is…well, Ishna. _

_She's dead. _Antoinette replied.

_Well, I'll link you back to them, they're discussing the issue now._

* * *

Before Antoinette had gotten back into the loop, Juno had been in her office. Lysa was sitting in the chair in front of the lord inquisitor's desk, Caelina sitting atop her lap. Juno wasn't pleased. The live update that she was getting thanks to the ship she had in the Hadiens system wasn't reassuring.

"So the chaos forces lost a battle-barge, Theodora's gotten away, and the sect has gone entirely rogue?" Juno summed up. She shook her head. "I honestly didn't expect this."

"Do you think the sect can come back around?" Lysa asked, "After this?"

"Their motives will have to be examined, as well as their actions. We'll have to wait and see what they do. At this point, we have to assume that everyone related to Estelle and Nadine's groups are disabled. I'd like to think that none of them are dead, but we can't necessarily be sure of that. What matters is that they are not coming back into the battle for some time, as they would at least be captured."

"And even if the sect were to surrender now, the leaders would have to be imprisoned and given full examinations. The others are just following orders, presumably, so they can be excused for the most part, hopefully." Juno shook her head. "I didn't want any of this to happen. It's why we sent Estelle in and let Theodora take part in the first place. I didn't think Theodora would do this."

"It's not that," Lysa shook her head, "They had to have had someone who could easily gain the trust of the crew of the _Yslevia. _Otherwise, they wouldn't have gotten away so fast, or at all. If that person wasn't on Theodora's side, the inquisitor wouldn't have gotten away. And that would imply that Liselotte was not the person working for Theodora."

"Indeed, the betrayal of the sect confirms that Liselotte was working for them all along, we think. However, we need to figure out who could have been the traitor. It had to be a long-time member of Estelle's group, so it couldn't have been Nadine or Erwine. Ayelen and Laelia I doubt, given that they've only been there for about a year now." Caelina said.

"The list becomes Sanae, Celestine, Justinia, Sechylia, Wei, or Estelle. Perhaps Wei, she's young," Juno said, "But it could be any of them." She looked up, "Start running checks on their pasts. Make them as extensive as possible. We need to find out who helped them. "

"What if it was just the astrotelepath and navigator that helped, of their own accord?" Lysa proposed. "That's a possibility we can't discount."

"Correct," Juno agreed, "Still, run the checks. Look over all logs of the incident, I want to know what each of them was doing every second." She paused and took a breath, "However, what matters most now is moving forwards. We can't rush into this situation, as it seems that the sect is mobilizing. If they mean to pursue the enemy, then we need to follow them."

Then she received a message. It contained the heading of the chaos vessels. "Well, we know where they're going now. Hopefully they somehow know where the others are going as well." Juno stood up.

"Start checking the girls in Estelle's group, see if any of them have any connections, or openings where there could be connections, to Theodora or any of the inquisitors related to the Vasillica investigation. It seems that they're all headed out to Milita, which is a long ways away."

"We can't make it there in a reasonable amount of time with the whole fleet. We'll head out with this ship, and then a dozen or so smaller vessels. With that force, we'll be able to outfight anything that's thrown at us. At least according to what we've seen so far."

Another message came in. Juno froze for a moment. Her eyes shut, and she whispered, "Now Yukie is gone again."

"She was taken?" Lysa asked. Her eyes opened up wide. "Again?"

"She was." Juno nodded in consternation, "As well as Via. They report that the cloaked girl from before showed up there. They know nothing more, but when they awoke from death Yukie was gone."

"Nothing was tracked, not even by the ship we had in orbit?" Caelina asked. She slid off of Lysa's lap, very concerned.

"Nothing at all. Whatever happened, she just disappeared from that planet." Juno explained with a heavy voice.

Then she looked into the two girls' eyes. Both were a fair bit concerned, for the same reasons. "You know what this means, right? You've read Erwine's part of the reports about the Hadiens Incident?"

The two nodded. "The figure in her dreams wore a dark cloak, and covered her face from view. That figure was later revealed to be Ishna. The descriptions of these two individuals match." Juno said. She swallowed, shaking her head. "I'd prefer to not believe this, but I think we have found an explanation as to why Ishna let things happen the way they did."

"Adrianne…she could have just been controlled by Ishna's mind, so that everything she saw was what she would have preferred." Lysa said, "And Ishna could have just left a duplicate there. We know she has that kind of power. Perhaps the soul gem's legitimacy could counter the theory, but I think that she could have faked that, given her ability."

"So Ishna set all of that up to get those three papers, and then fake her death…" Juno shook her head. "By the Goddess…that means everything that's happening right now. She's just playing us, isn't she?"

"Most likely," Lysa agreed, "Given her previous reputation for such things."

"Then call up MSOC. No, send this right to the top. Get this up to the Segmentum Sect. We need to let them know that we are dealing with something incredibly dangerous."

"We're still going to go after them?" Caelina asked, "After realizing this?"

"We have no choice," Lysa said, noticing that Juno was rather indecisive. "Even if Ishna is alive, then she's not participating in any major way. She seems to be directing things towards a specific outcome. I imagine that if we don't go now, then we'll be forced to go at some point."

"But still," Juno countered, "We should wait as long as we can. If Ishna's plan is for us to get involved, then things will not go well if we get involved."

"Then again, she might be counting on us not getting involved," Lysa replied, "We can't know until we get involved, which is the problem. Her plans are clearly incredibly complex, so reacting to them is going to be a very, very difficult task."

Juno suggested, "Lysa, Caelina, you take the rest of your squadmates out there with this ship and some escorts. I'll relocate myself, and remain with the majority of the fleet out here, and wait for reinforcements. We'll be on the way as soon as possible. Does that sound acceptable?"

"Definitely," Lysa agreed. She looked at Caelina.

"I don't like the split this involves," she nodded, "But I agree."

"Then get moving. We have very little time to act."

_What happened with Yukie? _Antoinette suddenly cried, the message relayed form astrotelepath to astrotelepath. The process took about half a minute, so there was some tension in waiting for replies.

_She was taken again. I assume you know what the situation was. We believe that Ishna is still alive. Watch out, as she is clearly more powerful than we even believed before. She is somehow crossing light years of space in an instant without teleporting. _

Antoinette was shocked. _You'll be pursuing them, right? We're getting back to our own ship at the moment. Our attempt to get at them failed, and we almost ended up getting destroyed by the sect. _

_They tried to kill you? _

_To destroy the ship we commandeered from them, yes. But they did warn us off multiple times, and say that we would not be hurt if we complied. We're going to get back to our own ship, leave the traitors on this one, and then give chase. _

_Agreeable. Do that. A smaller force is headed for Milita as we speak. _Juno explained. Antoinette let the line drop. The others had heard the conversation. "So…" she said, "We have a reason to be very, very worried."

"Yes…" Guan said. She sighed, "Is there any way to secure ourselves against her?"

"Not if she's not teleporting. She could be using some kind of space-time warping to do this, but we can't stop that with anything. Even anti-magic fields are only so effective the more and more powerful the kind of magic gets." Rozenn reminded them.

"So we just wait and hope that she chooses to let us live?" Skelia said. The girl growled, "That's not something I like, leaving things up to chance."

"Ishna's not going to roll a die and then kill us based on what that die says. She'll kill us if we have to die. And if she comes for us, then we'll fight."

"Fine," Skelia said. She shook her head. "How long till we get back to our ship?"

"About half an hour," the captain replied.

"I'll be looking forward to what little rest we can get there…" the girl in blue muttered, "I doubt we'll get any at all in the days to come."

* * *

Erwine had not realized that it had been such an incredibly long time since she last went to somewhere else in her dreams. No, the word 'went' is a bit incorrect. It implies that one chooses to do something. That one voluntarily goes somewhere else.

She never voluntarily flung herself into an image of the future. She never voluntarily saw things that shook her to the core. Images of futures that had been perhaps barely averted. Yet she found herself going there again, one time she slept. She despised the restraints she found herself in, so she'd tried to go to sleep.

Now she regretted it, as an alien setting lay before her. A place she had never seen. Not with her own eyes, not in any picture or video. It was entirely new. Yet here it was, in her dream. Stretching out before her was a seemingly endless plain of sand. A desert, yet entirely flat. The sand was colored bright yellow.

A scorching hot gust of wind blew through the area. It was short. A loose cloud of sand accompanied it, blown along by the furious power. Yet there was no other wind. The single gust was the only thing. Erwine looked up at the sky. It was bright. The entire world was bright, like high noon on a midsummer day.

There was no sun. The world was bright, but there was no sun. An endless blue sky reached out in either direction, not a single cloud to be found anywhere. Yet heat came from above, as did light. The world was lit, well-lit. Not a shadow to be found. Erwine looked around herself. No shadow at all, as if the light came from all directions. Like high noon on a midsummer day.

Erwine, the one whose dream this seemed to be, tried to move. The body didn't reply. But this had to be a dreamscape. This entire place…it was so impossible. The lack of a sun, the lack of any source of light. The entire world was bright. It was hot. Like high noon on a midsummer day.

Yet there was a sensation in her mind. A sensation that this place, despite the nature of the dream, and the impossibility of it all, was incredibly, undeniably real. A place that truly did exist. Perhaps outside the boundaries of this universe, but a place that was real nonetheless.

She knew that it was a place where she had found herself standing before.

Erwine, the Erwine that existed in the future, looked downwards. There was somebody else there. The world had been flat. It still was flat. Yet nothing had been there, not even a single hint of an individual. Yet somebody now stood before Erwine.

Then the world faded away, before the individual could even come into focus. Erwine found herself sitting up from a bed. Adrianne was there. It was a white room. Pure white. The bed…it was so soft. Softer than any other bed Erwine had ever experienced.

She looked around, confused. Till she realized she'd been here before as well. Someone was beside her. Adrianne stood there. "Got some rest?" She smiled. "It's been a lot of work for you to get here, so I hope you're feeling alright."

She turned around. The white room didn't seem to have way in or out. It truly did seem like something impossible. Yet somebody else was there, in the dream. "Now Erwine, I understand that it's been an awfully long time since you last saw me."

Adrianne looked behind herself. Her head twisted in a strange way, seemingly empty dark eyes staring into Erwine's. "But I can assure you, I'm a person you can trust." Erwine found herself too awed to say anything.

"People have said that before in places like this, but you've little choice at this point, right?" Adrianne spun on her heel. She walked very slowly back towards Erwine. He voice was distant, yet soft and kind. It sounded like Adrianne's used to. "Trapped, all alone, without anyone to help you? Yes, you do need a friend, right?"

She paused in front of Erwine. "You've come so far…don't worry. Things won't end here." She shook her head. "No, no, I hate to say this, but you're nowhere near the end."

Erwine blinked.

She was somewhere else. She looked around. The walls were made of stone. The floor and ceiling were as well. Not the jagged, uneven walls of a cave. No, they were crafted from smooth bricks of the stone, neatly packed together. Artificial man-made. Erwine had read about such castles of stone.

She wasn't in control of her body. The Erwine moved through the hall, looking about warily. The stone was cracked in some places, and it looked a bit unsteady. Yet the floor held, no matter what. In some corners, moss was found growing from the stone. The place was old.

Very old. As Erwine passed by the windows, she noticed that nature had seemingly come to reclaim what was rightfully its. She got a strange sensation in her from walking around. Strange noises seemed to echo about the castle with every step.

More than just the sound of her feet echoing. Oh, it was so much more than that. Every time her shoe clacked against the ground, a chorus of different sounds echoed through the halls. A myriad of sounds, as wide and as varied as the planets in the universe.

The clacking sounds were joined by things that sounded like laughter, screams, ripping, banging, explosions, metal. Perhaps every sound that existed within the human world was heard every time she took a step. Erwine didn't understand what was going on.

Dread had taken root in the depths of her heart. It spread like a virus, infecting every fiber of her being, twisting the world around to present a far more terrifying view of things. She shook with every step, her uneasiness obvious on her face. A terrible smell came before her nostrils. Again, it was like every smell possible had combined together.

Yet she saw just the castle. Despite the other sensations that threatened to drive her insane, and were already making her question her sanity, Erwine could still see with perfect clarity. And that was the thing that kept her moving forwards. That, and a desire to know what this was.

Was it just a dream? The dream-Erwine realized that the future-Erwine was thinking this as well. Shakily, her feet carried her forwards. There was a door before her. Her entire body shook with fright as she reached out for the handle. The door took a million different shapes in the space of a second.

Erwine's hand tightened around the door. It swung open. Erwine blinked at the brightness of what lay behind it. She was standing on a hill. She stumbled back a few feet, staggered by what was around her. That was when she, the dreaming Erwine, realized that she had control again.

Erwine examined her surroundings, seeing that the hill sloped down into a city. The city was huge, expansive, yet somehow looked strange. That was it. _It's so different. _Nothing looked like it would in Erwine's time. The technology, everything about it, looked older.

The hill she was on. Pink and purple flowers, alternating in a beautiful pattern, covered the entire thing. Erwine took a deep breath. She started walking down the hill into the city. Over the city, on the horizon, was a bright sun. The sun was rising over the city.

Erwine entered the city as dawn broke over the strange place. The entire city was devoid of any and all life. There were no people. Nothing moved except Erwine, and the sun in the sky. Nevertheless, she trekked onwards through the eerily desolate world that her dreams had brought her to.

Yet no matter where she went, she found herself being redirected. Walking down a street sometimes led her to be at the end of another street. The world played games with her. Erwine found that her magic was gone. She was dressed in her normal school clothes. She could not do anything remotely superhuman. An alien feeling, it was.

Finally, she found herself at the entrance to a four-way intersection between alleyways. The alleyways were between strangely-shaped buildings, the roofs especially interesting. A thin layer of water covered the surface.

Erwine felt that she _had _to go down there. So she did. Slowly she walked forwards, her feet gently splashing in the moisture. She came to the middle of the space. She heard something behind herself. She spun around, the fear that had built in her heart emerging in the form of a panicked scream.

Very long dark hair flipped out behind a girl. The girl's back was turned. Erwine tried to move towards her. In front of the girl was herself. Erwine fell downwards. Everything went black.

She woke up. On the _Yslevia. _In the depths of the warp. Still restrained. She was no longer sure if she wanted to go to sleep anymore. Not at this point.

* * *

Justinia gently left Sechylia in her room once the girl had drifted away to sleep. She ended up slumping back against the wall after she shut the door. She looked up, fatigued from the careful management of two people that she'd had to commence in for the past few hours.

She heard footsteps coming towards her. She prayed that it was not Elle coming to complain or question her. Luckily for her, it was not either of those people. Two girls came towards her. Both she recognized from her time before. One girl had a short dark ponytail, and was dressed in a tight black and white coat, the pattern of the colors being irregular. The coat had a hood hanging off the back, which was currently not raised. The short skirt she wore was all back, with the short shoes being pure white. Almost all of her legs were exposed.

The other one had a tan scarf wrapped around her neck, the head of which bore light brown hair reaching halfway-down her neck, which curled at the ends. She wore a short-sleeved tan sleeveless shirt below that. A dark brown belt went across her waist, holding up the knee-length featureless brown shorts. Dark brown combat boots went high up her shins, while her hands were covered by fingerless leather gloves. Meanwhile, chestnut-colored sleeves were tied about just a bit back from her wrist and went all the way back to just before her shoulders. The sleeves were a bit puffy, but not that much.

"Ryouna," Justinia nodded to the dark-haired one, "Sadia," she nodded to the brown-haired one.

"You don't look very well," Sadia said, a happy look on her face. Ryouna definitely looked more concerned than cheerful. "Though I suppose you've a lot to deal with."

"That is the cause of this," Justinia confirmed with a nod. She stepped away from the wall. "At least Elle got the crew under control, and at least Sechylia is going to be fine, at least in theory."

"Yep, and it's only about a week to Milita. Once there, well, we can only hope that we find what we're looking for," Sadia said, a hint of doubt in her voice.

"I can assure you we will," Ryouna replied, "The planet has a long history of being a site containing things from the Golden Age, maybe even older."

"It was one of the places Erwine visited during her search," Justinia explained, "Which means that Arietta is going to do something that will get us in and find something that Erwine did not. Trust me, she would have searched the place from top to bottom. She might even be useful letting out when we get there."

"Unadvisable," Ryouna said. Her tone was an intelligent one, her demeanor that of someone who knew what she was doing, and considered herself to know more than those around herself. "Any involvement of Erwine may swing things back onto the track of Ishna's plan."

"I know," Justinia said. She still spoke in her neutral voice. "But it's an option to consider if we run out of time. The chaos forces should be pursuing us at this point, the sect won't be far behind, and then we have the Deathwatch to worry about."

"You look a bit unhappy," Sadia observed, "You need some friends? Ones who won't question everything you're doing?"

"That would be helpful," Justinia nodded, chuckling a little. She followed them down the hall, in between the two girls.

"So you've remembered all the stuff we sealed away, right?" Sadia asked.

Justinia nodded. "Yes, I have." She smiled at the thought. "But how's everyone doing these days? Doing anything necessarily related to all of this, or simply continuing duties?"

"Well, we spent most of the past twenty years doing normal things. We didn't want to create the idea that we had some other plan in our heads. We did spend any free time we got preparing for this eventuality. Really, the ones on this ship are just volunteers. The rest are all waiting to give backup if necessary, which seems needed at this point, given that the sect wasn't expected."

"Theodora seemed hesitant to call in any help. Understandably enough, this issue is very close to her heart. So she's not going to ask for help if she doesn't think she has to. But we called it in anyways, we'd hate it if things went wrong now."

"That's risky," Justinia said, "It would reveal the wide scope of this conspiracy. It would spoil the others who are waiting for the documents to be translated."

"That's true," Ryouna agreed with a nod, "However, they are already preparing to head into hiding until we send word. We've girls all across the Segmentum, even across the galaxy, ready to spring into action to put an end to this once and for all."

"That's good," Justinia said, "Any word on what exactly is on Milita?"

"As I said, ruins" Ryouna replied. "We could ask Erwine, but…."

"Would reading her mind hurt the integrity of the plan?" Sadia wondered. The three girls were headed towards the general room that Estelle had put on the _Yslevia. _

"We'll ask Theodora when she wakes up. We can't do so now anyways. All we can do is hope that whatever we're supposed to find on the planet, we can find it fast," Justinia said. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

She looked around as they walked into the room. She seemed to have a sorrowful air about her as she cast her gaze around. "Regret?" Ryouna asked.

"No," Sadia said, then suggested, "Just sadness?"

Justinia nodded. "Loss, truthfully. I lost someone…someone who I cared for the most to Ishna. I'd hate it if I lost anyone more, as this is all her in the end. "

"You really liked Estelle and the others?" Sadia asked.

Justinia nodded. "They were good people, all of them. I enjoyed watching the younger ones grew, becoming an advisor to Estelle, and even working out in the field. It became fun." She shook her head, "I know that while I am giving it all up, I'm giving it up for the right reason. I don't regret it, but I'm just wondering if I'll be able to ever regain their trust."

"I think you will," Ryouna said, "Though I doubt a cold logician is a solid judge of character. If you go to them and explain why, I'd imagine they'd understand. I would understand, but then again, we've been friends for much longer."

Justinia nodded. "That's true." She sighed. "I really am happy to be back amongst all of you, it's been far too long since we last saw each other."

"We were thinking of having a little celebration," Sadia said, "I'd ask you to join in but it's kind of about you, so we can't really celebrate without you there. Therefore, what I'm saying is that you have to come."

"How articulate," Justinia said, "But yes, I'll be there." She still spoke in her neutral tone. "Did I always sound like this, or was my mind modified in that way as well?"

The two girls shook their heads. Ryouna answered, "You were a bit brighter before you lost Ileve, but you've always been a very restrained person,"

"Thank you," Justinia said. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't losing my mind,"

"Oh don't think like that," Sadia grinned, "You wouldn't lose your mind. I think you'd be the last person to do that."

Justinia just gave a short little nod in reply. "What's wrong?" Her friend frowned as she asked the question, seeing an emotion on her face similar to before.

"No really anything…I guess," she said quietly. "Naught more than a regret." Justinia shook her head, as though the motion might clear away all the thoughts swirling around in her mind. "But it shall soon pass."

"Anyways," Ryouna started, then asked, "What was it like, being with them for so long?"

Justinia shrugged, "Not that bad, I-did enjoy myself sometimes." She had to admit that. Otherwise, it'd be lying to herself.

"Then come on and tell us, we have plenty to catch up on." Sadia insisted.

For a few moments, the crimson-haired girl thought. Then her eyes shut, and she said happily, "That sounds good." It felt so fitting. So fitting that Justinia had to wonder why it felt that way.

_Ileve, _the name passed through her mind, and Justinia wondered why the mere mention of it sent shivers up and down her spine.

* * *

Nadine and Estelle were perched in a position from which they could look down at the entire hangar below them. The large rafters of the place were ideal for a hiding spot, at least form anyone who might just look in. Any serious search would easily locate them, and there would be nowhere they could go after that.

However, no one had come looking in the two hours it had been since the two inquisitors made it aboard the ship. They could only hope that warp entry was soon, so that they could forget any fear of telepathic surveillance. Currently, the only reason they cowered was so that they would not be found by moving about.

Staying in one place allowed Estelle to better formulate a shield to prevent anyone from finding them. The alarms would sound when warp entry was close, so there was no fear of Estelle being injured by her shield. She could just drop it when the time came.

Their current plan was to wait till warp entry, then search out the brig within the large heavy cruiser. Celestine would be the first one freed. That was because she was the invisibility generator. Hiding would be a lot easier once she was out, and it would be easier to late go back and free others. However, getting her out in the first place was going to be a serious challenge.

They couldn't just bust in, as they had to remain hidden for an unknown amount of time. Even if they managed to get her out, then they would still be searched for quite heavily. There was only so far one could go on a starship in the warp.

So they were debating even rescuing anyone in the first place. "It can't possibly work," Nadine argued, "We could rescue them all somehow, and we still wouldn't have the power to take the ship, not without losing some of our own in the process."

"It doesn't matter, they need to be stopped. We can start chipping away, piece by piece." Estelle replied.

"Have you considered going straight to the bridge and trying to talk to Reitia? She might agree to let them go if we assist them. Surely we'd be able to explain their position to Juno and anyone else who investigates this matter. Yes, people would get in trouble, that's for certain, but we still need to try. It seems that they're only doing this because no one else will believe what they say."

"You're right, that's perhaps the best idea at this point…but let's wait and see how things turn out. Honestly, if we have a chance of having some backing behind us then I'd rather confront her with some help, rather than just go up there only to be thrown into the brig with the others," Estelle explained.

"Sounds good to me," Nadine replied. But they were still sitting in the rafters of the place. The navy blue-haired girl looked up at the ceiling, leaning back a little. Estelle looked downwards, watching the humans scurry about below. She sighed, knowing they were in for a wait.

She saw a new figure enter the hangar. The light brown, long hair was something that Estelle recognized. It was Viola. "Oh no…" Estelle whispered. Nadine looked down as Viola searched all around. She asked one of the crewmembers something. She leapt up to the upper level.

About fifteen minutes passed as she searched all around, checking all the shuttles. Then she would finally look upwards. She leapt up into the rafters, landing a bit away from the two inquisitors. "Hello?" she asked quietly, "Are you there?" Below, the ambiance would have swallowed her words, and even here, only their enhanced hearing let the inquisitors hear the near whisper.

Estelle looked at Nadine who nodded. She whispered, "Say something, she'd have brought friends if she really wanted to do something about us."

"We're here," Estelle called quietly. Viola turned her head to look at them. She walked over there. She had to balance on the precarious footing, but then sat down across from the two girls.

"Why did you come here?" Nadine asked.

"I wanted to check that you two were alright. I was hoping you'd stay in here. We'll be entering the warp soon, so you won't have to worry about telepathy anymore." Viola looked to the side, worried about meeting their gazes directly.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I really am concerned, alright. I don't want a conflict occurring…because I don't want things to slide down the slippery slope into becoming full-on traitors…" Viola shook her head. "Though I guess I'm doomed anyways."

"Not necessarily. You assisted us, and you seem understanding of the crimes you're committing. Provided that you keep up like this, I imagine you won't be in any trouble at all." Nadine explained. She was stating facts, not over or under estimating.

As the girl took in what she was told, Estelle asked, "Do you think Reitia would listen to us were we to speak to her, try to explain that we could help?"

"I don't know her very well," Viola replied. "I'm only PDG, I haven't even seen that much of the headquarters. From what I understand, if she thinks that you two are just using that as a chance to strike from the inside, then she won't be willing to listen. So I don't think you'll get much done by trying to reason with her. No…that's not what I mean."

"I get it," Nadine said, "She's reasonable, but the issue is that she would refuse to trust us. Understandable."

"So what will you two do, just sit up here until we reach Milita? They'll come looking eventually, and it's about a week's time there."

"Is there any better place for us to hide?" Estelle asked. "We have to stick to the shadows."

"I'll try to figure something out, I promise," Viola said. "Just…try to stay safe until then."

"What's your agenda?" Nadine asked. She didn't speak in a harsh or violent tone. In fact, the question was asked quite softly. Even then, Viola quite visibly reacted when the gentle words reached her ears.

"You mean that I'm just doing this for some other reason besides helping you?" Viola asked. She shook her head. "I hate to disappoint people, but I've no big reason to do this. I want to make sure that things don't get too bad. I figure that if I can help you out, then you can do something to ensure that. If you can't and that's what you're saying right now, then you are just a threat to what I'm fighting for."

"Go on," Nadine said, "If you can find some place for us to hole up that's not here, then come back to us, or if you've anything else of assistance. Things won't get too bad, I promise you."

Viola looked into her eyes. Not Estelle's. Only Nadine's. "I believe you…" she whispered. The girl made her way back down, taking care to not be noticed by anyone else. She exited the hangar, and the two magical girls were once again silent.

"Well, all we can do now is wait and pray," Estelle whispered.


	47. As the End Nears, a Frantic Intermission

Massive arches allowed the passage of the bright rays of sunlight, their forms casting shadows on the long hall. The sky was dappled with soft grey clouds, the sun poking holes through the irregular carpet. Thin white curtains covered the space in between the individual pillars, but were almost entirely translucent to allow the light through. A cold wind blew through the openings, causing the curtains to billow to the side, pushed by the gusts.

The marble floor let out a clacking noise as she walked down the uncovered surface. A small room, which formed the top of a tall tower, sat at the end of the long walkway. She could already see the figure sitting on the first and only floor of the small place. The gentle sounds of a violin and a piano could be heard from the record player beside the girl. The table she sat beside was covered with papers. Heavy paperweights were atop the stacks, yet the wind still threatened to sweep them away.

The tall oak chair the magical girl was seated in was a bit oversized for her, clearly made for a bigger person. She faced away from the walkway leading towards her. The pencil in her hand tapped along with the piano notes, as her eyes gazed out the open walls of the tower. Open in the same way the walkway was, but without the curtains.

Before her was an expanse of tall mountains. Snow-capped peaks, where life continued on as it had thousands and thousands of years ago. The ancient mountains of the Himalayas had only become more and more beautiful as the millennia slowly drifted by.

The walking girl stopped behind the chair. She bowed gently. "Grand Inquisitor…" she said softly "May I?"

The figure in the chair replied in a soft, yet commanding tone. "You may." The girl walked around to the front of the chair. The music still played. Standing in attention, her arms and back ramrod straight, the newcomer looked forwards, not meeting the eyes of the grand inquisitor.

"It concerns the Hadiens Sector. We have received word from Ms. Eskel. It appears that the situation has worsened." The girl explained.

A soft sigh emanated from the grand inquisitor's mouth. She requested seriously, "Please do not hesitate to use telepathy to communicate matters of such importance to me in the future. If it is this important, then disobey whatever orders I give about my privacy, understand?"

The girl deeply bowed. "Yes ma'am," she replied.

The grand inquisitor looked over at the papers on her desk. She put her pencil down. Ever so slowly, her finger went to the record player, gently lifting the needle. The world was silent, save for the howling of the cold mountainous wind. The Grand Inquisitor of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition rested her elbows on the desk, clasped her hands under her chin and rested her head on them, looking up at the girl. She who commanded millions upon millions of angels asked, "What has happened?"

The one who stood beside her wore a long dark cape that reached to her ankles, and concealed her body entirely except for her head and the dark heels on her feet. A golden chain held the cape together, and bore a small magenta gem. Black hair fell in straight lines around her face, framing the violet eyes that still stared ahead. "A captured traitor, and Captain Yukie Cochis of the Hearth Knights 8th Company were taken from the brig of Juno's flagship. An unknown figure appeared and took both in less time than it took Juno to get into the room. Yukie and the girl would be deposited on a nearby planet, from which they would later be taken once again. This girl is seemingly capable of instantaneously teleporting anywhere." A short pause, "Furthermore, the Hadiens Sect and Theodora's detachment have each gone rogue. Little more is known. Juno is moving as we speak, but her own forces on the site aren't capable of providing further information."

The grand inquisitor ruminated for a moment, "The location of Erwine Braune?" she asked.

"Uncertain, presumably in Theodora's hands." Replied the other. The white-haired girl's eyes shut.

"That's not good," sighed the grand inquisitor. A few seconds would pass before she calmly said, "The biggest concern is that given all this," She paused, as though saying it would be a jinx. "We've no choice but to assume Ishna is alive." She cast her gaze to the side, and contemplated the situation whilst staring out over the tall mountains.

Seconds passed as she thought. The howling wind kept blowing, struggling to overcome the paperweights and sweep the many sheets away. "The Lord High Admiral and the Grandmaster." The grand inquisitor ordered, before she flicked her hand at the girl, who stepped back several feet. "To Hadiens it is," She declared.

The white-haired girl stood up. Her long white hair reached down to her waist. Her arms stretched out to either side as she took a deep breath. "Get in contact with Titan, and tell Juno that I'm not letting this rest until this is entirely stamped out." Her right arm reached out and pulled a cerulean ribbon from the table.

"Yes ma'am," her servant replied.

The Grand Inquisitor spun on her heel and walked around the chair, her arm neatly wrapping the ribbon into her hair. It moved on its own after the short movement ended, tying all of it together into one long ponytail. Her left arm gently tugged a white coat from the piece of furniture. The white double-breasted coat slid over the white blouse she wore, stretching just a bit past her waist as the buttons started to button themselves. "Come along," she said, "We've a lot of work to do."

* * *

Elle leaned back, still staring upwards at the ceiling. She wasn't sure what to think anymore. After hearing all that she had heard, at least. She'd done her best to make appearances outside her room, show the crew that she did believe, but that was merely because she felt that people would be hurt if she didn't ensure compliance.

Justinia wasn't someone she could trust anymore. Not after what had happened. It went against her feelings, but also didn't. She wanted to continue trusting Justinia to keep believing that the girl really did care. _Maybe she does…_Justinia thought. There was plenty of evidence to support that point.

Were the girl merely a heartless heretic, then Elle would have gotten no condolences from her. The captain stood from her bed. She set her mind on doing only one thing at this moment. That one thing would be actually confronting Justinia, finding out the truth about her.

Perhaps the issue was that she'd been lied to for so long. As she stepped out into the hall, a hand going to her vox to ask for the location of the girl, she knew that it was common for people to be angry when discovering that they had been lied to. _So perhaps resting would be better than going and being confrontational?_

Elle didn't know. _I'll try to talk to her again. She had to just be mad last time because of the way I acted. I'll try to calm down this time, and approach her much more calmly. _

She discovered that there was some kind of gathering taking place in the officer's mess at the moment. The captain sighed as she wondered if any damage would be done to the place. She made her way there, pausing outside the door. She heard what sounded like a good time.

Her hand hesitated before it closed around the handle. She gently pushed the door open to the small room. No one noticed her entrance, they were all enjoying themselves. Justinia seemed to look happy. She wore no bright smile, nor even a grin. But her general demeanor was of someone who was happy.

Elle got the message. _At least she's pleased. _Turns out somebody was observant. The word to Justinia that Elle was looking quite obsessively at her was passed. Justinia stood up from the table, moving towards the door. Elle jumped back shutting the door quickly.

There wasn't a sound as she spun on her heel, quickly marching away from the door. Justinia opened it. "Please don't run…" she requested. "I'm not angry at you."

Elle spun around. "Then what are you? What's going on with you?"

"Elle…" Justinia looked aside. She composed herself, found the words to say, and then turned back to face the captain. "Elle, you're angry because you trusted me, and I lied to you for so long. I kept secrets from you, and that made you angry. I can't understand that pain, but I can tell you that's what you're feeling."

"You can't be serious…" Elle said, "That can't be all…there has to be something more going on here!" she cried. She looked desperately at Justinia. Yet the magical girl shook her head. She stepped forwards, slowly and carefully. She reached out with her hand.

"Elle…I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry that I didn't entrust you with this secret. I didn't want to entrust anyone who might not keep it, or be able to keep it. I'm sorry, Elle, but you were close to Estelle and the others as well. Sechylia…I didn't want to hurt her with the knowledge, but I miscalculated with that." She took another step forwards, laying her hand on the woman's shoulder. "I won't betray you like that ever again, I promise."

"We're traitors now, aren't we?" Elle asked.

"Yes, we're traitors indeed. We have to throw off the plan as much as possible. If it were not for the fact that we might still need Erwine, she would already be dead." Justinia explained. "She's the crux of all of this, after all."

"I trust you. Don't let me down here, alright?" Elle asked.

Justinia nodded. "You're going to go now?" the woman seemed ready to turn around and walk away. "The others probably wouldn't mind."

Elle shook her head, "I can't be seen consorting with you to that extent. The crew might see me as having always been in league with you. My control over them relies on them thinking that we're in the same situation. Sorry, but I just want the best."

"I'll stop by later, and we can talk some more, if you want. I've nothing more to do around here. Check on Sechylia. The girl should be doing fine, but I can't say for certain."

"I will," Elle assured her.

"Thanks," Justinia said. She no longer faced Elle. The sound of the door opening and closing was only interrupted by the brief escape of the sounds from within. Elle walked away, feeling a bit better than she had before. No, that wasn't true. She was feeling far better than she had before. About everything.

* * *

The girl beside the Grand Inquisitor reached out to the side, handing the girl the vox. The Grand Inquisitor's black heels clacked against the marble floor, her cerulean skirt swishing as she went, getting pushed to the side by the wind. The skirt was quite short in the front, but got longer and longer towards the side, and reached all the way down to her feet in the back. The shortness of the skirt exposed the black, patterned stockings that ran up her legs, as well as the straps that held them up, reaching up beneath the skirt. They reached the end of the walkway. The girl ran up ahead and swung open the large wooden doors inside. A single hand sent the massive ports swinging open without the slightest of effort. Wilhelmina Schrader walked ahead into the large tower beyond. She waved for one of the girls inside, who looked up as she entered, to approach. Three others followed.

A massive hologram glowed over a large round table that the three stood around. "Titan," Wilhelmina said to the approaching girl, as the caped one shut the doors, walking up behind her. Wilhelmina took a deep breath, preparing to speak in the vox held before her lips.

"Johannes," She started, "Good day."

"Wilhelmina," A gruff voice replied. "What's the matter?"

"The Hadiens Sector," the grand inquisitor explained, "What I briefed you all on some months ago. The Hadiens Sect itself has gone rogue, as has another inquisitor. Chaos forces are making large scale moves, and we believe that Ishna Kleimar is not actually dead."

The man on the other end grumbled something, before asking, "If you don't mind, could you tell what I'm expected to do?"

"Mobilize every ship you have in and around Hadiens. Send orders to all nearby Fleet commands to surround the sector, don't let anyone or anything in or out until further notice. We can't know whose on our side and who isn't." Wilhelmina spoke as though the man was her subordinate, and in a way, that wasn't far from the truth. Right before his response came, she added, "Ah yes, notify the other High Lords as well, I'm on my way to Titan right now, and from there I'll be departing to Hadiens." She nodded to one of the girls beside her, "Farewell, Johannes, I'm about to get going. Good luck, and thank you."

His reply was cut off as Wilhelmina appeared several thousand feet below her previous location, a stone room stretching out around her. The room was massive. There was a set of stairs running up the wall, some thirty meters away. Most of the area was occupied by a massive inscription. It looked like a huge magical program inscribed into the ground. The group of girls stood in the center of it.

The caped girl knelt down, tapping the exact center of the huge runic pattern with a gloved finger. Light suddenly spread out through the room, tracing the lines of the program and filling it entirely.

_The Grandmaster, _the girl said, as another mind connected to the line. Though voxes were silenced merely by the heavy shielding so far underground, authorized telepathic channels could make it through.

_What's the matter? _Asked the quiet voice. It was that of one who kept to themselves yet could still dominate a room by their mere presence.

_Hadiens, Ishna seems to be alive. _Wilhelmina explained as the circle below her started to grow brighter and brighter.

_You're headed there, then? I'll send whoever I can to Titan._ The magic circle's brightness reached a climax, and was intense enough to blind normal eyes were any in the room.

_Thank you,_ Wilhelmina said, before she dropped the line. "Well…" the grand inquisitor took a long, deep breath. "This is going to be fun…"Then the runes released their energy, and all five girls were gone, the room still humming and crackling with magic.

* * *

The ship now plied through the warp. Entry had been some time ago, and Estelle welcomed it. She was starting to run low on magic thanks to her usage of telepathy. Had she continued going, things would have gotten bad.

Estelle and Nadine had to only wait a few more hours before Viola returned. She leapt up, taking a seat across from the two. "There's no plans to mobilize a search, at least from what I understand," she explained. "But they are most likely avoiding telling the lower ranks too much."

"As for a place where you two can hole up…well, I knocked out one big possibility. I found out about a large amount of empty space in the rear of the ship, no one is there and it's really used for storage. Upon asking further questions, I managed to find out that it's actually a trap. The intention is that any intruders who need to hide would go there, but if one doesn't have the proper authorization, then an alarm is triggered."

"Can you get such authorization?" Nadine asked.

"No. It has to come from the bridge itself, and there's no chance my actions would go unnoticed there. Even then, it would be recorded that such clearance was given, and they would still investigate."

"We can still use it," Estelle suggested, "When we're ready to break the girls out, we can trip the alarms there, distract them a bit."

"Definitely," Viola agreed, "But I think there's a place you two can stay, with some assistance, of course."

"Where would that be?" Nadine was skeptical.

"My quarters, or at least those of me and the others. We're all close to one another, and they're willing to keep quiet, for the same reason I am." The young girl explained.

"But we'd need to sneak there, we'd need invisibility." Estelle said.

"One of them can provide that. I came here to make sure you two were alright with the plan, but I can go quickly and get them now."

"Do it," Nadine said, "It'd be better than being up here."

"See you soon," Viola made her way back down.

The two inquisitors watched from above. "Do you think this is the best idea?" Estelle asked.

"Nothing is the best idea. If we can get there safety, then we'll probably be safe for the rest of the voyage. The one issue is that we'll basically be trapped, as the quarters will be near those of the others. As long as we can keep a low profile and are fine with our hands being tied if they want to turn us in, then it'll be great. However…" Nadine sighed, "I'd wish there was a way to remain hidden while retaining some kind of maneuverability, but I doubt there is."

"You think the sect is in the right?" Estelle asked, "Should we even be fighting them?"

"We should stay safe so that we can keep a watch on them, surrendering is not an option unless people might get hurt. They believe that there is a future that only they can avert, and there may be some truth in that, so it's best if we wait and see just how correct they are." Nadine replied. Estelle nodded, not having anything to disagree with. The two inquisitors waited for some time, until their metaphorical ride arrived.

* * *

Wilhelmina now stood in a massive room, similar to the one she had just left. It was circular, the staircase starting roughly thirty meters away. Wilhelmina advanced forwards, her footsteps taking her towards the stairs. "Return," Wilhelmina ordered the others, "Bring the usual team back here."

The Grand Inquisitor was followed by the caped girl. "Come along," she said to that one, speaking as though it were a dog she addressed.

She walked a step behind Wilhelmina as they ascended the staircase towards the top. It took some time, and the entire ascent was made in silence. They reached the circular room at the top. There was an exit. Two large wooden doors stood there. The magenta-haired girl walked forwards as Wilhelmina stood in front of them.

She pulled the doors open, revealing a large room beyond. Wilhelmina only grinned as she looked out onto the grandeur that was the fortress of Titan.

There were eight hundred millions miles of space between Terra and the moon of Titan. Yet they had been crossed in less than a second. Long ago, at some point that was unknown to most, the inscription had been made beneath the Inquisitorial headquarters upon Terra. It was able to, once powered up, fling things at several times the speed of light.

Yet it could only be done on things that were incredibly small. So the particles of an individual when converted by teleportation were a perfect fit. The teleporters converted the group, then they were all shot forwards to the end point on Titan. It bypassed a rather long journey by ship, which would have been made through the most heavily defended system in the galaxy, if not the entire universe.

Lines and lines of battle stations controlled remotely by even further isolated stations, surrounded the edge of the system, and only tightened and tightened as one got closer to the center. Dozens of astroclairvoyants surveyed every inch of the solar system every hour of every day. Huge fleets of ships patrolled regularly, and every moon in the system, if it was not used for some other purpose, was effectively a massive mobile super weapon.

Luna herself had been commandeered long ago for the purpose of protecting Terra, having been remade into a massive production facility for the most powerful weapons the Imperium had at its disposal. Mars was a huge fortress, her two moons both converted into massive beds of scanners and weapons, able to find any irregularities on the surface or in space.

Terra herself was almost choked off by the huge number of massive battle stations that sat in various positions around it. Yet nothing sat directly above it. All the docks sat far from the planet, at the LaGrange points with the other massive constructions. The orbit around the planet itself was clear of all but the most urgent traffic.

Streams of small shuttle craft and huge landers went back and forth from the stations to the planet, but the surface was beautiful to see, so there was not much of a downside. The bright, vibrant oceans could be seen, as could the huge expanses of land, all shrouded sometimes by clouds, whether bright or dark.

For ten thousand years before, Her Holy Majesty The Goddess had made a decree, that the natural state of Terra be restored, and the wounds upon her body healed. The huge work of Mechanicus terraforming units had seen the planet slowly healed from the devastated state Old Night had reduced her to.

The atmosphere was built back to normal, slowly healed as the ecosystem of the planet was built back up from the bottom. The oceans, desolate and long-gone, were slowly restored, new glaciers brought from far out in space and shaped into agreeable forms. Wildlife began to flourish as the pollution was wiped away, plants surging into being where they had been not before. Much of this was done with the help of the Goddess and her power, and when all was said and done, Terra was beautiful once again.

The undeniably holiest place in the entirety of the universe was once again the perfect jewel. The pride of the human race. A world built back from nothing. The world was a paradise, a paradise where the most powerful ruler of all time rested.

And upon a comparatively small rock in that same solar system sat a mighty fortress where some of the most powerful warriors of all time resided. Wilhelmina found herself looking at the current leader as she stepped through the open doors. A large hall was before her. It bore no incredible importance, it was merely there as the entrance to the sealed away teleportation room.

The hall was not open to the outside in any way, and consisted of mainly a long carpet leading towards the large doors, lined by pillars to either side. Wilhelmina strode forwards, seeing somebody else walk towards her, accompanied by two other girls. All were clad in the heavy, grey armor of their organization. "Oihana," Wilhelmina nodded to the one in the lead as she reached out with her hand.

The one she called Oihana shook her hand. "Good to see you," the Grand Master of the Grey Knights said.

"Same to you," Wilhelmina smiled. "You are doing well?"

"I am, we all are, in fact. Things are going quite well, even given the Gothic War." Oihana said.

"You've spare girls, I hope," Wilhelmina said, her pet standing right at her shoulder. "I need to solve the problem in Hadiens as soon as is possible."

"I do," Oihana confirmed, "But what's so bad this time?"

"Ishna might still be alive," the white-haired girl explained, "I think that's enough to cause concern when combined with the fact that the sect has gone rogue. We're also looking at a large scale chaos presence."

"Heading out to Hadiens…that would take weeks even with our fastest ship…" Oihana said.

"Is she here?" Wilhelmina asked.

"You can have her, but still, you may not make it in time." The Grand Master warned. She sent out a few telepathic messages. "I'll round up a squad right now, they've been off-duty for a few months now so this will give them something to do."

"Thank you," Wilhelmina said.

"I'll take you to the _Eternal Lightning _now," Oihana said, referring to the ship of which they had just spoken. She looked over Wilhelmina's shoulder.

"How's Pelagia doing?" she wondered.

"_She _is fine," Wilhelmina said, stressing the pronoun. Oihana nodded, getting the message. She turned around, starting to lead the Grand Inquisitor through the halls of the great fortress of Titan.

"Wait up," Wilhelmina said. She stopped and turned around. Emerging from the teleportation room was another group of three girls. Wilhelmina knew them to be part of what was basically her personal team. All of them were incredibly skilled and competent girls on their own, she just assembled them for her own purposes. It was luck that brought three of the five to her today, as the other two were handling things over in the Cadian Sector.

She looked at the familiar faces and nodded to them. She looked over her shoulder. "Alright, we can get going now. The Officio Assassinorum is sending some people over as well, but by the time we're all prepared, they should be here." Oihana nodded, and the group headed off.

The one behind Wilhelmina, the one who had been called Pelagia, never looked at anything else but forwards. She never turned to look at Oihana or any of the Grey Knights. Even as they passed other people, she did not respond to them. No one considered this strange, as if it was a perfectly natural occurrence.

Yet the girl was distinctly unnatural, even in the way she looked normally. There was something else about her, something hidden away from anyone else. She stood now behind the grand inquisitor as she spoke to the chapter master.

"She's the one you killed a while back, right?" Oihana asked, "Popped up again last year?"

Wilhelmina nodded, "Unfortunately, she's hardier than we've thought." But the girl merely shrugged. "She seems to be overstepping her limits this time, but I'm sure she has a plan."

"Any ideas?" wondered the other.

The grand inquisitor shook her head, "Nothing complete. We know that she wants a young girl, Erwine Braune, for some purpose or another. I'm not content with believing what she's said about some ancient weapon, but I'm not content discarding that entirely." She explained, "And she's supposedly back for a second time, so I've no choice but to go there myself.

Oihana looked happy to say, "And we're here to make sure it's for good this time?"

Wilhelmina confirmed that, "Indeed, I'm hoping that if nothing else, we can at least kill everyone else under her, even if she gets away again." She looked to the side through the large widows that exposed the vessel she'd soon be aboard.

Titan was too small to have an entirely normal gravity field and had no real atmosphere. So artificial gravity handled that aspect of things. That meant that ships could dock on the surface of the planet, as the field could be disabled to allow the ships to pull away from their berths, at least the smaller ships.

The _Eternal Lightning _was made to be one those ships. It was only three-fourths of a kilometer long, but was one of the fastest, if not the fastest, ships in the Imperium. It was berthed within the massive space of the fortress, and was the first of a breed that was recovering. Over the past ten thousand years, so much technology had been lost. The multiple schisms had lost even more, and knowledge had been nearly impossible to advance with assorted problems blocking advancement. But in recent times they were making large strides towards recovering. Even as the galaxy was being put back together to what it looked like during the heydays of the Golden Crusade, technology was improving exponentially.

Faster ships like the _Eternal Lightning _were becoming more and more common, as were the larger behemoths of old. The _Eternal Lightning _was a specially designed craft, made specifically to have incredible speed yet still be a solid fighting vessel.

The Grey Knight squad that would be joining Wilhelmina met her and the others at the airlock leading to the ship's bay. "Vera Hermaen," she said, saluting. "6th Company, 3rd Squad."

"You know me," Wilhelmina said. She looked at Oihana. "Thank you for this. I'll get going now. The assassins will meet us out in space."

"Not a problem at all," Oihana smiled. They all said their goodbyes before the Inquisitorial forces boarded the ship. It was fully staffed by an incredibly well-trained crew, who were ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

The airlock tunnels disconnected from the vessel, and the massive hangar doors ahead of the ship opened up. The ship's engines sprang to life as the massive supports for the craft moved forwards. It was pushed out of the hangar, before the engines were fired off. Several hundred meters of space were clear behind the ship as the engines kicked off. The support thrusters on the bottom fired up as well, and the ship pushed forwards, assisted by the lower gravity of the planet.

As soon as it cleared away from the hangar, the doors were closing and the massive vessel was streaking off into the sky, a bright star in the distance the only sign of its departure as it shot into the void.

* * *

The stealth craft was indeed noticed by the _Eternal Lightning _as it made its way towards the ship. It was made to be almost completely invisible from all forms of detection, save magical. Yet the _Eternal Lightning _knew what she was looking for.

So it was clear what was coming towards the ship. The small craft docked inside the hangar of the vessel, where Wilhelmina and the others were all waiting for the newcomers. The ramp descended, and an interesting cast was revealed. The first was the leader of the group. The Umbra were usually the leaders.

The first girl walking down the ramp was somebody Wilhelmina knew. She was a shapeshifter. The shapeshifters there were assassins were extremely powerful shapeshifters, who could turn into almost anything, so it wasn't just shapeshifting, but also extreme matter reformation. They could become actually anything, not just biological things as well. The practice of becoming something artificial was extremely dangerous and uncomfortable, but if it was needed, it would be done.

She was the size of a normal teenaged girl, and had short blonde hair. A light green coat was open to expose a one piece dress that ended about her knees. The dress had a high collar, and was dark green. The coat actually had short sleeves, ending about the elbows, while the one-piece dress's sleeves covered all of her arms save for her hands. Green shoes covered her feet.

She was followed down the ramp by another girl. Wilhelmina didn't know this one. The shapeshifter introduced herself to the others. "Albertine, shapeshifter, Umbra," she said. Last names weren't used in the Assassinorum, it was much easier to just use one's first name, or a name one gave themselves.

The girl behind her had long dark green hair. She wore a pale green sweater, which was zipped up so that what was beneath could not be seen. The long sleeves of the sweater neatly fit her arms, while the sweater itself ended a bit past her waist. It had no hood. The skirt she wore was the same shade of pale green, and didn't cover very much. Her legs were entirely bare, while her feet were covered by bright green shoes, with white socks coming yup just above where the shoes ended.

"Aiday," the girl in green introduced herself, "Biomancer, Umbra." Biomancers were capable of controlling living objects. Control of bodies, anything from humans to insects, started out at minimal and became greater as time passed, but even at their weakest one was capable of doing terrible things to a living organism. Magical repulsion fields did certainly negate many of the immediate functions of their abilities, but there were also capable of creating virulent poisons, with each girl having a different set that she could use. That was the main reason they were popular in the Assassinorum, though they were not exactly rare elsewhere.

There were two more girls coming down the ramp. "Anja," said the first, "Invisibility, Vigil." That meant the girl next to her was most likely an analyst. The two were usually paired in Vigil teams.

Anja wore a dark violet gown, the color alternating to black in some spots. It covered all her body, even obscuring her shoes from sight. She wore nothing else over the gown. Her dark hair was tied in a short ponytail.

"Zifa," the one behind her said, "Analyst, Vigil." She wore a tight black coat on her torso, accompanied by a deep blue skirt. Blue gloves on her hands and black combat boots on her feet, while her hair was a bright blue color.

"The Venator is in the back," Albertine explained, nodding behind herself towards the shuttle. "We need to secure it."

"That shall be done," Wilhelmina nodded her head. Her girls moved forwards to secure the thing.

"To the briefing room," Wilhelmina said, "Come there when you've moved the box to the storage area." Inquisitorial ships that might be involved with the Assassinorum had a special storage area for the boxes which carried Venators. If the box was breached without being properly unsealed the girl might lose it right there.

* * *

Nineteen magical girls stood in the briefing room, only missing one from their total and that was the Venator. Wilhelmina was before them all, the hologram behind herself showing the Hadiens Sector, as well as Ishna Kleimar and her network.

"Over a year and a half ago, Ishna Kleimar attacked Hadiens with a grand witch and killed around sixty million people. After that, she would open a warp breach in the Oksterri Expanse. The purpose of this breach was and still is unclear. It was incredibly brief, theoretically impossible. She was capable of stealing the magical power from another girl, turning them into a witch in the process, and giving the power to herself. At the point when she initiated all of this, she was only a few steps away from godhood. Yet for some reason, she did not use the power as she could have. We know that Ishna Kleimar was born over one hundred and twenty years ago, and served for twenty years of her life under another inquisitor. She was believed to have been killed, but it seems that she escaped our assassination attempt on her."

"For those of you who don't know, we tried to eliminate Ishna, as she was growing too powerful. It was starting to go to her head, and her inquisitor stated that the only chance would be to destroy her. The kill should have been clean and smooth, but she somehow avoided it superbly. We believe that the power she had achieved at that point was more than what we had planned for."

"Nevertheless, we still don't know why she's acting the way she is. All that can be said is that her actions are supposedly working towards the completion of some grand plan of hers. This plan is supposed to use Erwine Braune, the girl who seems to be the center of events, to awaken an ancient weapon, as said by Ishna herself. We don't know what this is, nor how Ishna might have come into possession of information about it, but we can say that it is something that we can't let it be found."

"The Hadiens Sect has gone rogue, believing they are in the right. Theodora Magnissia, an inquisitor, has gone rogue. We believe she has escaped with Erwine Braune Chaos forces are also involved. Long story short, we have no idea what is going on here."

"At this point, everyone is headed for Milita. We will go there, put down any dissenters, then figure out hwo to deal with Ishna and her plan. She should be able to be defeated by all of us combined." Wilhelmina took a deep breath. "We must succeed here. We don't know her ultimate goals, but we do know what she's going to do to get there. If nothing else, we need to ensure that Erwine Braune is safely recovered, she is the key to all of this."

"For now, you're all dismissed. All we can do is wait until we get there, which will be a few weeks, even at top speed." The girls slowly filed out of the room. Albertine came up to Wilhelmina. Pelagia stepped up beside Wilhelmina as well, her eyes carefully watching the girl.

Pelagia had met, even worked with, Albertine many times in the past. Yet she still cast a suspicious glare at her. "Thanks for assembling a team so quickly," Wilhelmina said, reaching her hand out. Albertine shook it. She grinned, "It was no problem at all. We were waiting around for another assignment anyways. It's good to get out and do something different anyways."

"Well I'll see you later," Wilhelmina said. She looked over her shoulder. "I need to get some rest."

Albertine grinned, "Even the Grand Inquisitor, huh?" She jested

"It's amazing, even I'm just a magical girl," Wilhelmina replied as she strode away, knowing the interior by heart.

* * *

Wilhelmina stepped into the large room. The _Eternal Lightning _had highly advanced cogitator systems aboard, enough to perform the duties of an entire crew. Therefore there wasn't any space needed for such people. As a result, the quarters were much bigger. The ship was capable of carrying fifty girls in incredible luxury.

Wilhelmina couldn't say that she had the three rooms to herself, because someone was going to be staying with her the entire time. As she stepped into the bedroom and looked at the huge king-sized bed, she felt the urge to relax. Most of her time was spent handling the workings of the massive organization she headed, and gave little time to rest.

The past twenty-seven hours had been spent handling over a dozen different cases from all over the Imperium. "I'm going to get some rest," she said, turning around to look at the thing that had shadowed her for so long. "Do try to sleep as well," she said to Pelagia. The two girls were just about the same height.

Pelagia nodded. "Is there anything else?" Wilhelmina prodded at the girl, spinning on her heel and walking towards the nightstand beside the bed. She yanked the ribbon from her hair, her long white strands spreading out in every direction, before gently placing the blue cloth on the table beside the bed.

She took off her coat, hanging it on a chair nearby. Pelagia approached her. "I'll sleep when you sleep," she told her.

"Of course," Wilhelmina rolled her eyes, "We're in the warp, with Grey Knights and assassins aboard, what's going to kill me?"

"The assassins," Pelagia replied, her voice clear and calm, "The Grey Knights are undoubtedly loyal, but the assassins work for the Grand Master and the Assassinorum. Should anyone in that organization have a vendetta against you, anyone from that organization can be considered a threat. Furthermore, there is a Venator on this ship. Releasing the Venator and letting her destroy the ship would be a perfect unfortunate accident. Even then, the Venator could come lose on her own."

Wilhelmina sighed. She spun around, grinning just a little. She reached out to pat Pelagia on the head. "Oh…you're such a good little dog."

Pelagia kept staring into Wilhelmina's eyes. "Thank you, ma'am." She said, the comment making her blush, it seemed.

Wilhelmina laughed. "Oh…four hundred and fifty-seven years, yet you never fail to bring a smile to my face." She poked the girl on the cheek and grinned. "That's why I keep you around," she said happily.

There was a hint of a blush on Pelagia's face. "Don't be shy," Wilhelmina insisted, "I won't be mean to you again, not like I was…" She sounded regretful. Of something that was far too long ago to really matter anymore. A hand cupped Pelagia's cheek, and Wilhelmina smiled at the girl who gave no reply. Not even a single word. The Grand Inquisitor merely laughed at the silence. "Oh come now, it's been so long since you left those old ways of yours behind, right? No need to reminisce." Pelagia slightly nodded. Wilhelmina just sighed at her lack of words, "Don't worry, my little traitor. You've proven your loyalty to me a hundred times over, and that's all I need."

* * *

Via chuckled as she strode onto the bridge of the cruiser. "So we lost our heavy-hitter…" she remarked, looking at the other magical girl standing there, "That's probably a bad thing, right?"

"Yes," Lyndia said, cloak still shrouding her body. "But we have reinforcements, they'll be arriving soon."

"It won't hold up to Juno," Via pointed out.

"Correct. But all we need to do is get rid of Theodora, hold out against the sect, and then get out of there. Hopefully we can avoid Juno altogether, unless something unexpected comes up, which we've seen happen before, back on Janicelle," the techmage pointed out.

"Oh Janicelle was fun…" Via said, "You sound sad."

"You were captured, and we almost lost several girls."

"Yeah, but we managed to get Yukie ahead of time." Via pointed out.

"_We _didn't do anything," Lyndia countered in annoyance, "_She _did all the work. And don't break the loyalist, we need her intact in every way."

"She can be fixed," Via pointed out with a grin.

Lyndia shook her head. _Ishna was somehow more bearable than this one, though she was worse_. "Just go, will you?" Lyndia asked.

"Makes me sad, this attitude of yours towards things like this. We could have so much fun together," Via said, her words coming out in a singsong tone as she walked away, leaving just as soon as she came. Lyndia sighed. She only wished that this whole endeavor would end soon.

* * *

Weeks had passed since the betrayals at Hadiens, yet the groups still sailed on through the warp, aimed at the final destination of Milita. Some thought it to be the end, others thought it to be only the beginning. For some, it would be one, for others, it would be the other. For others, it would be both.

Estelle and Nadine stood in Viola's room, a space they'd become accustomed to over the time of their stay. "We'll be leaving the warp in about twenty-four hours," Viola said to the two inquisitors, "Now would be the time to start preparing to break the girls out if you want to."

"Will you be able to distract them for us?" Nadine asked, "Preferably by tripping the alarms to those other decks you described. Will the others be willing to help?"

"If they play roles that don't involve fighting, then they just might. But not if they are going to be required to actually fight their comrades." Viola explained. "What did you have in mind?"

"Just causing general chaos." Estelle explained, "All you need to do is maybe make a few explosions, break some things, then run about avoiding capture for as long as possible, while we get in there and break them all out. We should be able to hide long enough before we leave the warp. We'll get started eight to ten hours before warp exit, how about that?"

"Sounds good, but we need to work out the details," Viola said.

"Get the others in here," Estelle said, "And we'll talk." The younger girl nodded, and walked out. The two inquisitors were sitting in the room that belonged to the younger magical girl. Well, the room that she had been supposed to be staying in. She was currently sleeping in the same room as a close friend of hers.

The five girls soon came back into the room. Nadine set about explaining their various roles in the plan, based on the various maps and cross-sections Viola had managed to secure for them over the past few days. "All you really need to do is cause a distraction. Hurting people is the last thing we want here. All Estelle and I will do is disable anyone who gets in our way, but we should be breaking them out quite easily, given that we now what things look like." She looked at Estelle. "You've the exact timetable,"

"Yes," Estelle confirmed, "We've changed things now. You're going to start causing distractions about two hours before warp exit. None of it will involve the sealed decks. Then Nadine and I move in thirty minutes later. They've caught you guys at that point, so they're looking for anyone else. We trip the sealed deck's alarms, before bolting for the brig. They head to the sealed ones first, and we get some time alone with the guards down there. If all goes well, we'll be escaping with everyone around the time we emerge from the warp, so we can start using our telepathy again. From there, we'll either make our way to escape, or try and hide somewhere using my magic and Celestine's."

"You should just hide." Viola suggested, and warned, "If you fly out, you'll just be shot down."

"Which is why we're going with the former plan at this point, unless we somehow get a miraculous opportunity." Nadine explained. "But we have some time to wait, let's lay out the specifics…"

_To the Goddess and the Imperium…or is to Justinia? She's…'just' someone I love. Surely she can't take precedent over the wider picture. Yet what she says…I can't deny the sense of it, and she clearly believes in this. I can't just straight up disregard what she has to say._

* * *

Elle sat in her chair on the bridge, looking out at all the relatively simple work that was going on. They were in the warp, after all. There wasn't much to be done. Yet Elle could tell that those who were indeed working had an air of tension and fright about them.

She looked around, seeing that there wasn't a single magical girl on the bridge. She took a deep breath as she stood up. There were still plenty of people there not counting the servitors.

"I understand that all of you are very concerned about what is happened right now. I wish that I could say that we are doing the right thing, but I cannot. All I can say is that none of you shall be punished. Once we are caught, which I believe we will be at some point, I shall assume full responsibility for everything that has occurred in relation to this ship."

"Pass this word along. I shall ensure that none of you are punished, unless you directly begin assisting them. And even then…" Her voice trailed away as she sucked in a lungful of air. Releasing it slowly, she said, sternly, "But we cannot attempt to take this ship from them. There are thirteen of them, fourteen if you count Sechylia. They will kill so many of us. And while you might think, it won't be you, or you can just hide…it won't work out like that. Things will go wrong very, very fast. If you people want to, then I do not have the power to directly stop you. But they do."

She sat back down in her chair. "But you're the one who's in love with that magical girl!" one of her officers said. She looked at the man. He was a lieutenant. A trustworthy one. The anger on his face was clear. He turned directly towards her, looking straight at her. Elle could at least appreciate his courage. "Ma'am, with all due respect, I believe that you are being influenced by outside factors."

"What else would you have me do?" Elle asked. She returned his gaze in kind. "What else could we do here? Revolt? Be killed? There's not many options we can pick. There's really only too. Cooperating and living, or not cooperating and dying, or being forced to do this. Theodora and her girls have, hopefully, not killed anyone so far. We have no choice but to trust them, and listen to them."

She tried to put on the most confident face she had at her disposal, but even then, she felt that she would not be taken seriously. "I do not lie to you." She promised him. "I don't doubt that my actions are being influenced by Justinia…but that doesn't matter. There is a bigger picture here."

The lieutenant kept staring her in the eyes. He took a deep breath. His mouth opened. He had an angered tone still, but it was more subdued. "I feel like I speak for the rest of the crew when I say that I am very worried. I don't even understand what's going on here. We don't even know why the inquisitor is doing what she is doing."

Elle nodded. "I can understand that." She stood up once more, taking a few steps away from her seat now. "Inquisitor Magnissia believes that Ishna Kleimar, who I'm sure you've all heard of, intended to use Erwine to awaken some ancient weapon. It's why that person did everything she did a year and a half ago. The inquisitor intends to restrain Erwine from doing anything, and instead find this thing for herself, which she believes will derail Ishna's plan."

"That's far-fetched…" the lieutenant said. He shook his head. "Does she really believe this madness?"

"She truly does. And I think she just might be correct. We all know what happened with Ishna. Her actions didn't make any sense, and she didn't seem to accomplish anything in the end. Magnissia thinks that Ishna's intention was simply to set Erwine on a path to do what she wants for her. And looking at the things Erwine has done, I think that idea might just be correct."

Another officer pitched in, "But did they need to split away from everyone else, capture this ship in that manner?"

"I have no idea why that was done," Elle said, "I'll admit, there are holes in the plan. That's not something I'm denying. But it's the best we have at the moment, and even if it ultimately ends up not being true, then at least something will have been learned."

"You're putting far too much faith in these people," the first man said, "I'm not kidding this time, ma'am. It's been fine serving on this ship, staying out of harm's way, for so long. Estelle didn't get is into trouble…but this is different. I think we need to rethink our priorities once this is done."

"Don't think I won't do that," Justinia said, "We can think about doing something when we reach Milita, as they might leave the ship alone at that point. But we'll have to wait and see what happens." She smiled, putting on a bright face. "But for now, all we can do is continue doing this duty of ours until the end."

* * *

The three girls sat around the small table in the captain's quarters. The tallest wore the uniform of an Imperial Navy captain. The next tallest wore a fine suit. The shortest, shorter by far than the others, wore far more feminine clothing.

Justinia was pleased to be finally speaking alone with these three people, people who she could certainly trust to trust her. At least that's what she thought. Elle still felt plenty of discomfort from the situation she found herself in, but Justinia's reassurances had gotten to her.

She'd had to defuse multiple attempts at revolting by the crewmembers over the past few days, but the officers trusted her enough to help her with that. If one of the leaders tried to organize something serious, things would go downhill very quickly. But as things were, the next three days to Milita shouldn't get too bad.

They were all drinking some tea, prepared by Justinia. She'd always been quite good at doing that. Elle found it quite enjoyable, and even found herself forgetting the situation around her. Sechylia was even more pleased, but that was because she only had loyalties to Justinia.

After being assured that she still meant something to that girl, she was pleased. Justinia looked happy as well. "I'm thankful that you two are trusting me again, even if it's not as much as it was before. I really didn't do this because of either of you." She paused, "I don't think I can say that enough, can I?"

"You don't need to say it," Sechylia insisted, looking up brightly at the crimson-haired girl, "I understand. You're still a good person."

"Thanks," Justinia said. She looked at Elle. "Thank you, again. Keeping the crew under control has been instrumental."

"That's why they put you in? To create a getaway vehicle for them?" Elle asked.

Justinia nodded. "The intention was that the captain would trust me, as would the navigator and astrotelepath. With that, we'd be able to easily make our way to wherever we had to go."

"You didn't want to get too close because you only needed trust?" Elle asked.

Justinia nodded. "I cared for you, and I knew that if I got too close, then it would only hurt you more when things eventually happened. I'm sorry. I wouldn't have gotten close if I hadn't let myself slip."

"Why did you never tell me about this?" Elle asked.

"I didn't tell anyone about this," Justinia said. "The navigator and astrotelepath heard about things when I came back from Hadiens. They both trust me more than Estelle, so they were willing to help out. I couldn't tell anyone, out of fear that they might inform the others beforehand, even if it was just a hint."

Elle nodded, before asking, "What's with you and Theodora? It seems…there's something more to your relationship with her."

Justinia took a deep breath. "I knew you'd ask." She didn't look like she wanted to answer. The answer was definitely there, but it was more about getting it to come out of her mouth. Her foot started tapping on the ground. It was a steady beat. _Tap, tap, tap._ Justinia kept looking forwards. "Do you desire the answer? The honest, truthful one?"

"What else can I expect from you?" Elle asked, almost angered that Justinia would want to hide something.

"We're in love," Justina answered flatly.

Elle dropped the cup of tea. It was neatly caught by Justinia before it had fell even a foot, but Elle was quite shocked. "Yet you still fell for me?"

"My memories of things like that were…suppressed. They are coming back to me now that I can actually think about such things again, without endangering the plan. I forgot that I loved Theodora Magnissia, and I forgot that she loves me."

"Do you love her still?" Elle asked. Justinia nodded in hesitation. "Then what will you do for the time being?"

"My plan at the moment is to do my best to give both of you equal amounts of my time." Justinia said calmly. "There's nothing more I can do, not unless one of you is going to go off and die." Elle looked straight ahead at Justinia. Her face told Justinia that she wasn't ready to exactly believe this. "I understand that this is hard, but it's the truth."

"I don't see what's wrong, here." Sechylia chimed. Both the girl and the woman looked to her. "I mean, if she loves both of you equally, there's nothing wrong, is there?"

"People tend to be very possessive when it comes to love," Justinia explained, speaking as if this was a simple matter of logic. "I am afraid that Theodora and Elle may feel left out because of the existence of the other."

"So what? Your affection for them is equal? Your memories were gone? How can you be blamed? Surely it can't be that hard for them to share with somebody else…" Sechylia said. She always thought in more practical terms than anything.

Elle nodded. "I can live with this, I suppose. You didn't do it willingly, and she had you first. I respect you for at least coming straight out with it."

"Thank you for being understanding," Justinia said.

"I think I should be thanking you for being so accommodating to me," Elle said.

"It's only my nature, I suppose, wanting to help people. I've been like that forever," Justinia said.

"What was your childhood like?" Elle asked. "You know…you never told us about any of that."

Justinia leaned back in her seat. "That was something I was able to remember the whole time, just in case I was asked." She opened her mouth, then suddenly stopped, "Though…" Her face suddenly turned to one of fear, "I don't want to talk about it." It was as though the mere idea of recalling such memories caused terror to surge up in the girl.

Elle reached out, and grasped Justinia's arm. "You can tell us." She said, as Sechylia also put her hand on Justinia's arm.

"We're here for you." Sechylia said cheerily.

Justinia took a deep breath. She shook her head, feeling tears running form her eyes. She was crying. _Tears…_she thought. The experience was something alien. Something that she just didn't understand.

_Tears. _They slipped into her mouth. _Salty…_she thought, almost laughing at the simplicity of her thoughts. She cried harder, putting her tea down. "I'm sorry. I don't want to say anything about back then because…it hurts."

"You don't have to say a word…" Elle said, "Just be quiet.' She stood up, and knelt down beside Justinia's chair. Her arms embraced the girl. Sechylia slid off of her seat and moved over to hug the girl as well. Justinia only cried harder at these displays of affection. "Thank you…" She muttered, "I can't express how thankful I am."

"You don't need to, we're here for you…" Elle promised.

"We'll always be here." Sechylia told her, hugging Justinia tight. The crimson-haired girl was silent for them, yet inside was overjoyed.

* * *

Justinia walked into her own room. The room where Theodora had been resting whenever she needed to rest. She shut the door softly, not turning the light on. She heard Theodora sleeping. Slowly, carefully, she made her way to the side of the bed. Her eyes looked over the small girl's sleeping form. She felt a smile spread across her face.

She looked around, figuring that she had some time to rest. It wasn't like she had anything to do otherwise. As she was about to get into the bed, there was a sharp scream of pain. Theodora's body writhed suddenly, her limbs flailing. Justinia stepped back.

The writhing died down quickly as Justinia leapt onto the bed, turning Theodora on her back to check on the girl. AS this was done, Theodora shouted out again, flailing around again. She started to mutter words. "No…stop…please stop!" Her voice was strained, and whatever she dreamt of, she was in pain in the dream.

She had tears running down her cheeks as she lay there. She moved madly, but she was asleep. Her body was writhing around, but her eyes were closed. Justinia held her down. "Theodora!" she said, "Theodora wake up!" She began shaking the girl.

Eventually she raised her hand and struck the girl across the face. Theodora jolted. Her eyes opened up. She was still pushing and kicking. Justinia fell off the girl's body, but quickly got back up. Theodora looked in fright at Justinia. "Are you alright?" she asked, eyes filled with fear.

"You didn't harm me," Justinia confirmed. She crawled back across the bed towards the girl and slowly embraced her. "What were you dreaming of?"

"You know w-what happened to me. Ishna made sure it was very slow." Theodora said slowly. She shuddered a little, shutting her eyes as the images started to come back to her. "It wasn't pleasant, not at all."

Justinia said. "Try not to think of it," Justinia said, holding the girl tight in her arms.

"Don't worry…" Theodora whispered. "We'll get our revenge…" She giggled a little. Justinia heard something else in that sound. That little sound. It was the sound of someone who was well and truly mad. Yet Theodora put up the greatest shield of lies ever conceived.

Justinia held her tighter. "Everything will be fine," she promised. She couldn't fix Theodora. She knew that, despite not even trying. She knew that only revenge could truly bring Theodora peace. "Everything will be fine. Just go back to sleep."

"I'm scared to…" Theodora said gently. She held onto Justinia tightly. Justinia slowly lowered the girl onto her back. She dissipated her usual uniform, going down to her undergarments, which she slept in. She lay down, pulling the blankets over herself and Theodora.

Her arms reached over Theodora's body, and pulled the girl in close to herself. Theodora turned around, wrapping herself around Justinia's body, and pulling herself in tight. "Please don't ever leave me." Theodora said. The request was a desperate cry for help. Help that Justinia wasn't sure she could give.

* * *

Erwine had gotten to thinking while she was restrained in the brig of the _Yslevia. _Sleep hadn't been an option for a while, at least to her mind. And while she would eventually slip away, losing control of herself after a certain point, for almost two days straight, she was awake.

And thus, she'd started to think about why this was happening. _Ishna's forces want me alive. No, they don't want to capture me alive. They want me alive to do something for them. Or perhaps there have been flukes, and they do want me. Well, it seems that the girls who tried to capture me on Curia were working for Theodora. Is Theodora working for Ishna? _

_I have to assume so, but…Justinia is with them. Justinia's always been loyal, she's always been there. Wait…she survived daemonic possession with almost no repercussions. That means there has to be something more to her. And from what Wei said, another daemon fought Justinia, so what does that mean? _

_There's too much going on here to actually figure anything out, not with what little I have. And I won't get any by laying here. Unfortunately, I don't think I can get out. Justinia seemed to have a bit of malice in her…I'll make her pay for that. But still, why me? Why restrain me like this? What do they even need me for?!_

It would be a while before Erwine would calm down. She was definitely being angered by her current state, and wasn't looking forwards to spending any more time in it.

She would recover soon after, however. _Well, Ishna always said I was important to her. Remember the dreams…yes, the dreams! She made sure that I was at a certain point before we first met. And after that…she kept coddling me, didn't she. She kept ensuring that I would do things like forgive Adrianne. Even in the end, she came to me and cared about me. _

_What do I mean? Wait…the plan. I was the one to awaken this weapon in the plan, right? Therefore, if they took me…that means that this plan has to be nearing its-no. That's not true. Ishna made it out like I was to be the one who would execute all of this. Like I would be the one who would set all of this into motion, and then ensure that it would come to an end. _

_So if they took me and restrained me…then they can't possibly be working for Ishna. Ishna's intention was to have me do things, right? So that means…we've had the wrong idea all along. Back on Janicelle, I was captured, but they just wanted to make sure I escaped the planet. That means…all this time. _

Erwine's eyes went wide. She thrashed against her restraints as she felt tears coming up. _I…I'm nothing more than a pawn. I wished to avoid fate…but in the end, I'm still the center of all of this right. It means that…that the more I try to avoid this, the more powerful I grow…the more chance I have of carrying out Ishna's plan, right? _

Erwine felt tears coming to her eyes, despair growing in her heart. She could feel her gem start to grow dark. _Is this the end, will I just turn right here? _She wondered. She could also feel the cubes surrounding her gem. There was a good chance that they would be able to prevent her from turning, especially if she could turn her mind around.

But she really couldn't. She didn't have the willpower. But…but she could take solace in the fact that whoever had taken her was perhaps trying to avert this fate. _That's why I'm like this, so I can't interfere. So I can't advance the plan. Maybe I should be happy I'm like this. I…I really think I should be happy._

* * *

It would be a few hours later when alarms went off across the entire ship. It was thrown into a huge panic as reports of gunfire, detonations and blackouts started to flow in from multiple different decks.

Reitia's eyes went wide. "That's not possible…" she shook her head, "There's only two of them…this is five different locations!" She looked around. "How long till materium?!"

"Two hours!"

"Damn it!" she cried. "Get everyone down there, try to find whoever did this, send all the guards we can to the brig as well, they're probably trying for the hostages!"

Reports then came in of the guards having eyes on the targets. They started to report that their own were turning against them. And that was when things started to stop making sense for Reitia. "Five of our own, turned against us?!" she cried. A curse came from her mouth. "What did they do? Again, for the brig!" she ordered, "That means the two of them are headed that way! Focus the guards there, and we can stop them easily!"

Yet the chaos and disruption continued as the five girls kept eluding pursuit. They simply fired into the walls with almost no care. They certainly knew what they should probably not be shooting at, but even then, they just fired at random spots. Power systems were down, causing doors and lights to fail, hindering the search teams.

That's when Estelle and Nadine made their move. Communicating with the girls via the voxes they had, they made their way towards one team. Viola leapt down the hall quickly, doing her best to avoid the volleys directed at her. Estelle and Nadine leapt out from around the corner behind the team, striking quick.

The girls were knocked out fast, but only body deaths were inflicted Viola looked at them in shock. "You didn't say we were doing that!" she cried.

"True, we wanted to make sure it would really be a surprise for them. Let's go take out the others! It'll be easier to launch an assault like this." There were a total of one hundred magical girls on the cruiser, and most were now running madly around the decks. But they were spread out and unsure of what exactly was going on.

As Viola led the two inquisitors through the maze of hallways, she slowly began to head downwards to the brig. "We can't keep chasing and hunting them down! We have to free them now, or else there will be fifty girls guarding the brig! We have a chance now!"

Nadine merely grinned. Estelle saw the grin, remembering that the girl had suggested that they go around and eliminate the pursuit teams. As she saw the inquisitor's face, she now realized why. She was counting on only saving Viola, as that would give the girl a better impression of them.

"I'll go for the sealed decks, go for the brig!" Viola shouted, heading off in a different direction at an intersection. Nadine and Estelle continued on the path towards the brig.

"Did they fall for it?!" Reitia shouted, "Get people there, right now?" she took a deep breath. "Wait…somebody was asking about those decks, wasn't she?" she looked up. "Somebody was, right?"

"Yes, a girl, Viola I think, did ask about those decks. It was harmless at the time."

"It's a trap, don't go there!" Reitia shouted, "Pull away, and keep guarding the brig!"

However, things were already too late. Nadine and Estelle had already started in the right direction, and had placed Viola in the perfect spot to save her and then head onto the brig. There were ten girls there right now, and they were all in their twenties or thirties. A formidable force.

There was only one door into the large rectangular area. The cells were small, and the room was two floors high, about twenty feet. The door was being blocked by a shield, while the girls were also invisible. Their weapons were all pointed at the door.

Yet there was another way into the brig. The plan had never been to actually go into the brig the normal way. There were several meters of hardened plating beneath the floor far above the brig and the room itself, but that could be taken care of easily enough. Nadine was incredibly powerful, and thanks to the grief cubes they had gotten from Viola and her friends, several strikes from Estelle and her ripped several meters into the floor.

Of course, this made a scene. But with the entire deck thrown into chaos, there was not a chance of them being located in time. Then they tossed some melta charges downwards, the damage made enough to allow the explosives to break through. The bright flash flared up as the remainder of the plating was burnt away. Nadine and Estelle leapt down into the hole they had created. Nadine made one more charged strike, and the floor was smashed through.

They fell down onto the bridge connecting the two upper levels of the brig. They immediately split up, aiming their attacks towards the doors. To their credit, the defenders reacted quickly. Gunfire quickly began to tear through the air, striking at the walls as the girls dodged and deflected the shots.

However, all that did in the end was weaken the cell doors. The soul gems of the girls were collectively stored in a stasis field in a separate room, which had to be broken through. Nadine and Estelle both leapt about in front of that room. Eventually the defenders had to break formation to close in and attack them directly, as firing would only weaken the door that held off the soul gems from their owners. The ten girls moved in, and only more would be flowing in as time went on.

Nadine and Estelle were suddenly realizing that their plan might not pan out as they had hoped. Storming this many defenders was not going to work out like this, or at least in the way they had been hoping it would work out.

Nadine started to engage them head-on. She was truly a sight to behold. She shouted for Estelle to pull back, start trying to weaken the doors. Meanwhile, Nadine struck again and again at the girls around her. Her whip was a bright point of blue light as it swung around knocking away the combined attacks of ten girls while managing to keep them on their toes. She was burning an atrocious amount of magic at this point.

Estelle could see that the girl's gem wasn't getting bright fast enough. She was beating the others down, actually winning against the overwhelming numerical superiority. The doors opened up and another five girls rushed into the room. They engaged with Estelle. She did her best to maneuver about, but there was no way they could win at this point.

At this point, they were doomed. Estelle didn't think that things would go this poorly, thinking that perhaps she had been far too wishful in her planning. As wounds started to appear on her body, she only thought to herself, _I really messed up. Looks like this means I'll be out of this permanently. _Even if a sudden burst of strength somehow came to her, there was no way this was going to actually work out in their favor.

She found herself being brought down. There were so many enemies in the room at this point. She lay on the ground, her body bloodied and battered. Nadine had released one last attack before raising her hands in surrender as the bright flash and explosion died down. Reitia stormed into the room. "You two…" she shook her head at the two of them, the inquisitors surrounded by thirty-nine magical girls. "You even turned my own against me. I'm disappointed. I thought better."

"I know that," Nadine cut Estelle off. "You really did think better of us. That'd we be smarter. Well guess what, we already won." Nadine looked up at Reitia, grinning madly.

"What?" Reitia frowned, "Your bluff is cute, but it's not going to work. Take their gems. Lock the bodies up, isolate the gems. We'll deal with them when Juno comes by."

"Nice try," Nadine said, "But you know it, don't you? That the force of the Imperium is coming down on you, and there's nothing that can be done to stop it."

"What are you talking about?" Reitia asked. Nadine sprung forwards pulling against the girls holding her. Reitia kicked out. Nadine's body shattered into a huge cloud of strings. Reitia leapt back, knowing what this magic was. It wasn't at all possible for a non-duplicator to make a fighting duplicate. The strings. _Viola..._Reitia thought. "Find them!" she shouted.

* * *

Nadine had leapt up through the hole in the ceiling. She was now looking down with Viola beside her. The girl was almost out of magic, having had to run for about an hour and then create two duplicates, one of a different person. Viola could summon strings, like the strings on an instrument. She could use those to form many different things.

As Nadine had released that final strike, she had leapt upwards. Viola dropped her clone downwards, and had then controlled it. The two magical girls were now running away, knowing full well that they would be caught sooner or later. "Thanks for that…" Nadine said. "It was quite useful."

"You're welcome…" Viola said grudgingly, "But why not Estelle? She'll be more useful when we enter real space again."

"That's true, but I wanted some time with you. Besides, she'd get all annoyed." Other girls leapt up from the hole in the floor behind them but the corner was already turned. Nadine and Viola picked up the pace, headed towards the sealed decks that were used as traps. They would be the last place that anyone would try and look for them.

"What are you talking about?" Viola asked, "Some time with me?"

"Don't worry, I'll explain." Nadine promised, face spread into a sly expression.

* * *

Space flashed bright with a whole array of various hues as the single ship tore through the boundaries between reality and the warp. It emerged out into the silence and nothingness that was the void of normal space.

Even the seemingly endless canvas of nothingness was preferable to the maddening depths of the hell that the ship had just hurtled through. Justinia definitely preferred the silence that might drive some mad to the racket that could do so in an instant, without need for a weak mind.

Before them, the planet of Milita sat in the void. It was far ahead, only a relatively small dot at the moment, at least compared to its actual size. Yet the _Yslevia _shot towards it quickly, and due to the lack of any other traffic in the space between them and the planet, there'd be no need for maneuvering and thus reducing speed.

"The real question is whether or not we read her mind," Justinia said. She was half-focused on looking at the viewscreen at the world they approached, and half focused on speaking to the other girls. "It may be less of a risky boost to our speed, and more of a necessity, depending on when the chaos forces arrive."

"When could they have left?" Sadia asked, "They also have more than we do, so they'd be going a bit slower, right?"

"That means they'll probably be here within twelve hours, but it'll take at least six hours. Adding four hours' time towards the planet means that they'll be on Milita in about ten to sixteen hours. Can we find exactly what we need in that time? We don't even know how to open this thing, we don't even know what we're looking for," Ryouna reminded them all.

"We need to read her mind," Justinia said, "Yes, it may interfere with the plan itself, and things may go bad, but if we don't, then the others get their hands on this."

"What if we're merely the catalyst?" Ryouna asked. The girls were silent as they contemplated the idea. "What if we really are supposed to remove Erwine from the equation, thus allowing for the others to obtain whatever this is? Ishna established that it was Erwine who would use it, so if she's not involved in any way…"

"Correct…" Justina said. Theodora had said nothing so far. She looked at that girl. "What do you think?" She asked.

Theodora shook her head. "No. Remember, we're just here to get one of the pages translated. Unless we hand it to the others, then they won't be able to do what we can do. Besides, we have forces across the galaxy ready to move. We need to take advantage of that fact. What's more is that I'm not going to let somebody else do this for me…" She looked at Justinia, "You understand, right? I won't let somebody else disrupt…disrupt _my _plan. Just like you won't stop at getting your vengeance?"

Justinia nodded. "Let's read her mind. It'll be risky, but if get the parchment translated, then we just need one more. We can just ask Arietta what she said about the location of the final one, and I'm thinking that it's with one of the groups that is coming our way now."

"It can't be the Chaos forces they have one already. So it has to be either the sect or Juno. I'm thinking Juno, as the Hadiens Sect obtained the Prophet." Ryouna supposed.

"Correct," Theodora said. Her words were soft, calm. Yet there was a strange undertone to them. Something that put off everyone in the room. "We need to obtain the final page from Juno, and even then, we don't know if we will be able to even read it. We'll have to wait until Arietta gives us the final clue. It seems her visions can be triggered by showing her the pages, but if we don't have it, then we can't trigger it."

"So we read Erwine's mind?" Ryouna asked.

"I'll go do it now," Theodora said. She turned around, exiting the bridge. After she left, the three girls looked wary.

"Something's off with her," Justinia observed, "Something has been the entire time. What's wrong?"

"She's not exactly entirely in her right mind…" Ryouna said, "Understandable after what was done to her, but there's more than that."

"What do you mean?" Justinia asked.

"We don't know. There's something else that's nagging at her, more than just memories of her suffering. I'd say you're the one best suited to going and finding out what the deal is." Ryouna explained.

Justinia nodded. "I'll go now." She said. "This can't become an issue."

She hastily strode off the bridge as well. Elle had been sitting in the captain's seat, listening to all of that. Ryouna and Sadia remained. "You two…is this all some big mistake, what you are doing? Theodora doesn't sound alright."

"She's a bit shaken up, but her theory is sound, based off what Ishna has said." Ryouna explained.

"Then why not just tell the others?" Elle asked, "Why not share the theory?"

Ryouna replied, "We don't know. She tells us that we can't, and all we can do is trust her. There is enough going on here so that even if we fail, someone will continue on and find this out. All we are trying to do is make sure that Ishna's plan isn't completed. And look at the facts. The sect was attacked shortly after we made our move. Had we not made our move then, Erwine would have been taken by the chaos forces, and they would have gotten away safe and sound with her and Arietta. We seem to be doing well at this point." There was a hint of doubt in the girl's tone throughout the whole explanation.

"But why didn't you explain yourselves afterwards?" Elle questioned.

"The Hadiens Sect, through Arietta, saw a dark future coming if things here were to come to fruition." It was Justinia's turn to explain, "They are seeking to disrupt the plan as well, though they don't understand that it centers on Erwine. Therefore, it can be assumed that it would center around those Erwine has closely affected. Therefore, we cannot allow anyone who was close to Erwine, such as Wei, Mila, Nadine, Laelia, Ayelen, Estelle, and others, to get involved. We have to do things ourselves. We are random, uncontrollable variables in this situation. Therefore, our very presence here is most likely throwing the plan off entirely."

"If you insist," Elle said, but she doubted what she was hearing to be true.

* * *

"Theodora…" Justinia quickly strode up beside the smaller girl. "Are you alright?" She stepped in front of her when no reply came, blocking the girl from progressing. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Theodora looked up. Their eyes met. Theodora reached slowly out, wrapping her hands around Justinia's. She grasped onto her hands tightly. Her lips stretched out into a grin. "Nothing at all…" she said, "In fact, I'd say everything's right. This cursed destiny that Ishna has bestowed upon so many…we're so close to averting it."

She reached out, letting go of Justinia's hands. Her fingers now cradled the taller girl's head. "It's all going to be okay," Theodora promised, "Everything is alright now. All we need to do is translate this page, get the next one, and then translate that." She spun around, swinging her arms out around herself. She came to a stop abruptly, her body shuddering a little. "And then…it will all be perfect…"

"Theodora…" Justinia saw this activity as incredibly strange.

Theodora titled her head back to look at Justinia, arching her back in the process. "Don't worry, Justinia. It's just…it's just that…" she shut her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again. "Ishna took so much from me. I'll stop at nothing…" She cackled a little, "Nothing to see her ruined. Her and all that she intends to leave behind."

Justinia nodded. She was beginning to see who Theodora truly was. The girl spun on her heel, standing up straight once again. She looked right into Justinia's eyes with a joyful grin on her face. "We'll do that…I promise," Justinia said, replying with a similar grin.

Theodora shuddered a little. Justinia saw tears emerge from her eyes. The girl sprang forwards, reaching her arms out. She embraced Justinia tightly, pulling her in close. "Thank you!" Theodora shouted, "I never thought I'd ever see you again! Thank you so much, for everything!"

"Come now," Justinia said, "We're not even close to the end."

"But it doesn't matter…" Theodora said, giggling in a tone that made Justinia uncomfortable despite her joy. "Because we have each other…" Her voice dropped a few tones, going down into a different place entirely.

"No one can stop us," Theodora them grinned brightly. The grin had traces of something else. Truthfully, it made Justinia sad inside, seeing the girl grin like a maniac. "We'll get rid of anyone who tries to stop us, right?" She looked like a little child. But Justinia couldn't fault her, not now. Not after all she'd been through.

Actually, she only smiled in return. "Of course." She said, "We'll win this. You'll get your revenge, and we'll save the Imperium." Justinia wanted to believe those words, and though she questioned her morals, she absolutely did.

* * *

The Assassinorum consists of three cults. First was the Umbra, which is the largest cult. It handles assassinations that involved stealth and secrecy, and employs a massive variety of magical girls. If something was not overt, and was a direct kill operation, the Umbra are called.

Next is the Venator, the cult involved in overt kill operations. If something needed to be destroyed, then a Venator was sent in. They are trained to maximize the efficiency of their magic for destruction. Their minds are also modified so that they may automatically enter a sort of rage state, which negated the use of magic for the maintenance of the mind. The rage state preserved fighting ability, but meant that mental capability deteriorated rapidly. They are further armored with agile yet incredibly protective and powerful suits, which can only be fully operated at the limitless states they can achieve. Most Venators are heretics or girls who had already suffered mental damage, as being one basically involves slowly losing one's mind. When out of combat, they are capable of simple functions and conversation, but not much more than that. Nevertheless, they are incredibly effective. The biggest downside is that they must be sealed inside a stasis coffin at almost all times, lest they lose control. Should they, anyone in the area is bound to suffer.

Lastly is the Vigil, smallest cult. It focuses on gathering intelligence on the enemy, both within and without. However, it has also been given the task of handling any irregular girls. Irregulars not even intended for Assassinorum or Inquisitorial recruitment are sent here first for observation and study. This includes anyone with a never-seen-before power or anyone whose power could be potentially dangerous to others.

-Excerpted from _To Those it May Concern, a Brief Guide to the Sol System and its Organizations_

Titan has always been a far cry from Terra. It was a world that had been made into a massive fortress. Swung out of its usual orbit, it now traces a very wide path around Jupiter, which made normal life impossible. Yet the entire moon has been forged into a huge fortress, a bastion for one of the greatest fighting forces in all the universe

It is incorrect to say that not a single human being inhabits the moons. The fact is that most of the girls there were grey knights, but there were some humans. The more truthful thing to say would be that there were no men who lived there.

The Grey Knight recruiting process is a strange one, different from any other. Incredibly high potential girls are located by their recruiters, who operated as normal inquisitors otherwise. They're then taken from their homes before they could contract. It was a clean process, family and friends are memory-wiped but suddenly find themselves a bit better off financially.

Then they would be brought back to Titan. There, they are informed of exactly what they would face as a Grey Knight. Many girls make contracts at that point, but some do not. If they do not contract there, then they are presented with the option of simply serving in the Grey Knights stronghold, or contracting and joining some other group.

Only those with the greatest potential are brought back, which means that the Knights have numbers usually below five hundred, unless casualty rates are astoundingly low. Some of the girls don't desire to contract at all, so they became servants of the Grey Knights. Many of these girls would go on to make contracts a few years later, after gaining some courage. It isn't at all a bad position, even if one stays in it for all their life.

Juvenat treatments are easy to secure for the human girls, so their lifespans are easily hundreds and hundreds of years, especially given the safety of their homes, and their duties really revolve around mundane tasks like cooking, cleaning, and some other things like perhaps providing moral support for the others.

Overall, there are usually about fifteen to fifty human girls serving the Grey Knights at any time. It truthfully is an honorable position, as the quality of life they enjoy is greater than anything they might have gotten back home, even if they were the daughter of the richest man in the sector.

Excerpted from _To Those it May Concern, a Brief Guide to the Sol System and its Organizations _


	48. The Curtains Open on the End

They were close to Milita now. It had not actually been occupied by the Imperium at any point. It was simply because of its lack of resources. There wasn't much more of a reason than that. It had never had the resources or living conditions to actually present a reason for it to be colonized.

Therefore, it had sat there empty for the longest amount of time. Though it had not been empty in the past. Multiple expeditions had charted the planet, and done some light exploration of the surface itself. These expeditions revealed that the planet had multiple massive ruin sites, perhaps dating to pre-Golden Age times.

However, nothing of note had ever been found there despite the multiple investigations by various inquisitors. It was strange, given that there were three huge sites of ruins. The first was in the middle of a desert on the planet's largest continent. This desert was a massive expanse. Harsh winds blew across the sun-scorched wasteland, devoid of any major signs of life.

Little rain ever came to the place, and there wasn't shade to be found anywhere save under the ground itself. As such, the natural species had adapted quite effectively to burrowing under the ground and seeking refuge from the sun. But the lack of moisture meant that the nights were brutally cold. It was harder to hide from the cold, so the wildlife adapted to survive the cold while outside, and survive the sun while inside.

Nothing too large roamed the planes. The absolute lack of vegetation meant that larger herbivores wouldn't be found. And without large herbivores, large carnivores couldn't exist. Therefore, everything was kept to a small scale. One could not be blamed for thinking that they looked at a dead world while standing amidst the desert.

And amidst this hellish landscape rose a city. Or what had once been in a city in a time long forgotten by perhaps everything. In the center, massive spires rose high into the air, somehow having survived the millennia of erosion that should have torn them down to nothing. Clustered around the base of these spires were massive palaces, stretching for miles and miles, before giving way to absurd mazes of streets and blocks of buildings.

Everything was decaying. Past a certain point, the city just stopped. It wasn't like a real city, where it slowly gave way to the next environment. It just stopped. It was a massive circle that served as a symbol of what had come before. There was no sign of life in the city itself. Some doubted whether or not the city had ever had life in it.

Yet there were two more locations like this one. The first was to the north, on a smaller continent, isolated from the others. It sat in the middle of a great swamp. Tall trees, their roots embedded into the moist ground, stretched into the cloudy skies. Rain fell often, only restoring the reservoirs of water that could be found. The swamp was deep, and was filled with a huge variety of different things.

The cloudy skies, constant rain, and position in the north meant that the swamp lacked much heat. Rather, it was cold much of the time. The wildlife had adapted to be mostly amphibious, and to survive the harsh cold that would sometimes descend. Summers would make things better, but not by much, while winters were harsh and punishing.

The world in this cold north wasn't a kind one. Yet so many things flourished. The variety and amount of life was a staggering contrast to the other city's location. This city sat at the edge of the swamp, beside a huge lake. The city stretched through the swamp. It was hard at times to tell which was which, for they were practically integrated together.

Tall spires reached up beside the tall trees, yet there were no grand palaces. No insanely complex network of streets to navigate. Rather, everything seemed to follow the contours of nature. All was made of the same stone-like material found at the desert site, yet the overgrowth reached over the buildings built not like any human civilization that had come before.

Finally, the last city was high in the mountains, on the same continent that the desert was on, but far to the east. These eastern mountains were cold, even more so that the swamp. The swamp lands were filled with moisture, but these mountains were very high up, to the point where it started to become dangerous to walk about thanks to oxygen deprivation.

The snow-capped peaks reached high into the sky, going miles and miles up. Freezing winds stripped the heat and warmth from everything they found. The snowfall was almost constant. It was too cold for the moisture to not freeze. Dark clouds always sat above the mountains, save for some times in the later spring and summer when there would be a few days of sun.

The wildlife there had adapted to fight against the brutal cold, to resist the tyrannical winds. Even then, it was scarce, and not often seen. But it was there, perhaps a great testament to nature's ability. And amidst these harsh mountains sat a grand city. The spires reached above even the mountain peaks, while the massive palaces were built into the sides of the mountains.

The places had tunnels stretching through all of them, some leading to palaces built entirely within the mountains themselves. The smaller buildings reached down the slopes, onto the plateaus, farther down the mountains. The whole place was built amidst a cluster of three high peaks, and spanned miles and miles of space.

None of these three cities had yielded any secrets to those who had visited searching for secrets. But now, the most recent visitors were not searching for secrets. They knew that secrets were there. They were searching for answers.

Answers to questions that were perhaps far too terrible to ever be answered. Yet it was the instinct of nature to struggle against reality, and survive in the harshest of conditions.

Yet magical girls were perhaps the farthest things from nature that could exist in this universe. So what hope did they have?

* * *

Justinia stepped out of the shuttle, feeling the wind suddenly blow across the plain. She felt thankful for the extent to which her body could be controlled, otherwise this place would terrible indeed. Such an experience wasn't what she desired, for this world that was one of the most important she had ever visited in her life up to this point.

Sighing as her body adjusted to the new temperature, Justinia stared out at the city before her. The center of the place could be glimpsed in the horizon, but for now they were at the outskirts.

All around her was the base camp that Erike and his men and woman had set up over time. It was a large place, featuring a large collection of tents and prefabricated buildings. They had been there for about six months now. The man had been sent by the Hadiens Sect to investigate the planet after one of Arietta's fits vaguely referenced it.

The man now approached them, frowning as he saw Theodora coming down behind Justinia. "You're the one in charge of these people?" he said to the small girl, whom he was about twice the size of, being a rather tall man.

"I am," Theodora confirmed. Erike's camps had been found, and he had been called up by Theodora. Erike knew that he couldn't resist without a group of magical girls on his own side, so he let them come down peacefully.

"And you merely want to explore the city?" Erike asked, his voice expressing his suspicion.

"Of course. It would be wonderful if you assisted us, but if you choose to not do so, then I shall be forced to start slowly killing you and everyone else here." Justinia turned her head at that, looking to her side at the girl.

Erike's eyes went wide. The humans around him were all Inquisitorial stormtroopers. They were ready for a fight, their weapons raised. "You sure about that?" Erike asked.

The storm troopers lowered their weapons. There were ten of them around them. All thirteen of Theodora's girls were present there. Three telepaths could overpower even the heavily shielded humans in a good amount of time. Erike looked around. "Come on, just give me everything. All your research information, I'll rip anything you hide from me from your mind, and I'll do it anyways just so I can process things easier."

They did have all the information from Erwine's search of the place, about seven months before, but anything else Erike had would be helpful as well.

Another session with Arietta had revealed that the lost key was the answer. That didn't make any sense to anyone, but they were fairly certain that something would come up. As the information started to be given to them, everyone looked through the documents given and the memories and knowledge ripped from the minds of the investigators and sent to the girls for any mention of a key.

_Nothing, _Justinia finally concluded, _there's nothing that mentions a key of any kind. They located no locked doors, and scanning indicates there's nothing more. All records from previous expeditions say nothing either. _Theodora had made sure to pull all information on the planet before they went rogue.

Some time passed as they sat around in the base camp at the desert site, which was apparently the headquarters for the whole planet. The humans were uneasy, having been told to go stay in another part of the camp, and not disturb the magical girls. They were not, as they knew that resisting would be futile. Besides, Theodora and the other telepaths were keeping their minds on them. Any attempts to strike back would be discovered before they started.

An hour would pass as everything was checked and double-checked, before the girls moved into the city itself. They started to pass through all the streets. Justinia was scanning everything methodically and efficiently. She knew that all previous expeditions had used clairvoyants and found nothing, but there was no harm in trying again.

They passed through the silent, broken streets, making their way towards the city center, miles and miles away. The wind still blew, howling down the tight streets and empty buildings. Everything was coated in multiple layers of the fine sand that covered the floor of the desert.

It would take a very long to search every part of all three sites. So they all hoped that a breakthrough would come soon, or else they would probably not succeed.

_Carvings on the walls…_Ryouna said quietly. They were still in the outer areas of the city, but she was right. There were carvings on the walls. They were large depictions of scenes, which must have been from the civilization's past. _The lost key…could it have to do with one of these stories? _

_The runes here have not been deciphered. They…_Justinia looked closer. She'd remembered seeing the parchment. _They're similar to the ones on the parchment. They look cleaner, probably a lot younger, but they're similar. _She looked at the other parts of the inscriptions, noticing that stories were indeed told.

Justinia looked at the inscriptions, all the way back down the entire street they'd been walking down, with her magic. _They're telling a coherent story. If we find something that relates to a key, then it might be our answer._

_But where would it be, this place is massive. _Sadia said.

_It doesn't matter, _Theodora said, _split up. Justinia, start using your magic as well. Let's move, we've little time. _They did indeed only have about eight hours left before the chaos forces would arrive assuming the worst case. Best case, they had about fourteen. The search for the inscription began as the girls split up throughout the city.

* * *

The cruiser was roughly six kilometers long. It was about three-fourths of a kilometer wide. About a kilometer tall. That meant that there was a lot of space within the ship itself. Near the rear of the vessel, there were of course the few empty decks, designed as a trap for this very situation. Thanks to the dimensions of the vessel, there were hundreds of meters of total space. There were walls, sectioning the larger rooms off from one another, but the rooms were quite large. Yet there were plenty of small places to hide.

And with an hour before Milita was reached, Nadine and Viola were promised some quiet time. Apparently the decks were also used for some storage purposes. This led to Nadine opening one of the large storage crates. It was filled with boxes that looked to contain rations, but there was enough some space for the two to sit down. They crowded in, Nadine lifting the door back up. Viola sealed it again with her magic. The container was airtight, but Nadine pulled some cubes out of a box in her pocket to restore their gems. The air wouldn't run out for some time, and even then, they'd be able to survive for a while afterwards. Their magical enhancements basically meant that their breathing was already minimized to the extreme.

But the box being sealed meant that they had definite privacy within the pitch black space. More than anything, Viola was still tired from the string of events that had unfolded. However, she stubbornly refused to let herself sleep, and Nadine couldn't help but feel she was the cause.

"I won't hurt you," the inquisitor told the girl, "And I won't let anyone else do so either."

Viola narrowed her eyes, "You let Estelle get hurt easily enough."

"I already told we needed time alone," Nadine said, "But I'd prefer to talk when you're rested. Please, sleep."

Viola shook her head, "I won't, not until I know what you're doing."

"I'm doing what needs to be done," Nadine replied.

The younger girl laughed at that, "Everyone is saying that these days."

Nadine couldn't deny that. "All of their courses of action are necessary, just as mine is, I assure you."

Finally tearing her eyes away from Nadine, Viola sighed, "I won't learn anything until I do what you want, will I?" The grin on the inquisitor's face gave as much confirmation as was needed. "Fine, then I'll sleep." She laid back against the wall, and tried to let herself drift away.

When Nadine was sure that she had, it was a delightful smile she wore, "You'll understand soon," She said quietly, "And then you'll know what I feel."

* * *

It would be an hour of searching before somebody found it. It was a story about what they were looking for. It started out showing a strangely-shaped object. This object would become the focus of the story, as it was eventually lost. The hallway was in one of the grand palaces.

The girls quickly gathered there, examining the long story described by the wall. When they finally reached the end, it seemed to give them the clue they were searching for. This object, whatever it was, could grant seemingly god-like power. It looked like nothing more than a legend, but it did seem to be this lost key.

The final inscription occupied an entire section of the wall. It was a huge image of the thing, and there was nothing else after that. The jagged lines and strange circles that the object was consisted of didn't make any sense. The reality of the thing was brought into question, but it didn't matter.

Before that final part, the murals showed a mountain range, in which the key was finally laid to rest. _That's the other city…_Justinia observed. They looked closer, trying to find any more details as to where exactly the thing was in the other city. None could be located anywhere.

_How will we find the thing? _One girl wondered.

_We'll just have to search. We have some time, and this might end up being the big breakthrough we need to solve this. Let's get moving. _Theodora said. But she waited before doing anything else. She stared at it for a few more moments. Then she turned and moved with the others.

They quickly made their way back to their landing site.

Justinia scanned it ahead of time finding that the humans were all gone. The shuttle was still there, as were all the transports of the humans. The buildings and tents were all still present. _Hold up. _Justinia ordered. They paused near the edge of the city as Justinia looked closer at what was in front of them.

_Certainly an ambush, _Sadia said. Justinia nodded. She scanned the area around the camp carefully, finding the spots were camouflage cloaks had been laid down, where the storm troopers were lying in wait. The other humans were clearly elsewhere. Justinia found disturbances in the sand as well. Mines.

It was an elaborate trap that would have gotten a less-cautions group. But not this one. Theodora stepped forwards, shouting out, "Please reveal yourselves! We know where you are, and we will not hesitate to kill you if you do not comply! You have ten seconds to come out with your hands raised and weapons down. Otherwise, you will all be killed."

An air of tension settled over the area. "Fine…" Theodora said. A wave of fire descended upon the girls, but the shield was already up. "Kill them…" she told Justinia.

Justinia shook her head. "Theodora, we're not going to just kill them. We can just teleport away." Several heavy weapons released their payloads at the shields. Bright flashes of lascannons didn't strain the shields in the slightest, and even as missile launchers sent up plumes of smoke and flames, nothing really taxed the shields.

"We have to kill them…" Theodora said. Her voice was dropping down into a different tone now. It was a strange one, one that Justinia didn't really know the meaning of. "They're trying to stop me. Didn't you say you'd be with me?"

"Not like this," Justinia shook her head, "They are just humans. They have no idea what's going on, and see us as heretics. Rightfully so, might I add."

Theodora giggled a little. She raised her gun, aiming it towards the sources of fire. The humans were moving about, struggling to remain moving so as to provide less of an easy target. _Teleport us! _Justinia ordered their teleporter. The girl was more than happy to agree with the idea.

Theodora's hand tightened on the trigger. But the magical girls were already gone, teleporting hundreds of kilometers away. It would take two more jumps to get them to the plateau upon which the mountain camp sat, but they were there.

The inquisitor spun about. Her twintails flew out behind herself, rage on her face. "Why?!"Theodora screamed at the teleporter. She spun around to face the girl. "Why did you listen to her?!" she looked at Justinia, "Why did you say that to her?!" She looked less angry, more scared, like she was desperate. Justinia slapped her.

Theodora recoiled, taking a few steps back. She looked with wide eyes at Justinia. "Don't," Justinia said, "Act like this. Theodora…I know things aren't good for you right now, but please, stop this."

She gritted her teeth, staring angrily at Justinia. "You don't get it…" Her vision got a bit cloudy as she felt angry tears coming to her eyes, but she was disrupted by the camp nearby.

The camp was in a panic, obviously having been notified of the presence of the magical girls by the others. Yet they stopped when they saw those very people appear before them. A few pulled out guns, firing off shots at the shield. The others didn't fire. They were unsure of just how far down the rabbit hole they wanted to go.

The shots didn't do anything to the shield. Theodora growled, raising her gun again. She turned to face the firing humans. Justinia leapt for her. Several shots were deflected by the shield that now prevented anything from going out of it. Theodora shouted out in anger as the humans backed away, realizing that they would be able to do anything.

Ryouna's arms glowed as she sent a blast of light at them. The humans were attracted to the thing, even as it faded away. It was known to all the girls that the illusion didn't hurt anyone, it just distracted them, scared them. Justinia had wrestled the gun from Theodora's hand. She wrapped her arms around the girl to restrain her, as the inquisitor kicked and screamed like a child in a tantrum.

"Stop this at once!" Justinia shouted, "Theodora, please!"

"You don't understand!" Theodora shouted, tears coming from her eyes, "They're going to stop me! They don't understand!"

"Exactly! They don't know what's going on! Leave them be. We can handle them, they can't even get through our shield!" Justinia said. She spun the girl around, pulling her in close. "Please…" She held Theodora tightly, kneeling down to push her into her shoulder. "Please, remember what you've been fighting for."

Theodora calmed down after a few moments of tears. "Alright." She said, "Let's go. We need to hurry as fast as we can." There was still an air of tension and anger in her voice. They leapt over the camp, beginning to ascend the slops.

"It'll probably be buried within the center of the mountain," Justinia guessed. "However…it has to be something mundane that a scan would miss. Nothing hidden like that."

The girls split up. Theodora and Justinia went alone. Justinia made sure that they went along with each other. They didn't want to go on their own in case the enemy showed up during the search. Or that was what Justinia said, to ensure that she could calm Theodora down.

The little girl was stressfully storming through the halls, her face not conveying anything specific as they moved into the mountain itself. They were headed to look at one of the palaces built into the mountain. There was a good chance that whatever they were looking for was here.

But they all understood that they may not be necessarily looking for a key. It could have been merely a clue to point them here to do something else that would lead them to something else.

The dominant noise in the dark halls was Theodora's angry footsteps. Justinia merely followed behind, not saying anything. She made sure to move fast enough to not fall behind, but she didn't want to try and compete with the girl. She really did care for that little thing that was running ahead of her, and she knew that Theodora cared for her.

But something was wrong with her. Justinia scanned the area, looking carefully at the walls of the long corridor as they traveled down it. Theodora was ten feet ahead of her. Some time passed. Eventually, the end of the corridor was in sight, opening into a wide space. Justinia called out. "Theodora!"

Theodora came to a stop. Surprisingly, she spun on her heel. Her eyes had a glazed look to them, like there was something else in her head. In reality, there wasn't. Her arm raised a gun at Justinia. "What do you want?" She asked. "To stop me? To stop the dream that _we _share from coming true? Don't you care about anything anymore? Or are humans more important to you now?"

Justinia carefully began to step forwards. Theodora fired. Justinia stumbled back a little bit. She swallowed, looking down at the wound in her shoulder. Justinia looked with wide eyes into Theodora's. "Why?" She asked.

"You're going to stop me…" Theodora's hand shook as she instantly regretted her decision. Yet she also did not regret it. Her other hand came to grasp the gun, "I can't let you stop me!"

"I'm not going to stop you, I don't want to stop you…" Justinia said. She reached out towards Theodora. "But you're just confused. Everything has been so hard, I know. Keeping up this façade, acting as though you actually care about other people. I get that it couldn't have been easy. Recovering from all that was done to you…I know that couldn't have been easy. But you need to understand, we're all in this together. Those humans out there only know Erwine by name, they haven't been affected by her in a personal way."

"They don't need to die, they can just keep doing what they are doing. Right now, we need to focus, and thin very carefully about what we need to do in order to move forwards and get to the bottom of this. If we can't, then we give up our chance to actually figure this out."

Theodora did lose some conviction. It didn't look like it, but she wavered for just a brief second. But then she shook her head. "No…none of you want to help me. You all want to stop me!" Justinia leapt forwards. She ducked under the bullet Theodora fired, rolling to the side to dodge the next one. She leapt up from the roll to take a bullet in the stomach before crashing into Theodora.

She wrapped her arms around the girl as they went to the ground. Theodora's arm was pushed to the side by Justinia as the girl pinned her down. "We're not doing this anymore…" Justinia said, looking down into the girl's eyes.

"I can't promise anything…" Theodora said, her eyes filling with tears. "Sometimes…I just can't control myself. I just…I just can't stop myself from being like this. I get…I get so scared." She dropped the gun. "I'm scared…" Theodora said, "What if we fail? What if we're forced to live on throughout the entirety of this cursed plan…? If we fail…then people are going to die."

"That's what you want, isn't it?" Justinia asked. She looked into Theodora's eyes, seeing the absolute despair in them. "You want to break free from this plan more than anything else in your life, don't you? You don't care about anything else besides getting freedom. It's not about revenge, it's about freedom."

Theodora nodded. "Ishna kept telling me…she'd sometimes visit me, sitting there, and she'd keep telling me about her plan. She'd taunt me, telling me that I was nothing more than a pawn to be used. So I became determined to break free from her plan." The girl's entire body was shaking, to the point where Justinia was beginning to be worried about her physical well-being.

"We can break free," Justinia said. She leaned down, gently kissing Theodora. "I promise you, we can break free. We can stop this plan, gain control of it."

"Am I insane?" Theodora spoke in a soft whisper. "Sometimes…I don't even know myself."

"You might just be…" Justinia said, "You were trapped there in pain for twenty years, with Ishna constantly taunting you. I'd say there might be something wrong." She quickly followed those words, however. "But I won't leave you alone. I promise, I'll always be with you. We'll get through this together, and we can live a happy life."

"Thank you…Justinia…" Theodora sounded like she was going to say another word there for a second, but she corrected herself. Justinia didn't even question that. She held onto Theodora tighter, as the girl wrapped her own arms around Justinia. They lay in the embrace for some time Theodora crying softly.

Her tears ran down to stain Justinia's suit. The moisture was going to leave a terrible impression, the girl knew. Nothing that magic couldn't fix. Justinia just held Theodora tighter and tighter, almost squeezing too tightly, remembering all the time that they had shared together in the past.

Before that event that had torn them apart, they had really been in love. Justinia knew that to be true. All the memories were there in her head. She cherished those memories. She remembered a bright, vibrant Theodora, who didn't hate anyone in the world.

A Theodora who loved her, loved her like anyone might love someone else. It wasn't anything special, but it was so incredibly special. It hurt Justinia, seeing the person that she felt so much affection for reduced to this pitiful state. A state where she was willing to turn on her own, to massacre humans, just to escape from a destiny that she rejected.

"I won't rest until we can be together forever…" Justinia promised. "I swear to you…"

"You really do promise me that much?" Theodora whispered.

"Of course." Justinia said. "I love you, Theodora, how could I not dedicate myself to making sure that you're alright?"

Theodora didn't reply to that. They'd been laying there for quite a long time now. Justinia had given out a quiet message to keep all telepathic traffic away from her and Theodora unless it was absolutely necessary that they hear it that instant.

So far, they'd been in silence. Only the breathing of the two girls could be heard. Then it ended. _The walls, _one of the girls said, _the walls are the key. The inscription was the massive symbol on the wall, right? What if this thing is hidden behind a wall somewhere? Perhaps in some cavity. Or perhaps destroying the right wall will trigger something. I know it's outlandish but it's all we have at the moment. _

Justinia and Theodora both reacted to this. "I suppose we should get moving…right?" Theodora asked.

"We should," Justinia agreed. "I apologize, but we have no more time to spend here."

She stood up, blood coming from the wounds in her body. She was already healing them, but she helped Theodora up from the ground.

Theodora looked around. She turned towards the large opening. "Looks like we're close to getting to some important spot." They looked around at the walls.

"Yet we should be checking those first. I'm not sure what exactly to do with them." Justinia said. She summoned one of her rocket launchers. "I suppose this will do the trick. Enough to cover all four parts." She started firing down the way they had come, checking the area for any places where something had been revealed.

Explosions echoed through the halls as Justinia began firing all around herself. The stone wasn't being damaged by the shots, so she could do all she wanted. That discouraged them, as it didn't seem like this was the right way. Besides, the numerous scans that had been conducted should have revealed something.

Theodora stuck close to Justinia. She grabbed onto her hand, Justinia levitating the launchers around herself. Justinia slowly walked down the hall, deeper into the palace. No one had found anything so far. Then someone else give some advice. _The walls. They seem to have similar inscriptions. Perhaps we can find a story about a key. _

Justinia started scanning again, they all started looking. They kept looking. They didn't have that much time. They needed to find the way to translate this thing fast, or else they would be caught by the chaos forces. Justinia started leaping through the halls as she started to scan for the inscriptions.

They were not everywhere this time, only in the deeper parts. So Justinia and Theodora made their way deep inside. They started to look around. _Justinia, _Theodora said, _we should link our minds, shouldn't we?_

Justinia wasn't surprised by the proposal, and had no reason to reject. It was more that she hadn't done in what felt like a long time. She wasn't close enough with Estelle or any of the others to have linked with them. Nonetheless, the girl nodded, brushing aside those ingrained fears of exposing her mind to another.

They encountered rooms both large and small. Ranging from huge amphitheaters to tiny bedrooms. Justinia scanned miles of space. But they found nothing in their area. But it didn't matter. They were still thrilled to simply be together. Even if it was on some forgotten ruin of a world. Despite everything else that weighed them down, that simple fact was enough to bring both joy.

They were together. Theodora finished setting up the link. The two girls did pause, both stumbling for a brief moment as their minds fully fit together. Then they were one. Justinia immediately dived into Theodora's mind, and started to work to sort the various feelings in there apart from one another. It was easier to communicate about things this way.

So she set about reminiscing about the past, thinking about the experiences they had shared. All the times that they had spent together. They hadn't found anything. A few minutes passed. Justinia was just looking through all that was part of Theodora's mind.

They were now slowly walking through the palace, having discovered nothing of any major significance. Suddenly both dropped to the ground. Justinia had been merely working her way through Theodora's vast collection of memories, seeking to regain fully her own. The connection was ripped out forcefully as she advanced further back. Theodora had been the one to do it. She staggered back, hands going to her face. Her entire body shook as she breathed hard.

"What's wrong?!" Justinia cried, quickly standing up.

"It hurt!" Theodora shouted, then stammered out more quietly, "It was hurting my head…I'm sorry." Justinia hadn't realized she was hurting her, but didn't pry any further. She figured it was merely the fear bad memories being brought to light by the action.

_A door! _One girl reported. _We found…something!_ She sounded unsure of what was actually discovered._ Come here, quickly! _Her rough location was given, and Justinia was able to find her and direct the others to her more accurately.

But she was more focused on the girl she was immediately with. "Theodora, what's wrong? You can tell me anything"

Theodora looked her in the eyes. Sternly, she said, "No there's nothing you need to worry about."

Justinia felt that was a lie. "I'm here, just tell me what you have to say."

Theodora shook her head. "I can't because…there's nothing to be said."

Justinia looked into her eyes. She then grabbed Theodora's hand. She pulled her along as she leapt away. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Theodora and Justinia came to them as they stood before a wall that stood out from the rest. It stretched for dozens of feet, but not the slightest sign of damage or decay was present. Unlike the ruins that surrounded it, it seemed strangely fresh.

The frescoes upon the stone, which despite its condition looked no different from the rest of the city, showed nothing that would indicate it was important. However, it was. For their mere presence was changing something about the wall. A blank section near the floor, just large enough for a human to fit though, glowed a strange white-like color, like that of mist.

Theodora approached the wall in awe, feeling some sensation in her mind. Almost like it was being read, but not by any telepath. Tentatively, she reached her hand out, afraid to lay her fingers upon the door. "It knows we're here," she whispered as the wonder of the realization struck her. "It's a program woven into the wall, it's recognizing our presence as searching for it." Theodora's hand stopped just before making contact with the wall. "This is incredibly advanced," She said, "I can't imagine what kind of power one would need to make something like this."

"The kind Ishna had?" Justinia asked. Theodora looked over her shoulder, and nodded. For the moment, and as long as the next step was in sight, Theodora was calm. She turned back to the wall, and Justinia stepped forwards as her hand continued to move.

Gently, the fingertips pressed against the obscured surface, and passed straight through. Theodora didn't retract them, though behind her Justinia appeared to be worried. As the girl's hand passed in up to the wrist, she felt nothing on the other side, only what seemed to be a void. Suddenly, a slight reverberation passed through the wall, and the misty color began to retract towards the center. Theodora quickly yanked her hand out, while the light reduced to a pinprick before disappearing entirely.

Sadia walked up beside the inquisitor. Despite her magic not focusing on it, she was still an expert in magic theory and programming. "I think it was a trigger of some kind," she guessed. Her arms crossed, and she ventured, "I'd imagine it changed something elsewhere. We should check the one in the desert again."

Theodora stood up as she thought out loud, "So it's a trigger for a network that covers the planet…" She sighed, "After the moon of Vasillica it's to be expected but still…"

Justinia kicked them into motion once again. "I'm sorry, but we can't afford to hesitate. Every moment we waste is giving the enemy more time to close in." Theodora turned to her, new energy filling up the girl.

"Don't worry," She said with a smile, "We'll win."

* * *

Long before the shuttle would have touched down in the desert, they were already teleporting away. A couple quick blinks took them to the site of the previous inscription, and sure enough, the wall glowed there as well. "Just here, then we go to the last city," Theodora said confidently as she approached. Her voice was filled with delightful expectation. Everything had gone smoothly. Far too smoothly, one could might say. But such considerations weren't in her mind, more than anything, Theodora merely wanted the delight of derailing the plan.

Carefully, she reached into the wall, and once again it shuddered and began to close as her wrist passed through. "We're doing it," She whispered, a triumphant grin spreading across her face, "We're really doing it, I can't believe it." Theodora stood up, and spoke as she turned around. "Just one-" A gasp silenced that final word as she saw who stood behind them.

They all had their helmets on, but the foremost one took a few steps forwards, twirling her scythe. The girls could almost feel the crazed grin she had on. "It's funny how you think you've won. Haven't you ever considered that this too was written into the plan?"

Theodora narrowed her eyes as the others materialized their weapons, "Erwine is the center of Ishna's plans. She is the constant that is always present. By removing her from the situation, I'll ensure that what happens here is not in line with that plan."

The traitor knight shrugged, as though she didn't actually care. "Believe what you believe, but it is quite funny that you heretics go against one of your kin."

"We're not heretics," Justinia spat back, "We're helping."

"Oh, well I'm just trying to help too," the mage knight said, shrugging, "By cleaning the universe of existences like your own. Consider it a favor to the Goddess herself."

The girl moved forwards. Her scythe was a glint in the dim light as the bright energy poured from it. The mage knight received a kick to the helmet, her scythe being redirected. Justinia's body glowed as she stepped back, her knife in her hands.

_Get out of here, _Justinia said to the others, _I'll hold them for as long as possible. _A second passed, no one but the traitors were moving. _Get out! _Justina shouted, _I'll hold them! _

The group teleported away right as Justinia dodged to the side, avoiding the first volley of fire which merely deflected off the glowing wall behind them. "Interesting," the leader of the traitors said, "Burning magic that fast…you're something special, aren't you?"

Via leapt forwards, swinging her scythe again. Justinia dodged again, her reflexes easily matching those of the girl who was over twice her age. She struck out with the knife. The blow was far faster than any blow a normal magical girl could strike, and ended up cutting into the armor of the traitor.

"And here I was thinking that this would be no fun!" Via screamed, leaping in. Justinia leapt and rolled around her attacks, continually striking at the armor. She was starting to leave long rends in the thick coating.

The other traitors were firing at her. She managed to dodge all of that, only being hit by a few lucky, well-placed shots. Even when she was hit, the wounds were surrounded by a red glow and regenerated incredibly fast.

"What are you?!" Via screamed, out of excitement, not fear. She didn't sound scared at all. Rather, she sounded like she was having the time of her life. She and Justinia were just two blurs now, leaping around the large hallway, clashing in storms of flurries of untraceable attacks.

A human being would have hard-pressed to keep tabs on anything that was occurring during the fight. And when the bright shots coming from the other magical girls who leapt all around, attempting to get a bead on Justinia, were added into the mix, the room turned into a huge mess of bright flashes.

But even Justinia, with her somehow incredible power, could only hold out for so long. It was only eight point four seconds before she had to stop attacking, and switch entirely to parrying and dodging. Six point seven seconds later, she would be hit by a blast from a cryomancer.

The ice shard, took her in the arm, and she was forced to slice it off, less the ice be spread and immobilize her. She had only her left arm now. But she was slowed down by the hit, and then took multiple shots to the stomach. A bullet blew her brain in half, leaving her with half a skull.

She kept moving.

_It's possible, _Via thought, knowing that any girl who had at least five years or so could easily operate even with her major organs destroyed. But Justinia was slowing down. A moment before the final thought that would have destroyed her hit, a girl teleported in. They disappeared right as the volley cut through the space she would have been in.

Via came to a stop, smiling. _Did we trace that? _She asked the rest of the traitors.

_We did, but the others are already zeroing in. Should we go? _

_We've nothing better to do. _Via replied. The girls gathered together, and then they were teleporting off towards the current location of Theodora and her girls.

* * *

The outskirts of the city were a bright mess of lights and strange patterns flying through the air. Ryouna was burning magic fast to set up massive illusions, obscuring the entire area from the view of their enemies. Her telepathic connections with the rest of the squad meant that her allies were able to see just fine, but the other girls had no such ability.

But the girl was still filled with the suppressing fire coming from the couple dozen magical girls. It wasn't clear how many there were, but it had to be around thirty. The entire city was filled with the detonations of them. Most of them were cloaked and shielded. The others were the melee girls, who were jumping in to take potshots and anyone who was exposed.

A running battle had been fought after Theodora and her girls teleported away from the center. It had been five seconds since they left, and the place was already absolute chaos. Justinia was still in there, still fighting.

Theodora leapt amongst the buildings, coordinating with the other two telepaths against the four the enemy had. Theodora and her comrades would fall eventually, but they had to hold out for as long as possible. The battle in their minds was going to be long and strenuous, given that in one's mind, time passed much, much more slowly, due to the higher state of awareness.

Explosions ripped through the streets as she held up her single pistol. It was a single summon weapon, but it was very effective. She fired shots with the full automatic weapon at random out into the places where fire came from.

For the enemy, the area was a huge mess of bright flashes and fake girls. Ryouna was a very powerful illusionist, but wasn't very good at actually fighting with her weapon. To the eyes of the traitors, there were around one hundred magical girls jumping around, and they were constantly obscured by random flashes of light and trails of patterns tracing through the sky.

But Theodora's girls could see perfectly fine. That meant that the chaos girls who were not stealthed or shielded were completely open to being shot at. The projectiles that came from Theodora's girls were obscured by Ryouna, given different origins, or just straight up made invisible amongst the chaos of whatever else was in the line of sight at the moment.

Explosions ripped through the area as Sadia tossed grenades everywhere. She detonated them on command, making the explosions as large as possible. She wasn't trying to destroy anything in particular, merely trying to create more chaos. The streets were filled with detonations, and any exposed girl instantly had a dozen explosives coming at her.

But the enemy was responding in kind. For all the fire that Theodora's girls could put out, there wasn't much that could be done against around thirty mage knights. The heavily armored girls were returning the fire, and even more so. The enemy had an electromancer, who was covering the skies with bolts of lightning, actually electrifying the air to the point where it was becoming dangerous.

Fire from the assorted ranged weapons of around twenty girls was ripping through the area. Despite Ryouna's illusions, clairvoyants could still see through it with some effort, and because the enemy had two of those, things were going downhill quickly. Projectiles of a dozen different colors sliced into Theodora's girls. Ten seconds had passed before three were down already.

Now everyone had to be under the shield that had been set. Yet even then, they knew that they wouldn't last long. In only five seconds, three of their number were out of the fight. Their soul gems were safe, but they were going to be hard-pressed to heal the wounded.

The girls were now making their way towards the edge of the city in one group, Ryouna focused entirely on obscuring their exact position, which was only aided by the invisibility they had as well.

Yet the enemy had one more telepath than them, so they were receiving practically constant updates of where Theodora's girls where thanks to that fact. The extra telepath didn't have the leverage to push through and make mental attacks, but skimming minds and ascertaining the surroundings was all that was needed.

Theodora checked on Justinia. The teleported went to get her as the shield collapsed. The girls, some carrying the gems of their friends, scattered into the buildings.

Theodora had tears in her eyes as she leapt through the door of one. She fell to her knees, realizing that no one else had followed her in. It had been fifteen seconds since the battle began. Theodora's eyes were wide, before two more people appeared in the room.

She looked up, seeing the teleporter and Justinia. Well, Justinia's ruined body. The gem was glowing. Theodora leapt up, grabbing the gem and tossing the body aside. _Let's get out! _Theodora shouted. The teleported quickly moved around. There was no way to stop her, even as the enemy teleporter sprang into action.

Theodora and the other two telepaths suddenly put all their powers together. They were about to burn all their magic in one last strike. Theodora shut her eyes, simply being carried along by the teleporter's jumps as she retrieved everyone. Her mental form focused, glowing bright as it squared off against the mental form of the enemy.

She and the other three girls sent one last blast of an attack at them, managing to break through for just a second in order to disrupt the enemy network. Both the other telepaths then passed out. Theodora was the only one up. But they had disrupted the enemy clairvoyants for a split seconds. That opportunity was used as the girl teleported away.

Theodora pulled an extra box of cubes out of her pocket as they appeared in one of the planet's northern forests. She instantly swapped out her nettings as she started focusing a mental barrier.

The enemy, thanks to the nearly suicidal actions of Theodora and the other two, had not been able to trace them. However, they were now on the run, and were down several girls, at least until those girls could recover. Theodora slumped to the ground, leaning back against the tree.

She took a deep breath as the other girls did the same thing. She looked down at Justinia's soul gem in her hand. It would have to regenerate the entire body from scratch. Theodora felt even more tears in her eyes as she looked at it.

It had been thirty-three seconds since the battle began. Theodora took a deep breath, looking over her body at all the various wounds that covered it. The blood flow was already ceasing, and she was already beginning to heal. The mental shield was going to go up soon, and they wouldn't be found for some time.

But if they were found, they would have no chance of escaping again. There were six other girls whose bodies were active. Ryouna was one of them. Sadia had been hit right as they were leaving. They'd brought her body. The two telepaths had their bodies. The other girls who were down would have to regenerate from scratch, which was why their gems were currently placed in the boxes of grief cubes they had.

Theodora looked around, breaking down into tears as she clutched Justinia's gem close to her chest. She pulled her knees up close, burying her head in them as she wept. "We're not going to win, are we?" She said quietly, "We're going to fail. If the chaos girls don't get us, then the sect will. If the sect doesn't, then Juno will. And who else knows what might be coming here?"

She shuddered, "We came her for nothing, didn't we? This whole long journey was just some fool's errand."

Ryouna opened her mouth, about to say something. That was when a reply came from Theodora. A reply to herself. "No…no…I didn't do this for nothing. I didn't survive through all of that…I didn't come back for nothing." She took a deep breath. Her head came up.

Theodora's face was covered with tears as she whispered. "We're not going to back down. No…we're not going to give up until we've finally won this. I don't care if all our lives have to be thrown away. We'll finish this…we'll stop them…stop _her._"

* * *

Elle looked at the girl before her. She had a good idea of Erwine's character, and thus could feel bad for the way the girl was at the moment. She figured that after a week of being like this, Erwine would be more or less completely crazed. Probably crazed for revenge against the person who had reduced her to this state, but still.

She had heard that the girl wasn't doing very well. So Elle decided to not inform her of the way things were going at the moment. As they'd heard nothing from the planet since the chaos vessels got into teleportation range. That did not bode well, but Elle did not jump to any conclusions.

She simply pulled away from the planet, and was pleased to find that there was no serious attempt at pursuit. She took a few steps forwards, looking over the girl's body. Truly, she'd had to deal with a lot of dissent over the past few hours, coming from the crew who wanted to just leave the system.

Yet Elle believed in what was being done, so she'd been resolute. However, there were more of them than there was of her. So she'd made a deal. In twenty-four hours, she would leave the system. Until then, they would remain at a safe distance.

Still, Elle didn't like the deal entirely. _I can live with it, but I can only pray that Justinia's going to be alright down there. _She realized that she only did care about Justinia, despite there being a much bigger picture.

The captain was tempted to just free Erwine now, allow the girl some release. Or she could at least talk the girl. She removed the various things which blocked Erwine's senses, restoring the abilities of sight, sound, hearing, and speaking to her.

Yet all Erwine could do was say, "No." She looked at Elle. "Don't let me out of here. You can't."

Elle frowned, "Erwine? Are you alright?" She wondered if Theodora and her girls had done something to Erwine's mind. There was a definite chance. However, Erwine looked quite sincere.

"I am," Erwine confirmed, "But you cannot allow me to interfere. If I do, then everything goes wrong."

"You speak of their plan…" Elle said, "You can't seriously believe that, can you?"

"I do believe it, if it's keeping me from doing anything," Erwine replied, "I've figured it out. Ishna always said I would be the one to do this. She guided me in secret for the first week or so of my time as a magical girl. All this time, Ishna's forces haven't been trying to capture me, they've been trying to keep me alive. I'm the one who's important here. If I die, then Ishna fails."

Erwine looked into Elle's eyes. "I'd say kill me right now, but tell me why they haven't done so yet."

"They want to find whatever Ishna was looking for, and use it for good. They think that they might still need you, so you're still alive." Elle explained.

Erwine groaned. She looked straight up. "If they had any sense, I'd be dead already."

"Don't talk like that," Elle scolded.

"What do you mean, 'don't talk like that'?" Erwine shot back, "If I die, then this plan fails. So if they kill me now, this thing would be gone forever."

"But there's no assurance that someone else won't try to find this, to make another you. They're trying to put this to rest for good. Theoretically, keeping you like this does prevent you from getting involved. That's what they say, at least."

Erwine nodded in understanding, "That's good, then they know what they're doing in that respect then. However, you have to promise me. If things get bad, then I need to die."

"I can't promise that," Elle replied. She waited a few seconds before she stood up. "I'll be going now."

"Not before you put all that back," Erwine said, "I shouldn't even have been talking."

"You're this serious?" Elle asked. Her gaze found the depths of Erwine's eyes. In those depths, she saw something that just made her sad. "You…you really have given up, haven't you?"

"If there is a chance of using this for good, or destroying it, then I have something to exist for." Erwine replied. She felt tears coming to her eyes again. "But if not…then well, I've nothing." She started to weep now, "I've realized…that from the very beginning, Ishna was molding me into something to use. The only reason I became like this was just so Ishna could use me. She set Adrianne up to become the person she became, and that ensured I would be made."

"From the very start, I've been nothing but a fake. Something that Ishna made up to fulfill her needs. I could live with being a pawn of Adrianne, she had a good heart. But Ishna was insane. For all my life…I've been nothing more than a pawn to a madwoman." Erwine broke down into sobbing entirely. "I'm not a real magical girl. I'm just something Ishna dreamed up one day, something she created to fulfill her goals." The girl couldn't stop crying, not saying anything anymore.

Elle took a few steps back. "I'll go get some more grief cubes…" she said, thinking that the supply was most likely running very low.

Erwine didn't care. After all, what was the point to her existence?

* * *

The two fast escort vessels were bearing down on the even faster ship. They wouldn't catch up, but they could definitely pressure the small one away from Milita. Antoinette looked in the viewscreen, currently showing behind them, as the two escorts struggled to accelerate.

They were a ways away from Milita at this point, and they doubted that they would be able to get any closer. At least at this rate. Upon arriving, Antoinette's ship had made a beeline for the planet, only to be chased away by the two enemy ships that had latched onto the idea of destroying them.

Thirty minutes since then, and they was no sign of the pursuers having second thoughts. The captain had an idea though, which they were currently acting on. The enemy ships were accelerating, struggling to get into weapons range at least. However, their acceleration and maneuverability wasn't exactly the greatest in the world.

The small ship that Antoinette was on was designed for such qualities. The plan was to make the enemy ships get going as fast as possible, before braking and turning hard towards Milita. The escorts would overshoot the ship entirely, and they'd have a chance to get onto the planet. Perhaps not in the most ideal of circumstances, but they would get there.

There were only five minutes away from executing the plan. If the other ships decided to try and defend the planet rather than just orbit it, then there was no chance of getting there. So they had to move fast before that decision was made.

Finally the mark came. Everyone in the ship could feel it as every possible way to generate backwards thrust was fired off at maximum power. The engines were shut off as the ship began to drop into a turn.

It was tense, watching the enemy vessels approach. The shields shook as lance fire rained down, the turn slowing them down enough for the escorts to open fire. They didn't have much time before the enemy broadsides would be in range.

The turn was just about finished. They would get into shuttle range. The captain ordered the engines to full. The small ship became a bright flare as the engines started up again and the route was stabilized. The broadsides of the escorts ended up failing to strike anything, the speed of the craft far too great.

They struggled to turn, but were unable to with their own speed too high and their maneuverability too low. The small ship shot off towards Milita. It wouldn't slow down, only just enough for the shuttle launch to be good, before it would be headed off away from the planet.

Antoinette and the others raced to the hangar. They got into the shuttle. "What do we do down there?" Guan asked, "We can't take them all on alone."

"We find Theodora, and try to do something with her. We don't know her motives, but she's the closest thing we have to an ally at this point in time." Antoinette replied. The doors opened before them and the ship shot out.

The starship flew away from Milita as the smaller craft burned through the atmosphere, headed down towards the night side of the planet.

* * *

Viola rested against Nadine's chest. The younger girl was asleep. Though she'd gone to sleep against the wall, the tight confines and the girl's seemingly natural restlessness eventually led to her falling over onto the older girl. The inquisitor didn't mind. Her hand gently stroked Viola's hair as she leaned back against the wall of the container.

The warp had been exited, and Nadine could presume that within another hour, the sect would be headed down to the planet itself. However, that did not mean that Nadine could leave just yet. She knew that the sect would take control over the orbit, unless the traitors had more up their sleeve. Therefore, they'd be able to get up to their ship whenever they felt like it.

They wouldn't have the numbers to leave the cells heavily guarded, however. Nadine would be able to perhaps get some of them out, if not all. But it would all depend on the way things unfolded below. She would have to count on Reitia focusing on the bigger threat.

Nadine felt the younger girl stirring, and flinched as Viola pushed herself back in a moment of shock. She stared at the inquisitor in confusion, before she rubbed her eyes and cleared away the cloudiness brought on by the unrestful sleep. A brief glance confirmed her surroundings, and she sighed. "Do you even have an idea as to what we're doing?" Viola asked tiredly.

The inquisitor pursed her lips, and while she appeared to be staring off into the distance, she was in truth carefully weighing the options before her. "Well, there is certainly a plan." She confirmed. Viola rolled her eyes, to which Nadine replied, "You don't seem to understand."

"You think?" Viola snapped;

Nadine shrugged, "I don't know what you think you know." She said, then added, "But I do know what I'm doing." The girl grinned, and continued, "And I'd like to make sure you know what you're doing."

Viola furrowed her brow, "What do you mean?" she questioned.

"You have a roll," Nadine explained, "In the plan, I mean."

The girl's eyes opened wide, "You can't mean-who are you really?" Viola was on guard now, and slowly started to push herself away.

"I'm Nadine Edicossen," the other girl said simply as she grinned. "That is all I am."

* * *

Reitia looked at the space ahead. The chaos ships were already retreating away from the planet. They didn't want to fight, and that was sensible of them. Reitia was arriving with a force twice their size, after all. That would give the sect complete orbital control, as long as they stayed out of teleport range, that is.

And that is indeed what was done. The planet was surveyed, and the traitors were found to be mostly in the desert. The desire to simply glass them was strong. Reitia didn't want to actually find this thing. She just wanted to ensure no one could find it. Therefore, all she had to do was destroy everything on this planet.

She didn't even care that Erike might still be alive down there, along with the others. It would be trivial to declare exterminatus, and simply destroy the whole thing.

They were in range. She was ready to give out the order. It would be sad, watching a whole planet die, but it would remove those who would bring about a terrible future. "Ma'am?" the question came from the captain, "Should we?"

She nodded. "Do it…" she said.

The man nodded. The planet was targeted. Broadsides were ready. It wouldn't take long. _Please don't. _The message came from the _Yslevia. Please, Reitia, don't do this._ Transmitted by the astrotelepath, but coming from Elle.

Reitia gritted her teeth. _Why not? _

_Theodora and the others are still down there. They don't deserve to die like this. Please, just go down there and stop this from happening. You can probably beat off the traitors with your numbers! _Elle was desperate. _Besides, I have Arietta over here. If you destroy the planet, then she dies! _

_Fine, _Reitia replied. _She's too far gone anyways. _Reitia said. Yet she held up a hand. Not a single shot had been fired yet.

_Wait…Reitia wait. I'm hearing something. _It was the _Yslevia's_ astrotelepath speaking now. _She's…by the Goddess. I'm serious, Arietta is reacting. _

_What do you mean?! _Reitia screamed.

_She's seeing something!_ The astrotelepath shouted._ I tried to wake her up, to get her to talk you down. I told her that you were about to destroy the planet, and all she's doing is screaming no over and over again! _

_Link me to her mind! _Reitia demanded. She was linked in. She instantly recoiled in terror, feeling the pain and horror that the girl had to be feeling in her mind at the moment.

_Arietta! Arietta! Is this because I'm about to destroy Milita?! Is it?! _She vaguely made out the sound of yes being screamed in reply, amidst the rest of the chaos in her head. Reitia shook her head. _Arietta…has she been wrong before? Is she lying to me, was she…_she looked up. "Call it off. We're going down there. Arietta reacted, there's a chance that she's seeing something bad happening if we destroy the planet."

"That doesn't make any sense," the captain replied. "We should just do this."

"Yes…" Reitia agreed, "But it _will_ only be killing the people down there. We have Theodora's reinforcements approaching. We have to deal with them as well. Let's get down onto the planet first, and try to sort things out."

"This is incredibly impulsive," one of her subordinate girls pointed out, "We could end this now, and easily deal with Theodora's comrades."

"That's true!" Reitia said, looking that girl in the eyes, "It's so very true…yet….everything we've done has been based on what Arietta has said. If what she's saying now is correct, then destroying this planet will be just as bad as failing in our mission. Let's get down there, and try to figure this out."

* * *

Elle looked at Arietta, laying in the bed before her. Elle wished that entire thing was a ruse mad up to fool the enemy. She wished that she was enough of a genius to do that. Yet Arietta's pain was real. The girl's eyes were rolled back into her head, and her entire body was convulsing wildly.

Elle didn't understand what was going on. The magical girl in the bed had been like that ever since it had been suggested that Reitia was going to destroy the world. Elle was just sitting there, afraid to leave the girl alone.

She looked at her, again and again, running her eyes up and down the length of the girl's body, covered by the sheets. She wondered if things would ever get better. She wondered if things could be worse.

Arietta suddenly strained very purposefully. It looked as if she was trying to sit up, but could not. Her eyes came back down, her head turning to lock eyes with Elle. "Did…did they do it?" She asked, he voice strained, barely coming out of her mouth.

"No, Reitia didn't destroy Milita…" Elle replied, disturbed by the sight before her.

"They were going to close the door…" Arietta said quietly, out of breath. "Good…it's still open."

Elle got a disconcerting thought in her head._ What Arietta had suggested was not destroying the planet. Destroying the planet would go against the plan Ishna had. Could it be said that Arietta was still working for Ishna's interests. _Elle's eyes went wide as Arietta laid back down.

The captain stood up, running out of the room as the realization came to her. _Ishna has been playing the sect all along. Arietta…was she just something to get to the sect to kick all of this off, to turn us against each other, and then…by the Goddess…that can't be true! _Yet something in Elle's heart told her that it was true.

She shook her head, trying to focus on something happier. Yet at this point, it was more than just Erwine who was a pawn.

* * *

Over four hundred years had taken their toll on her ability to be interested. Though she'd made it a mission to read every book she could, the grand inquisitor of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial inquisition couldn't help but feel a bit bored every time she opened up something new. That being said, she found herself enjoying it soon enough, for some reason or another.

Yet she was brought down from her high spirits by the other girl in the room. Still covered up in that black cape, the girl sat beside the bed Wilhelmina laid upon, doing nothing but watching the room around her. "One hundred and sixty-four years, right, Pelagia?" Wilhelmina said quietly as she folded the book and put it to the side. She glanced around the room and a nostalgic grin came to her face. "I was on a ship just like this one when I came to see you," She said in a distant voice.

The dark-haired girl's eyes closed. "One hundred and sixty-four years, two hundred days to that day, five hours and ten minutes till we first saw each other again." Her tone was a melancholy one, not quite satisfied with such memories.

"You act as though you regret it." Wilhelmina observed, rolling onto her side to look at the girl. A few moments of silence passed, till she just grinned. "Of course, we've had this discussion a hundred times in those however many seconds since then." She thought for a few moments, "Do you sometimes want it to end, your long life?"

Pelagia didn't reply, not till her violet eyes were lined up with Wilhelmina's, and even then, it was not much of a response. "Do you?"

Wilhelmina looked about to be amused, till her mouth fell shut and she frowned. She had to think for a few seconds, before she shook her head. "I'm still seeing new things. As long as time keeps moving forwards, people, the universe, will keep moving forwards." She shrugged, "So I don't think I'll ever get bored."

"I see…" the other said, turning her head away.

The grand inquisitor rolled onto her back, and stared up at the ceiling. "Indeed, without this long life, we never could have met each other again, right?" she asked.

A bit of a sniffle came from the girl to her side, as though she was about to burst into tears. "It was my fault for that in the first place," she said quietly.

"You're like a child, you know?" Wilhelmina commented coldly without moving her head. "One thing is all it takes to break you…"

"No offense, ma'am," the girl choked out, "It is only you who can do this to me."

The white-haired girl smiled "You've said it so many times," she commented.

Then both gasped at the same time. _Someone else is on the ship, _the same message had come to the both from Zifa. Wilhelmina was already leaping from the bed while Pelagia already had the door open.

_Get to the Venator room first. Engines next._ Wilhelmina ordered. The ship was small, and they were fast, so theoretically they could reach both anything serious could be done. But at the same time, they were in the warp. Anyone else being there in the first place was an absolute impossibility.

Into the hallway they emerged, right as the ship shook violently. It was something Wilhelmina had felt before. _Engines are gone_. Came the navigator, _initiating emergency warp exit. Backup generators holding Gellar field, we're safe. Calculating estimated exit point. _

The astroclairvoyant was already preparing to immediately scan their surroundings once they dropped from the warp. Theoretically, they'd be safe, for space was a very large place. However, there was always that chance of jumping out into anything from a raging war to the event horizon of a singularity.

There was something more to worry about at the moment, and that was whoever had done that. Pelagia ran ahead of Wilhelmina, gloved hands clutching a single large pistol with an elongated and stylized barrel. "Don't hurt the ship, if you could." Wilhelmina requested as they neared the engine room, and Pelagia nodded in affirmation.

The "Yes ma'am," was barely off of her lips before she was bursting through the doors into the engine room, only to find nothing but ruin beyond. No trace of anyone save the destruction left behind.

Wilhelmina stepped past the girl to briefly survey the damage. Already, the ship was shuddering intensely as it exited the warp. The Grey Knights were running up behind her as she started to speak, "We were attacked in the warp, by someone who was not previously on the ship. She disappeared, just as a certain someone has come and gone without a trace twice before."

Amidst the flames, she turned around to solemnly declare, with a fair bit of fear in her voice, "She's not dead."


	49. That Which Makes One Whole

Lyndia stared at the wall before her. Via and a few other knights were in the room, but most of the magical girls were not knights. They were the traitor techmages who followed Lyndia. Their leader frowned as she ran her eyes over the wall again and again. "Definitely some sort of trigger they activated," she said, "There'll most likely be others in the other cities."

Via sighed, "So we need to go all over the planet, and then what?"

Lyndia contemplated for a moment, "I'm betting it'll be down in that chasm we spotted. We need to hurry after them, we can't let them get there first."

The knight beside her asked, "Can I kill them _this _time?"

The techmage rolled her eyes, "Yes. They're all valid targets at this point. All we need to do is ensure that we secure the parchment. Other than that, they can all die."

Via's face was quickly filled by a devilish grin, "Oh, that's simple wonderful."

Not bothering to respond to that, Lyndia frowned, and wondered aloud, "Then why do we have the Hearth Knight. There doesn't seem to be any reason for her presence."

"We don't really know why that girl acts as she does," Via pointed out, then muttered, "We don't even know who she is."

Lyndia nodded, though she felt strange agreeing with the girl's worry. "I want to believe that's she Ishna, but that girl's dead. We heard nothing about her, it makes me feel as though she wasn't something that was planned for."

"Then what do we do with Yukie?" Via asked. The girl had been brought down to the surface with them, but was currently body dead and restrained.

Lyndia shrugged, "For the moment, nothing. No matter what, just don't kill her. If she might be useful, we'll keep her until we can prove she isn't. We ourselves understand that we don't know everything."

* * *

The mountains that stood above them were imposing, looking down with scorn upon the four little girls that approached them. Yet the mountains were the fools in this situation, for a mountain couldn't move another mountain. Magic could move mountains, however. Given the time and effort, it could do anything.

Yet Antoinette knew that no matter how strong one was, if they did not have certain skills, then there was to be no chance of them resisting those who had other such skills. And while half of the enemy telepaths were engaged in hunting down Theodora, the other two were engaged in the steady attack upon Antoinette and her girls.

No direct contact had been made at the moment, but they were currently engaged in staunch resistance against the consistent mental attacks. They knew that they were going to fail eventually, but they had to keep going, no matter what.

They could also take pride in the fact that they were perhaps buying Theodora some time. That was about all they could do, given that the nearest of the three cities was about eight hundred kilometers away.

Antoinette could feel the consistent pain of the telepathic assault, the sign of which had evolved into something resembling a monotone drone in her skull. It was of course far more discomforting than that, but that was about all that could be described to anyone else.

She was in the lead, and was the main target of the telepathic attacks. She'd managed to hang on for the past twenty minutes, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to do so much longer. And that would mean that all four would be out of the fight within about an hour and a half.

Antoinette did understand that their only hope was the Hadiens Sect arriving and further distracting the enemy. The four girls were leaping up the sides of the mountains, seeking to cross over them quickly after having landed nearby. The enemy forces had deployed fighter craft to defend the planet, and that had made approaching the city impossible. In fact, they'd actually really crashed into the ground.

Antoinette kept stumbling, the mental attacks getting worse and worse. She wasn't communicating with her comrades with telepathy, having shut her mind off from everything else. A closed mind like that would help, and would mean that it would take just as much time for the others to fall.

Yet they would all still fall. Antoinette tripped, almost tumbling down the whole slope before she was caught by Rozenn. She held on tight, planting her feet into the rock. Rozenn yanked her forwards as Antoinette leapt forwards. She came back up to the same level as the others.

Then her eyes went blank for a second. "Kill me," she ordered. Telepaths could only interfere with a mind that actually existed. While a soul contained the contents of one's mind, it could not interfere with the outside world, and the outside world could not interfere with that mind.

It was possible, of course, for a telepath to induce despair in one's mind, and come very close to inducing a witch transformation. Rozenn was the one to strike. A blade of ice slice the girl's body in half. They took the grief cubes and the soul gem. "What do we do now?" Guan asked, already feeling the telepath start to target her.

"We keep moving. We can buy some time. If the Sect gets here soon, then that will give us a chance." Rozenn replied, "Unless we can somehow block this."

"I doubt it, highly." Skelia replied. "There's just nothing that can be done."

"We keep moving," Rozenn suggested. "If this Via person is in charge, then she just might want to come out and play, we've read the records on her past appearances." The girls agreed. They moved out, going as fast as they could.

* * *

Viola woke up. She was still in Nadine's lap. "Come on," Nadine said, seeing the girl's eyes open. "We need to get moving, they should be going down to the planet at this point."

The brown-haired girl nodded. "We're going to free the others?"

"We're going to try to," Nadine said. She looked down into the girl's eyes. She saw something more. "I'm sorry that got you wrapped up in all of this."

The girl looked down. "If this is _that _important." Viola gripped hard onto Nadine's arms, hanging on tight. She steadied herself, looking back up into Nadine's eyes. "Then I can do this. I promise."

"If you say so…" Nadine replied. She felt a pang of remorse. No, not just a pang. A pang was simply a fleeting feeling, something that would leave as soon as it came. This was more like a heavy weight that she had to carry, along with the rest of what she had.

The girl stood up. She turned around. Their air supply was running out, so it was refreshing for both of them when Nadine sliced open the container. They quickly made their way back towards the door to the rest of the ship. "Will we trigger the alarm?" Viola asked.

They hid behind a corner, looking down at the hole that was where it used to be. "It should all be off at this point. And it doesn't matter. We head right for the brig anyways." Nadine said.

She leapt forwards, Viola following her. The scanners had yet to be reset as the girls leapt through the opening, before sprinting through the levels of the ship for the brig.

It was some time before they came to the space above it. They'd yet to have to hide from any magical girls. Any humans they encountered were disabled quickly and effectively.

The passageway which contained the hole that was blasted open was sealed off. It would be a hassle to get into it once again. "What do we do?" Viola asked.

"Don't worry," Nadine replied, "I was betting on this happening. We can just walk right in."

Viola's eyebrows were raised. "Excuse me?" She asked.

"No need to worry." The inquisitor said, "You'll see."

* * *

Sure enough, the two arrived in front of the main entrance to the brig. The doors were still sealed tight. Their arrival had not been unnoticed. Nadine knew that they would have to be keeping some girls behind to watch out for them. She betted on ten at most.

The main entrance to the brig was a pair of heavy doors. The corridor leading to them was one way, tight and narrow. There were three magical girls at the end of it. Nadine grabbed Viola. Her whip flashed as the girl's eyes went wide. Blood spurted out into the air as a sharp crack echoed through the halls.

The brown-haired girl fell to the ground convulsing as she grabbed for her throat. Nadine held her soul gem in her left hand. She raised her right foot. The three magical girls advancing towards her grimaced as Nadine crushed Viola's skull with the heel of her shoe.

Nadine held the gem out. "Come on," she said, "I got rid of Estelle and the other traitors for you. Here's the last one." The three girls frowned, wondering what Nadine's game was.

"Did Reitia not tell anybody?" Nadine asked, almost laughing at the idea. "Well, I did tell her to keep this all a secret. You see, I've known about this for a while. I handed you Estelle."

"That doesn't make much sense," one girl commented, "Given that you freed her in the first place."

"I had to make sure that she understood something about all of this. Her trust in me had to be absolute, for later purposes. I can show you right now, if you want." Nadine said. She was still holding Viola's gem out. "I mean, I'm only going to help you. More of you than there are of me, what can I possibly do?"

The three girls looked at each other. They sent a message to the planet below. Yet Reitia was engaged with the enemy at the moment. And they were doing their best to try and block her from communicating. Nadine would have grinned if it wouldn't have given away her secret.

She did count on Reitia being in the middle of combat. But she did realize that the message would still get through. "Fine then. If you don't want her, I'll just kill her." Nadine moved to crush the gem.

"Don't," one girl snapped, taking a step forwards.

"Sorry," Nadine replied. "But that door's going to take a few seconds to open." She moved her whip. It was actually stretched out. Had the girls not been distracted by the way Nadine boisterously confronted them, they might have noticed that it did not end where it should have ended.

The weapon had been made to blend in quite well with the floor and the walls. And now, it curled around the one who had stepped forwards. The door started to open. Nadine pulled the girl close, grabbing the gem and holding her.

The other girls reacted. An axe was in the hands of one, a girl in green, as she rushed forwards. Yet something Nadine held made her stop. The grief seed hovered precariously above the girl's gem.

"Want to know what would happen if I were to slip?" Nadine asked, "Well, you'd be in for some trouble. We'd all be in for some trouble." The doors behind her opened. She started walking backwards, already knowing she couldn't be stopped.

She released the body, kicking it forwards. The girl was still active, but her gem was in Nadine's hands as the girl walked back into the brig. The shield generator dropped her shield as the three girls advanced. The doors were shut. Nadine was now in there holding two soul gems. There were six magical girls. All six were in front of her as she walked back towards the doors.

Nadine hadn't actually purified her own gem that much previously. This grief seed was close to the breaking point. She suddenly reached to her own gem, leaping to the side as the cloaked girl's shot whizzed through the air where her head was.

The grief seed glowing brightly as Nadine tossed it out. She hated using grief seeds as weapons like this. The seed itself was fine to carry around, the magical girl inside wasn't aware of the world around herself. But in witch form, there was only pain.

Yet she did what she had to do. The seed flashed black, before expanding and growing outwards. They were all in a different space now, Nadine tossing the girl's gem back to her, while keeping Viola's in her pocket.

She ran around the forming witch, hoping to get out of the labyrinth quickly and break out the others. The girls would be more focused on taking down the witch. Ending a girl's suffering was hopefully more important than freeing people. Nadine ran as fast as she could as the sounds of combat echoed behind her. It looked like a garden-like space was forming.

Ahead of her was a set of bars. Sensible, given that a newly formed witch always represented the place where it formed. Nadine cut through them, and emerged into reality. She ran for the back of the room, where the gems would be. Nadine knew Viola would already be regenerating out there.

For now, she started slashing at the door again. It was made to stand up to a concerted assault from a magical girl, but Nadine had a full gem of magic. The cubes she had left gave her another one. And she was over eighty years old. She would be able to get through with what she had.

She took a few steps back after leaving a few scars on the door, her body glowing as she began to charge her energy. She took a deep breath, feeling the energy run through her body. She focused on gathering it all at the very end of her whip. Hitting something with the massively charged end of the thing would tear it apart.

A girl's magical energy could be manipulated in any way she wanted. So Nadine could direct it all forwards if she wanted to. She wasn't going to do that, just create a space large enough for her to get in. After a minute of charging, Nadine struck. Her most powerful strike was summoning a dozen more whips along with the single one she had.

Using such a large burst and combining it with her charging would take a lot of energy. But it would be worth it.

Nadine struck. There was a bright flash in the room where she was the only person. When the flash disappeared, the door was no longer there. The edges of the hole were ragged and crinkled as Nadine leapt into the room. She grabbed all the gems in the circle, counting exactly eighteen, as the Janicelle girls had been taken as well. Luckily, all the gems were healed to maximum.

She would need to monitor some, but most of the girls would be able to fully regenerate with no further support. Nadine leapt for the doors, hitting the activation switch as she held the gems in her pockets. The doors opened wide enough for her and she leapt out.

Viola's head was back, and Nadine tossed the gem to the barely conscious girl. The room behind her was flickering as the witch's labyrinth faded away. Viola was about to stand up when Nadine grabbed her and ran. She carried her down the hall, getting as far from that place as possible.

She'd won for the time being, and that meant that she'd be able to quite easily take control of things from here. That was when the ship started shaking as if it was in combat. _Did Theodora bring friends? Or are the chaos ships getting involved? _Nadine wondered to herself.

* * *

Theodora hadn't brought friends, it turned out. The second guess was the correct one. The chaos squadron had circled around and was now headed back towards the opposite side of the planet. The cruiser pushed ahead of the four escorts, which fell behind and turned off in a different direction, seemingly on a trajectory to exit the system. Yet the sect forces, which were led by the heavy cruiser, packed two more cruisers, as well as three lights along with eleven escort frigates, easily outnumbered and outgunned them.

The cruisers were seen coming, but they were headed fast towards the opposite side of the planet. They would get into teleportation range, but whether or not the ships would survive was another matter entirely.

The pair of traitorous vessels did indeed get into teleportation range, but as far as the sect knew, nothing went up or down. _Then just engage them! _Reitia ordered,_ wait? Nadine's back? Damn…just try and contain her, alright? Don't need to catch her, just don't let her interfere! _

So the lead cruiser, the lights, and the escort frigates all turned and headed over the planet itself, arcing towards the position of the enemy vessels. As the sect squadron flew over the planet, the battle was opened in the traditional manner. Long-range lance fire was exchanged as the escort squadrons, consisting entirely of torpedo boats, headed off to the side to circle around. The light cruisers advanced ahead of the heavy, opening fire along with their heavier partner.

The two cruisers returned fire, the exchange of beams attracting the attention of other ships. The chaos forces approached quickly. They wouldn't arrive for another hour, but they would bear down on whoever lost the battle.

The traitor captains were intelligent, and realized that the torpedoes were far more of a threat than the rest. They turned diagonally, accelerating. If they could get closer to the frigates, then they would ruin their attack angles. The frigates were circling at the moment, heading into wide turns towards the cruisers.

The way things were going to pan out now, the frigates would have to turn even harder to actually get decent runs on the enemy, and would be exposed to the cruisers broadsides for some time.

And this allowed the cruisers to open up their broadsides to the other ships as well. The Hadiens formation was deeply flawed, or so it seemed to the traitor captains aboard the two cruisers. The four traitor escorts were still headed outwards, effectively forgotten about by the sect.

There didn't seem to be much point to the maneuver that was occurring. There was no way that the chaos forces could actually beat the superior numbers they faced. They would be able to put up a solid fight, and do a large amount of damage, but they'd still go down in the end.

As the broadsides of the chaos vessels reached out to bat at the shields of the frigates, the opposite sides of the vessels lit up as well, sending salvos of massive projectiles through the void at the main force of the sect.

The frigates were still turning hard, as fast as they possible could. But the chaos vessels were now turning hard to starboard. That would bring their port side against the main force and their starboard against the frigates. It would simply switch the sides.

However this maneuver was estimated, and this was where the trap that had been set up was revealed. While five of the frigates kept on turning, in order to force the cruisers, which they were only thousands of kilometers from, into a turn, the other six started going straight. So now, no matter where the enemy turned, they'd be caught by a force of the torpedo carrying ships.

And now the cruisers were in range. Their own torpedoes were away, bright points making their way through the void. The exchange of fire between the two forces wasn't close to intense.

They were thousands of kilometers apart, and while their shots went quickly and struck hard, blooming into bright flashes of magnificent light, there was no close-range gunfight as some liked to imagine naval combat as.

Such brawls would only get both sides killed in a very short amount of time. Here, maneuver decided the battle, not just raw firepower. And the Hadiens Sect was about to learn this, as the four frigates were now turning in towards them. They were a ways away, but they were still a threatening force.

Nevertheless, it was clear that chaos cruisers were now trapped in between the guns of the cruisers and the torpedoes of the frigates.

Two of the smaller vessels had already been blown away, and the others were starting to suffer serious damage, but they were still closing in.

Eventually they loosed their torpedoes. Streaking through the void, the several dozen projectiles homed in on the cruisers. The traitor ships straightened out, showing broadsides and training all their guns on the quick-moving objects.

Many were cut down before they reached the shields of the vessels, but those that did hit ripped into the defensive barriers. The chaos frigates were still fifteen minutes from extreme range.

The shields were about to fail on both vessels. Yet the battle was not even close to being over.

* * *

"Captain…" one the crew called on the bridge of the Hadiens Sect's lead ship. "Uh…something's gotten into our system."

"What?" the man replied. He looked at the techpriest on the bridge, "What's going on?"

The techpriest tapped a few buttons, looking at the screen before him. His mechanical voice replied, "We must shut down the engines immediately. The ship's systems are being targeted by a highly virulent code."

"Get rid of it!" the captain said, "It's just scrapcode, right? We've defenses!"

"It's not scrapcode…" the adept replied "In fact…this is something that I've never seen before. The only possible comparison I have would be a virus released by the Necrons, but even then, this is far more potent. I cannot hope to stop it, and if it continues at this rate, it will be about ten minutes before our systems belong to another individual. We need to shut down now, or else this infection will continue."

"The ship's machine spirit?" the captain asked.

"Not replying to anything. The code seems to have somehow…no. It's somehow integrating with the machine spirit. The spirit seems to have been absorbed by this…"

"Where's the signal coming from?"

"From the _Yslevia!" _the reply came.

"What? Are they in league with them! Inform the inquisitor of this at once!" he looked at the techpriest. "Will we seriously lose control of the ship?!"

The shields of the ship shut down. The guns went offline. "They are currently disabling everything. It won't be long before our own systems are entirely rewritten to be under their control."

"Disable the engines! Do it manually if we have to! Now!" the man ordered, only feeling complete and utter fear at what was going on.

* * *

"We're detecting a signal from inside the ship!" the lieutenant shouted at Elle.

"What?!" she asked, "Electronic?"

"Yes," the man confirmed, "It's sending to the Hadiens Sect cruisers, the ones engaging the chaos forces."

"What's it doing? Hailing them?"

"No idea, we can't seem to interfere with it in any way. All I can is that it's coming from around the middle of the ship," the man explained.

"That would be the crew quarters. Their technomancer can't be doing this, her range isn't thousands and thousands of kilometers. Send a security team down there right now. Tear up everything if you have to."

"We're being hailed by them!" another voice said. "It seems that a virus is assimilating their systems, it's coming from this ship!"

"What?!" Elle screamed, "That's impossible! We don't have anything like that! Get that security team down there right now!"

* * *

That team would find nothing. For there was nothing to find, save the large black box that was in Erwine's room. It was the only thing there. And while it was a cogitator-like thing, there didn't seem to be any way it could do anything. Yet it had to be the source of the virus.

The techmage approached it. She looked at it with a frown. She'd examined the object when it was first brought over, and hadn't found anything back then. She didn't expect much more at this point, either.

"Perhaps it was remotely activated by the girls below," Nashotah proposed, "This could have been a set-up, a way to get this thing on the ship so that it could do this at this time. But that doesn't make much sense, as the chaos vessels could have carried this as well."

"That means it has some other purpose as well," the techmage said. Then she shrugged, "But I cannot fathom what that purpose might be."

"It just needs to be off," Elle said. At the moment, the sect ships were floating dead in space, helpless if the chaos vessels wanted to do anything. However, the traitors did not, and were now flying away, leaving the sect ships hurtling away from the planet thanks to momentum.

"But the only way to shut if off would be to destroy it," Nashotah said, "And that is something I won't allow. This might just be an intelligent machine. If so, then it needs to be treasured and kept safe. We know Ishna broke open a Golden Age vault, which means that this might hold long lost information."

Elle glared at the girl. "But people's lives are at risk."

"True, but the traitors have done nothing. And as long as have this thing, we can presume that it shall act in self-defense. I feel as if we shall be perfectly safe. Besides, I'd rather not try to destroy this thing, then have it collapse this ship around us in its death throes, alright?"

Elle nodded. "Its effect seems to have stopped, and it's not targeting anything else. Let's take that for the time being, and wait until we've a better opportunity to study it." The techmage said.

The captain agreed with this. Nevertheless, she was discomforted by the fact that something so small and seemingly harmless could do such things.

* * *

The chaos forces were mainly located in the desert city, waiting for Lyndia to finish her exploration of the otherworldly space. Theodora's position didn't matter much, given how heavily outnumbered she was. So that meant that there were fifty-one magical girls, thirty-nine of them knights, in the city.

The force was something that did not outnumber the sect. It did outgun them, however. The sect had gathered a total force of eighty-seven. However, the knights balanced things out. But with some of them helping with Lyndia's investigation, and all of Lyndia's girls more focused on study than battle, there were only twenty-seven battle ready knights at the moment.

Reitia's plan revolved around using their numerical superiority to maximum effect, combining it with the maneuverability of magical girls. Her force was going to split into eight groups. There would be seven groups of eleven, and one group of ten. Then each group would be paired with another group.

First, four groups would teleport down. These would be the weaker girls. They would engage and start moving about the city, staying within their shields and minimizing the damage they took. Then the group they were paired with would teleport down and engage the enemy after fifteen minutes. The first group would break off, before recovering and engaging again.

The idea was to split the enemy force and wear them down, while minimizing casualties. All the girls were mobilized in the hangars. The planet was a little over a hundred kilometers below. The first groups went off. Reitia wasn't one of them.

She was in the ten-girl group, with the other more powerful girls. They were ready to back up the weakest unit that would be down there. She worried for their safety, and was prepared to suffer a few casualties. But if anything, she would prefer that the younger girls didn't suffer.

_Yet we all have to suffer at some point, _she thought. The girl sighed.

A frantic message came to her. It was once again from Elle, transmitted by the astrotelepath. _Don't go down there! _The captain screamed. Reitia sighed again, perhaps more pointedly this time.

_Why not? _Reitia sked, deciding to humor her.

_Arietta…she's doing something that would prevent you from stopping Ishna's plans. What if Ishna's intention has always been just to mislead you with Arietta? What if Arietta is just tricking you, and the whole intention was to make you go rogue and turn everyone against each other? _

Reitia froze. She understood where Elle was coming from. She didn't want to seriously consider the idea that the girl could be correct, however. The whole idea of Arietta, the person who she had been through so much with, being a traitor was not something she could accept.

_No. _Reitia replied, _that's not true. _

_Prove it to me, _Elle demanded.

_I can't, _Reitia said, _but Ishna…can she be that powerful? Arietta's visions are nearly random. They are sometimes triggered, but how could have Ishna known exactly what would occur? _

_It doesn't matter, the point is that you should just burn the planet and get out of here! You have a chance!_

Reitia shook her head. She knew that Elle couldn't see it, but she did it for herself. _It doesn't matter. Arietta...for the past year she's been the thing guiding me. She has guided me into heresy. I have guided thousands of humans and over a hundred magical girls into heresy. I have no choice but to keep believing her words. _The girl took a deep breathe.

_Not believing her now and turning on her would only render all that I have done meaningless. I have no choice but to keep pursuing this heresy. _Reitia explained. _For regret is the most dangerous thing for a magical girl. _

She cut the line, focusing again on the battle that unfolded. Reitia wasn't ready for this. That was certain. She hadn't been ready. But she couldn't always get what she wanted. Sometimes, one just had to chase their dreams through any means possible.

* * *

Wei's eyes opened. The floor beneath her was hard. She looked around, seeing many other girls in the same area as her. The room was dark, and there were several people already up and walking about. She recognized Estelle, Nadine, Viola, and Sabula were already up. Sabula and the rest of the Janicelle girls had been taken on Hadiens along with the others. Everyone else was sitting about the room. Wei herself was beside Mila.

Wei took a deep breath, realizing that she was back in her body. She realized that her gem had been removed from the anti-magic field that her surrounded it before. So she was back in the world of the living. She didn't have the strength to stand, but she did have the strength to be concerned. The last thing she could remember was being killed, then ending up imprisoned in what she could only assume to be the Hadiens sect headquarters.

And now she felt like she was on a starship. Estelle finished a short conversation with Nadine, which seemed to be causing her much annoyance, and then turned to look around at all the others. "We are currently orbiting the planet of Milita," she said, "The sect is engaged with chaos forces below, the whereabouts of Theodora's force is unknown, and we are on the lead sect ship, which has been entirely shut down for some unknown reason."

Nadine explained, "Below, on Milita, is where the enemy intends to obtain information which shall further both their plans and ours." Nadine went into a brief explanation of the parchments which had been found. "These three pieces of paper are the things that this entire conflict centers around." She explained, "And the enemy presumably has one of them already translated."

"Juno has one, and one was in the possession of Erwine. We can assume that Theodora took it down to Milita with her after taking it from wherever Erwine had it. I believe that Erwine is being held aboard the _Yslevia,_ after she was taken there by Theodora. They also have Arietta, who has become a diviner of sorts."

"Why exactly they took Erwine is unknown, but I think we know who their accomplice was." She took a deep breath as she looked around at everyone, specifically the girls who had worked with Estelle. "Well," she said to them, "Think about who isn't here,"

Celestine's eyes widened. She was the first to shout out, "Justinia?!"

Nadine nodded. "We believe that girl was working for Theodora the entire time. She most likely got the crew of the _Yslevia _on her side, somehow. That led to Theodora making a smooth escape. Justinia is presumably down there with Theodora's force right now."

Estelle's girls were visibly disturbed by this revelation. Celestine shook her head in disbelief. "No-no, I trusted her. She wasn't some traitor. She…"

Laelia tried to console Celestine, feeling hatred in her heart for the girl. "You can't be serious…" Sanae shook her head over and over again, Ayelen clearly concerned for her as well. "That girl, she didn't have any ulterior motive. Every time I saw her, there was nothing."

Wei was the most affected. Estelle took a few steps towards her. Wei's eyes were wide. "No…that girl…she was there for me when Erwine wasn't. When Erwine ran off…Justinia was the only thing that kept me going." She brought her knees close to her face, wrapping her arms around them as she felt tears coming into her eyes. "No…this can't be real, can it?" She asked, "I'm just dreaming…"

Estelle knelt down beside her. "I'm sorry, Wei." She said, laying a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"She'll be killed, right? Or imprisoned?" Wei asked, "That's right, isn't it?"

"It depends on why she did what she did, and also has to do with what she has done. If she kills people, then there will be an issue. If she was a mere accomplice in this, then the best she'll get is prison." Estelle explained, "I'm so sorry."

Wei pushed the girl away. She stood up, finding the strength in her body. "Erwine is on the _Yslevia, _right?" Wei asked.

Estelle nodded, standing up with her. "Then how do we get there?" Wei then said.

"We can't. This ship is disabled, and unless we force open the hangar doors, we can't even fly out," Nadine said.

"Then find a damn way," Wei said, "I'm not going to let that girl go. She means the world to me."

"There's nothing that can be done," Nadine repeated, "We can wait until this ship is reactivated, or until someone comes aboard. Then we can try and do something. Until that point, we're not going to have much hope."

Wei shook her head. "Please…please stop lying to me." She spun to face Nadine, hurt in her eyes. "Please, how do we fix this? How do I save her?!" She demanded.

"You can't at the moment," Nadine said. Her face changed to be a proud one, the expression felt for the girl before.

"Stop laughing at me, Nadine! You've never known what it's like to be dedicated to somebody!" Wei shouted. The other girls were back away from them, and all eyes were on the debate.

"You haven't lived nearly as long as I have," Nadine replied. "You don't get what I've been through. I do recall spending twenty years waiting for someone to come get me. Then I had to watch as Adrianne was torn away from me, not even twenty minutes after we were reunited."

"You don't understand what it's like to have multiple people who you care for like your children," She continued tersely, "You don't get that, do you? Then to lose them to somebody who you hate and despise, do you get that?" Nadine took a few steps forward, any hint of anger fading away as she continued.

"Erwine is still something you can recover. She's not dead. She still exists here. And you should be thankful for that fact alone." Nadine suggested. "Because as long as she still lives, you have a chance of seeing her again. That girl's existence is not an existence that can just end abruptly, not after what she's been through. I can promise you, she'll go out with a bang."

"You mean…she could die here?" Wei asked, thinking of this situation as something very large.

"She could definitely die here," Nadine said, "I suggest you prepare yourself to lose her at any moment."

"Then you don't get why I'm dedicated," Wei said, "It's not because I don't want to lose her. It's because she's alive. As long as she's alive, I will strive to save her from anything that may bring her harm. When she dies…well I'll deal with it then. But until then, I'm not going to give up on her." The girl promised.

Nadine's face slowly turned into a grin, expressing what could be seen as a bit of pride for Wei. "Good," She said, "Then you can understand that even if we could leave the ship, we'd most likely not make it to the _Yslevia _without being obstructed by some other force."

"Let's just work on getting out of here first," Estelle cut into the conversation. "We need to gain control of the ship, figure out if we can reactivate it, and then try to leave through some other means." She looked at Nadine, "Do you know where we are in relation to the planet itself?"

"Presumably, we are either in orbit, or hurtling away from the planet. The former option means it will be easy to get to Milita's surface. The latter option means that we'll probably have to wait until someone comes to get us." Nadine said.

Estelle sighed. _All the power we have, and yet we're still slaves to the laws of nature. _"Alright, I'm taking control here, if Nadine is alright with that." The girl nodded. "As of right now, all of you answer to me."

"Our main objectives are rescuing Erwine, stopping Theodora and the Chaos forces, and staying alive." She looked around at everyone, her commanding gaze passing from person to person. "Your priorities may vary, but keep in mind that there is a wider picture as well."

Estelle took a deep breath to give herself a moment of calm before continuing, "Minimizing casualties in terms of Theodora and the Sect is important as well, but if you have to kill, then don't hesitate to do so. We don't know what we're dealing with here, but they seem to understand the risks." Another pause, "Let's go. The Goddess Protects."

* * *

The river went faster and faster, rushing harder and stronger, as it hit the rocky straights leading up towards the sharp and sudden drop. The cold, clear water cleared the edge and plummeted towards the lake below, where it would run off into the rest of the swamp. The steady crashing of the falling liquid was like the steady march of a thousand soldiers.

The girl's legs dangled out over the long, straight descent down to the ground. The water could fall hundreds of feet and live, yet it wasn't a squishy human body, packed to the brim with fragile organs that ought to not be disturbed. Theodora didn't mind sitting in a way that might be considered dangerous like this.

It would be hard for her to fall and actually be harmed than it would be to safely descend. Yet the face she wore wasn't that of a girl confident in her ability, nor even of one who was scared. She looked rather regretful as she slumped over, eyes idly watching the ripples in the lake far below.

The heavy layer of clouds still hung over the forests in this part of the world. The droplets of rain were like ice-cold bullets as they fell from the sky in sheets. Theodora wasn't worried about the cold of the moisture either. Temperature was easy to handle via magic, and it wasn't lick natural sicknesses were going to kill her anytime soon.

Nevertheless, it was ruining her hair, which she did consider to be rather important. Yet it too was simple to magic back into shape.

"I'm sorry that I…" Justinia was definitely at a loss for words as she came up behind the girl. "Sorry for not stalling them longer, messing up like that."

"It's not your fault. You were fighting ten knights, I'm just glad you made it out alive," Theodora said. There was another sort of thing hidden deep down in the girl's tone. Something that Justinia was hard-pressed to find. She wanted to dig deeper…Theodora _had _been keeping something from her for a while now.

Yet it wasn't the time for digging deeper, not now. The girl in the suit walked forwards. She stood right behind Theodora. "What's the plan for now?" the rain had come rather quickly. It had been only twenty-one minutes since they had first appeared in the forest, after making a narrow escape.

Theodora was quite when she talked. Her voice had an air of solemnness to it. "We're going to head to the valley. I think something might be there. If not, then we try and figure out what the sacrifices activate, most likely something in the cities. However, since previous scans didn't reveal anything, the sacrifices most likely activated some kind of teleporter or gate to a different place. The enemy will come to the forest next. The Hadiens Sect will arrive soon. Once they do, we'll have more leeway to move freely as the chaos forces will most certainly engage with the sect rather than us."

Justinia crouched down behind the girl, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Well…" she thought for a moment. "I suppose we have the time to talk, then?"

"About what?" Theodora replied. She was worried. _Looks like we need to talk, whether or not we've the time, _Justinia thought.

"About what you're hiding from me." The girl explained, "It really is all too obvious."

"Hiding something?" Theodora asked. She looked behind herself. Justinia's stare was unyielding. "Not worth lying to you, I see." She sighed. "Justinia…I know we've gone over this before, but I'm just…terrified."

"Of failing?" Justinia asked, "Is there nothing more? Why did you force me out of your mind then?"

"Because of what I said. I let my memories get to me far more often than I should, alright?" Theodora replied. "I've gone so far at this point, that even the mere thought of failure, for whatever reason scares me. And just thinking of the past, well, it somehow drives me forwards, just as much as it horrifies me."

"So you didn't want me to feel all of that?" Justinia asked. She went down to her knees, wrapping her arms around Theodora from behind. "You know, after all we've been through, I think I can handle it."

"Just…let me have my emotions," Theodora said.

"In no way am I blocking you," Justinia replied, "Don't worry, when you're ready, I'll be here. And even before then, I'll always be here."

"Thank you…" Theodora said. Nothing more needed to be said. There was still plenty that had to be done. And Theodora couldn't help but feel that Justinia deserved more than what she was getting.

But some things just had to be done.

* * *

_It's your choice, really, _Estelle said. She led the others towards the bridge. Together, they outnumbered the sect girls by more than two to one. _Either fight, die, and get others killed, or just surrender right now. I won't even blame you for doing so. _

_As long as your intention is to delay our goals, we cannot allow you onto the bridge without a fight. _That was the reply Estelle kept receiving, from the girl who was the leader of the ones who stayed behind. And the inquisitor heard it once again, only to exhale slowly.

_I don't want to fight you. Our goal is to stop the chaos forces from recovering whatever is here, and to rescue Erwine. We understand that you are merely trying to avert a worse fate, but we can help you with that. _Estelle suppressed her annoyance when communicating with the girl, managing to put on a façade of someone who was cooperative and wanted to help.

That façade wasn't necessarily far from the truth, though. The real thing she was faking was being willing to somehow cooperate with them. In reality, she wanted the entire thing under her own control. Yet she also understood the unlikeliness of that situation ever coming about.

_You have five minutes, and then we are going to storm the bridge and eliminate anyone who stands in our way. We outnumber you, I remind you. _Estelle had actually refrained from employing her telepathy on them, and had ordered the others to do so as well. She wished to seek a more peaceful resolution, and knew that steady harassment wouldn't help her each that ending.

_What are you going to do? _Estelle grinned, happy that she'd made a breakthrough. Everyone else was linked into the conversation, but could only listen, not talk back.

_We are going to take control of this ship, figure out how to get to the surface of Milita, and do our best to coordinate with Reitia and possibly Theodora in order to defeat the main force of heretics before solving whatever mystery is on the world. _Estelle explained, calmly and plainly.

There was a minute before the next reply. Estelle didn't try and look into the girl's minds to figure out what this reply was. But at this point, if she was refused, then she was going to cease negotiations.

On the other end, the girl sounded regretful, but still firm in her decision. _Fine. On one condition. Erwine Braune is not introduced into the equation. We are aware that she is on the Yslevia. In that regard, our opinion does match that of the traitors. _Estelle wanted to comment on the hypocrisy there, but said nothing.

_That's acceptable, you don't have to get involved, just let us get out of here safely. _They agreed to that much, but Estelle turned around. "I don't trust them, unfortunately. We can either split our force to control the ship while the others descend, or take the risk and go down as a whole." Her gaze turned to Wei, "No matter what we do, you're going to rescue Erwine."

Wei grinned at that. "I'll go with her," Nadine declared, her elbow bumping Viola in the side. That girl declared her support as well. Estelle scrutinized Viola for a few seconds, then ordered, "Go immediately, but how do you intend to board?"

"Sechylia would probably still be there," Wei said, "There also aren't many magical girls, most likely. If I can talk to her, I should be able to convince her to let us onboard." She was about to turn around when a voice rose.

"I want to come with you," Mila suddenly interjected sternly. "But Erwine's a friend of mine, and I won't back down on her."

"I see no problem with that." Estelle said, before indicating to the others.

Nadine didn't argue with the plan. "Good luck," Estelle said, before waving the others forwards again, "Sabula, take the other Janicelle girls and head for the bridge. I'll take my team and head down to Milita. The Goddess Protects." A repetition of the phrase, and the group split, headed in two different directions, towards two different fates.

* * *

Sabula and the other few girls knocked on the bridge door. _Excuse me, but we'd like to enter. _She said, preparing herself for battle.

_Fine, _came the reply from the same one who had negotiated before. The doors opened, Sabula leading the others inside. "Thank you," She spoke aloud now, seeing the seven girls standing about the bridge. The human crew looked uneasy, but the feeling was mimicked by the Sect girls.

"Where are the rest?" the leader of the other group of magical girls wondered. "Going down to Milita? Why are you the only ones here?"

Sabula inhaled and exhaled deeply. "They are going down to Milita. We came here as insurance. We don't want to be stabbed in the back." The other girl nodded.

"Fair enough," She remarked, but the tension didn't die down. _If things go wrong, _Sabula thought, _the others won't make it, they aren't suited to this kind of stuff. But sending them to Milita wouldn't be good either, and I need them to at least try and stop a fight. _

A pair of dots appeared on the sensors as the air of shuttlecraft shot away from the vessel, both heading in different directions. "Why are there two?" the leader of the Sect girls wondered.

"One is going to seize the _Yslevia,_" Sabula explained, "We are not going to release Erwine, and if you believe that she will be released, then destroy the ship, and everyone on it." That last little bit made sure that the Sect girl would lack the guts to actually pull the trigger.

At least, Sabula hoped it did. _Please, _she prayed to the others, _do this quickly._

* * *

A sort of triangle shape had been set up by the three opposing sides. They all stared each down, weapons primed to fire at any moment. The Chaos ships had kept their distance since the last attempt, while the Sect inched closer to the _Yslevia, _attempting to test the mysterious powers of the vessel.

Nadine sat behind the controls as _Yslevia _grew from a small speck to an imposing shape_, _Viola accompanying her. Wei stood behind the pilots, watching the sight. Mila sat alone in the back, her finger spinning her revolver around and around.

"It's time," Nadine indicated. "We're about to go into point-defense range."

_Yslevia, this is Wei. Yslevia, this is Wei. _She repeated the message, hoping that there'd be a response. A few seconds of silence passed, Nadine slowing down a little. But as they crossed the line, there wasn't a reply of any kind. Not a single gun fired, but no one had talked back.

Nadine's response was to slam on the accelerator, sending the shuttle shooting towards the vessel. "Keep trying, if we can get to a blind spot before they make up their minds, then we'll be fine."

* * *

Elle sat in horror as they caught the shuttle approaching. "Orders captain?" the first officer asked frantically. He knew just as well as she did what their decision might mean. Breathing faster and faster, Elle was prepared to shout out before Sechylia screamed.

"We can't! We can't just kill them!" She pleaded with the woman as she grabbed onto her arm.

Elle looked the girl in her eyes for a few seconds, fear filling up her own. Then she shut them and averted her gaze. "Damn it!" she shouted. _There's no way of knowing who's aboard. What if I kill Estelle or Wei or Celestine? Just killing anyone…_ At the same time, belief in the girl she loved swelled in her chest.

_But they'll let Erwine out, and then all this hard work will have been for nothing. _The shuttle was approaching fast, and the time to decide was about to come.

"You know you can't do this," Sechylia said, voice suddenly growing strong. Elle didn't doubt the girl's willingness to fight for this.

Her eyes scanned the bridge crew, and she knew down in her heart that it would be wrong to force them to do this. Leaning back in her chair, Elle let out a sigh of defeat, and ordered quietly, "Shut down point-defense systems. Let them through."

"Thank you," Sechylia said, "Thank you."

Elle turned her head to the side, "Why don't you trust her?" She asked, "Justinia?"

Sechylia turned away her gaze from Elle, saying quietly, "I just don't want anyone to die. As much as I believe in Justinia, I want to think that she wouldn't kill them either."

Elle nodded, but couldn't escape that feeling of a massive weight upon her shoulders.

* * *

_Wei, the way is clear, _it was Victoria_. There will be no resistance, no enemy girls on the ship. _As Nadine slowed the craft down, a hangar door opened up before them.

It hadn't come close to touching down before Wei was leaping out, Mila following right after her. The two ran for the doors, both ready for a battle. Viola was about to rush after them, but Nadine's slowness made her pause. The girl leaned out the door, watching the two others rush through the hangar doors. "Nadine?" she asked, as the girl slowly stood up and walked to the exit. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all," Nadine gestured for Viola to get out, "You're ready, correct?"

Viola suddenly shuddered. "I…I believe so."

"There can't be any uncertainty in this," Nadine said as she strode forwards, Viola trailing behind. The blue-haired inquisitor sounded melancholic. "Just know that it isn't wrong." Viola nodded, not quite sure what had led her to this, but ready to move forwards no matter what.

* * *

"Hold her here!" Wei ordered to Mila as the blonde put the techmage at gunpoint. The dark-haired girl rushed through the halls, not a care in the world besides getting to the brig.

The door was locked as she reached it, inciting her to slam her fist against the hard metal. "Erwine…" She whispered, just wanting to be with the girl.

Reflex caused her to catch the shiny object from the side. A key. Nadine stood there, gesturing for Wei to go ahead. Almost dropping the key as she fumbled with it and the lock, Wei swung open the door, rushing to find Erwine's cell. Her excitement was such that she was out of breath by the time she burst into where the girl was, ripping her out of her restraints despite that fact.

Erwine gasped, Wei holding her tightly, eyes flickering in the room's dim light. "I found you…" Wei said quietly, squeezing the life out of the silver-haired girl as she clung to her. "You're here…"

Yet she was surprised when Erwine didn't embrace her back. Rather, the girl's head was turned to the side, shame covering her features. "I…I wish I could be so happy." Erwine whispered, arms limp at her sides.

"What do you mean?" Wei quietly asked. Her hand came up to cup Erwine's cheek. "What's wrong? What happened? What did they do to you?!"

Slowly, Erwine's head shook back and forth. "They just kept me in here, and I think that's why I can't be happy." Resignation filled her voice. Wei went down with Erwine as she fell to the ground, eyes wide. "I…I really am the cause of all of this, aren't I?" She whispered lowly now, "All this madness, this chaos, this suffering. It's all my fault."

"What?!" Wei was astounded at the idea, "Erwine, you-you can't be serious!" She shook the girl, staring into her eyes. Then she looked into them, truly. Her mouth opened up, "Oh…" That Erwine she saw wasn't the Erwine she knew.

"Erwine." Wei could barely speak, "Why?"

"I've always sat at the center of Ishna's plan." Erwine explained, not the slightest bit of hope in her voice. "The more I do, the more I'll advance things along." Wei pulled her close again.

"That's not the Erwine I know," she said, "The Erwine I know wouldn't give up on herself like this." Wei desperately pleaded, despite realizing the sense it all made. There wasn't anything wrong with Erwine's logic.

Erwine's shoulders moved up just a little, then back down. "I had some time to think about things. I'm scared, Wei, of what the future will bring. The only choice I have is to…" Even now, she had to force the words out, "To just give up." She leaned into Wei. She didn't say, but Wei could tell that Erwine couldn't make a choice.

"Why must you?" Wei asked, running her hand through the girl's hair, "Why can't you keep going?" She reminded the girl, speaking from the bottom fo her heart, "You've never given up, Erwine."

A hand came up. Softly, it wrapped around Wei's. The dark-haired girl almost winced as the fingers gripped down tightly. "More than anything, I want to get to the end of this. I want to keep going till I can't go anymore. But then…" Erwine choked up, sniffling. "I remember the promises I made to my best friend…by the Goddess that was more than a year ago."

She suddenly threw her arms around Wei, hanging on like she was the only thing holding her back. "I told her I'd be a hero. But if continuing to act is going to get people killed, then how can I be a hero?" She questioned. Erwine burst into tears fully, sobbing in Wei's arms. "And how can I even be anything at all when I'm just Ishna's creation?"

"Because…" Wei fell silent. _She's right, isn't she? We could just run away from all this, forgot about it, let more capable people handle things. _The idea tempted Wei, to the point where she almost spoke it. _No, that's not who I am. It's not who Erwine is. _

A sad smile spread across Wei's face. _That's right, _she thought, _I'm strong now. I won't run away. _"Because you're you, Erwine. Haven't you accepted yourself for what you are?" Wei mulled over her words for a few moments then whispered, "So even if you're just a puppet, you're still yourself, and your will is still your own."

Erwine hesitated before she responded. Eventually, her eyes opened wide and she whispered. "That's right…What I am right now, it's the Erwine Braune that really is Erwine Braune, isn't it?" She asked desperately, seeking for validation of her own being.

Wei nodded, smiling even wider. "That's right, you're you. So…make the choice for yourself. But, act as Erwine Braune would, don't think about Ishna, or Adrianne, or anything else. If only for just this once, think of yourself." Silently, Wei wished that she was included in that thought, but at the same time felt shame for such a selfish idea. A few seconds passed, and Erwine was already standing up. Her hand brushed the tears away from her eyes, and Wei quickly stood to follow the girl.

"You're right," Erwine said, newfound energy in her words, "I will be me. I won't be afraid to be me. Because I enjoy being this way. So why deny it." The girl looked Wei in the eyes, her own still flickering as she said, "I don't care anymore, whether or not this was all written years ago I don't care. I'll walk this path, and if there is a destiny to be denied, I'll deny it, and if I must walk that set path, then I'll walk it." Erwine smiled, truly happy. "I'll do what Erwine would do, because that's who I am." For a few moments, she and Wei shared a happy gaze with one another, till both knew it had come time to act.

Erwine looked at Nadine, standing at the edge of the doorway. "You knew, didn't you?" she immediately asked, expression changing to one of seriousness, "About all of this?"

Nadine shrugged, "Perhaps."

Erwine shook her head. "That's not good enough." She stated. "When this is over, you'll give me the answers. All of them." The girl in blue nodded.

Erwine took Wei's hand and said. "Come on," Cheerful once again, the silver-haired girl strode forwards, declaring proudly, "I don't care if this is just another false ending, I don't care if this is fate or if it's my own decision, but I don't want to miss it."


	50. Beyond Fate and Free Will

A long and deep scar in the barren plains stretched for a mile. Life itself seemed to avoid it, not even the smallest or feeblest of plants sprouting up anywhere near it for hundreds of feet. The ground around the valley was perfectly flat, not the slightest depression or rise in the brown dirt.

There wasn't even the slightest chance to observe the canyon. At the widest, it was fifty feet. With a cascade of sounds and flashes of light, all fifty feet were shrouded by smoke and flames. The bottom disappeared barely a second afterwards, as a volley of figures flew down from above.

Had anyone else been watching, they'd have seen a seemingly endless spread of colors and random patterns obscuring the world, and wouldn't have caught a single glimpse of what truly occurred. Cacophonies of sounds obscured for observers the brief reports of gunfire that echoed off the stone walls.

Theodora stood up straight, dissipating her weapons. "Guess no one is here after all," She remarked, eyes then settling on a single spot. They gleamed with desire. It wasn't a petty thing like greed that lit up her face.

Ten feet away from her rose a pair of large stone doors. "This is what we're looking for," Theodora's voice was rife with amazement, as if she couldn't comprehend what she saw before her. Her entire body shook as he stumbled back, tripping over herself.

A pair of hands caught her. Justinia squeezed her shoulders tightly, and whispered, "Don't give up now, we'll do this." Theodora tried to put on a smile, before she straightened herself out.

With some difficulty, she stabilized herself, and spoke, "We don't know where the enemy could be at this moment. Whether they are already beyond, or if they're…damn it." Justinia spun around, body glowing as launchers flashed around her.

"Get inside!" she shouted, "It's a trap!" Theodora had just observed that what seemed to be the entire Chaos force had teleported into existence around them, striking at once. "All of you!" Theodora shouted, firing off a massive volley as return fire ripped up the floor of the canyon.

Theodora cursed, pressing her hands against the door. They were heavy, but she didn't give up, pushing them open almost entirely by herself before the others could get to her. Beyond the two massive slabs sat a seemingly endless expanse of darkness. "Go!" Justinia shouted, leaping about the canyon floor, returning fire as best she could. Even then, she was boxed in, and it wouldn't be long.

A multitude of the traitors leapt down from above, right before a new volley of fire forced them to dodge. Leaping for the doors, Justinia traced the source, and saw the Sect's force moving in.

Pausing for one last barrage, Justinia backed into the darkness and disappeared. No one else entering, the huge doors slowly shut, the battle raging all around.

* * *

Though she had walked into the darkness, Justinia found a strange light illuminating the strange surroundings. She whirled around, instantly frowning at the strange sight before her. The white stone floor was rectangular, stretching for about twenty feet, while only ten wide.

Torches glowing bright blue were held up by small columns of marble. At the end of the floor, one on either side, two staircases stretched up into the darkness. In between the staircases was a pool of water. Ten feet long and five wide, it seemed to fulfill no purpose besides aesthetics.

Justinia took a few steps forwards, before hearing an order. It was garbled, but the message got through. _Remain…stop pursuit. _She spun to face the entrance, readying herself for the battle.

* * *

_Via, they're in. _The call came from the techmage, _it's time. _A short scream started and ended in the time it took Via to slice the girl's gem in two. Abandoning the Sect girl's companion to her shock, the traitor knight leapt to the side, falling down into the long canyon.

_Understood! _The girl cried. Calling for another few of her knights, she told the rest. _They've taken the bait! Defend the entrance. As soon as the interlopers within are dead, the rest will die easily. _Landing gracefully on the ground, Via's blade searched for a target as it swung in a wide circle.

But not a single girl dared stay in the area where she might land. Robbed of the thrill, the traitor cursed, and leapt for the doors. _Come on, little redhead, _she thought, _it's about time we finished things._

* * *

Justinia knew that the opening doors could only herald the enemy. Her right arm reached out to the side, an array of missile launchers appearing all around her. She took a deep breath as cracks of light started to form in the absolute darkness before her.

_Theodora…_she thought, _I promise I'll protect you. Till the very end. _The flickering blue flames highlighted the tears starting to drip down from her eyes. Justinia thought of Sechylia, of Elle, of all the people she'd lied to and betrayed. _But it's for a good cause. And I won't let that cause die here. _

Six rockets were off towards the doors right as Justinia spotted a figure leaping through. A bright flash of light cut through all six projectiles. The girl's leap carried her above Justinia. In reply, another half a dozen rockets went upwards, while Justinia's hand slid across her body.

"Come on, redhead!" The traitor knight screamed, her long hair freely trailing out behind her, "Let's finish this fight!" Justinia slid her knife from her belt as the scythe once again terminated the rocket's flights. Pushing herself around randomly and nearly instantaneously, Via was practically untraceable as she fell downwards.

From the blur of violet and black, the silver sheen of the scythe blade emerged. Metal rang out against metal, then a more visceral sound. Via slid backwards on the balls of her feet, eyes wide as her hand confirmed that it was her flesh that had been sliced.

Justinia was already firing again as Via stared in awe at the blood coming from the long cut that had removed one of her eyes. Only a last second dodge had saved the other, and now that last second had come again as a dozen rockets honed in from all directions.

Slicing a few apart and leaping through the gap, the knight slid in with another attack. "Let's make this even," Via declared, dissipating her armor, revealing an elaborate gown of violet.

"Even?" Justinia questioned as she turned around, her knife slashing out. To her surprise she heard a clattering sound as the weapon knocked against the stone walls. Though her body smoothly dodged around every blow that came, she couldn't stop the smirk on Via's face.

That knight was moving faster than she ever had before as her own body lit up with purple light. "Yes, even." Via confirmed, not managing to draw a single drop of blood with her strikes. But the momentum had been reset.

Justinia leapt to the side, sliding under another blow to go for her knife. Expecting the maneuver, it was trivially easy for Via's scythe to trace the girl's path. Yet Via jumping into the air saved Justinia, as she first had to save herself from the pair of rockets fired at her.

Blade once again grasped in her hands, Justinia leapt shortly and kicked off the wall towards Via. The brief clash of blades was uneventful. Justinia was aware that at the entrance to the room sat a trio of other traitor knights, silently waiting for resolution. _At least they're waiting till I die…_Justinia thought. _Theodora, please hurry._

* * *

Theodora ran through the tight corridors of the labyrinthine structure, searching for anything that could be something important. The featureless gray walls of stone offered not a single clue. Everyone one of her group but Justinia was there with her, at least till the shifts started to occur.

At random, the walls would move. Not even physically, in a way that could be observed. One second there'd be a barrier, then the next second there wouldn't be one. In a matter of minutes, Theodora found herself isolated from the rest, the walls being apparently impenetrable to any attack that they could muster.

Her wild search took her through the twisting corridors, till suddenly her mind lit up with activity. Half a dozen voices cried out as if they were under attack. It sounded as if…as if the enemy was already here. _A trap! _Theodora realized, _they knew we were desperate. _

She came to a halt suddenly, legs shaking. _Justinia…I have to-no. I can't save her. Not anymore. _Theodora rose a hand to her face to wipe away tears. _All I can do is finish this. I've come this far. _Her pistols appeared in both her hands, as one ducked behind herself to check the presence of the parchment.

Then she was sprinting ahead, turning corners based on instinct entirely, praying that she would somehow find the right way forwards.

* * *

The shuttle flew in low over the ground, the skies above occasionally lighting up with the duels of the Sect and traitor fighters. _We can only hope that Nadine and the others will join us, _Estelle briefed those in the shuttle with her, _but we have no idea of the situation, we're merely going to where everyone else is. If there's some place they're going, we need to get inside it as soon as possible._

Celestine had already cloaked the craft, and Estelle was ensuring that no telepathy would find them, but it didn't seem that any attempt was being made. Either they'd gotten lucky and slipped under the view of anyone else, or both sides were too wrapped up in the battle to care.

Piloting the shuttle, Estelle opened up the doors, _a minute away from the edge of the fighting, get ready. _Her mind burst outwards, searching for any targets. Identifying a series of running skirmishes around the canyon, she instantly formed the plan. _It's in that canyon. We'll break through there. _

Taking a deep breath. She steppd up from the controls, putting the thing on autopilot. A telepath had spotted them. _Let's go! _She ordered, summoning her glaive and leaping out the doors, the other four following her. The shuttle turned down a little before slamming into one of the canyon walls at hundreds of miles an hour.

Laelia's shield was active, and Celestine hid them as they jumped in unison, not seeking to engage with anyone. The canyon was a few hundred feet away, the air flickering with projectiles of all kinds as the Sect struggled to hold off the assault of the traitor knights. But the former was disciplined and organized, obviously trained for this endeavor, while the latter was scattered and reckless.

And in the middle of this crossfire, it was inevitable that a few shots would strike the shield. As the girls leapt into the canyon, a trio of knights chased after them, bursts of bolter fire taxing the barrier. And at the bottom of the long drop was a brutal melee.

But they all saw the doors. _That's where we're going, _Estelle said, _get there no matter what. _Laelia returned fire as they fell, the enemy dodging around in the air. Sanae fired her javelins upwards as a couple of Sect girls chased the traitors downwards.

The battle hadn't swung definitively in either direction yet, the two forces still struggling equally. But it seemed that both sides wanted to destroy Estelle and the others, the inquisitor having to defend against multiple telepathic attacks. It didn't take long before they landed, Estelle striking out with her glaive at all those blocking her path to the huge stone entryway. Celestine struck forwards, her rapier flashing brightly as she engaged one of the traitor knights.

Sanae and Ayelen fought back to back, trying to clear a space for the others to get inside. _Go, _Sanae said, _we'll hang on out here. _Estelle didn't hesitate a single second, throwing herself against the doors as her and the other two tore through the fighting.

The two girls who stayed found themselves in the middle of a fight between people who far outgunned them. _Stay close, _Sanae said, _we'll make it out alive. _Ayelen didn't doubt her words.

Sanae drew her longer blade as they retreated towards the doors, a traitor knight striking out with a whirlwind of blows at the two. Her axe bounced off their weapon as Ayelen and Sanae fought in perfect unison. _Follow my lead, do what I do, we'll guard this as long as we can. _

The dark-haired girl slid forwards, striking out low for the stomach. It was easily turned aside, right as Ayelen's spear left a dent in the girl's helmet. Then another was striking in, right before the first one had to turn away as a Sect girl struck in at her.

However, they were still uncertain that they'd be able to survive. Even as the older girls fought each other, they still pushed the two to the limit. Another pair came in for a strike, almost catching Ayelen off guard. Barely blocking the attack, she stumbled back, and while Sanae warded them off, they returned quickly.

Just then a flash came from above, and a bright ball of fire crashed down to separate the two pairs. Several more rained down all around, clearing a space for the trio of girls as they landed. "You alright?" Antoinette asked, and received nods in reply. "Everything fine inside?" More nods. She grinned, "Then let's hold them here."

* * *

Estelle and her companions burst into the room to see two figures dancing around each other at impossible speeds. A neverending cacophony of metal and explosions echoed around the tight room. Still covered by the invisibility, the trio leapt over the three traitor knights at the entrance.

It appeared to be just then that word of their entrance got to those inside. Immediately the three were striking out, the shield found easily. In the midst of their battle, both Via and Justinia turned their head as Celestine dropped the cover to conserve magic.

_Stick close to me, _Estelle ordered, _we don't know what this is, but we need to get further inside._ She turned her head to the side, with the world seeming to slow down. The inquisitor met Justinia's eyes. Not saying a word in any way, Justinia nodded, looking back to Via.

Estelle grinned as the three made good their chance, escaping the room. As the other traitor knights stepped in the way, Justinia leapt in front of them, cutting them off. At the same time, a long red line was traced down her right arm by Via's blade. But that didn't stop Justinia.

She held her ground, raising her blade. _This is the end, _she sent to Theodora. _Hurry, I can't hold out much longer. _

In unison, all four attacked her. In a whirlwind exchange, dozens of blows were exchanged in the span of a few seconds. By the time it had finished, Justinia was leaning against the wall, body covered in wounds. _Get the others, _Via ordered, as she walked slowly towards Justinia.

The other knights would have left quickly. A fresh line of explosions cut them off. Justinia gasped for air as she pushed herself to her feet. What seemed like the weight of a planet was on her shoulders. Crimson red surrounded her entire body, the magic aura becoming indistinguishable from the blood. Her tattered clothing started to fall away as she fixed only the most vital wounds.

Justinia limped towards Via, fingers struggling to hold the knife. Then, she heard Theodora's reply.

* * *

Seeing the large archway before her, Theodora knew that she had found her end as well. _That's right, _she sent back, _this is the end._ A short pause. She started walking forwards as her hands tightened around the grips of her pistols. The heavenly glow from the space beyond enveloped Theodora in a warm light as she brought everything to an end.

_The lies, the secrets, it ends here. _She told Justinia. _Oh, green flower, now that you have bloomed, may you look yourself over and see the lie that you have been told. Embrace your true self, and bloom more brightly than ever before._

Though she burst into tears afterwards, Theodora didn't stop moving forwards. She shut her mind off from the outside, not wanting to hear the result. It was cowardly, she knew, but it was the only way for her to keep going.

The blinding light faded, and Theodora found herself in a large room. At the opposite end of the asymmetrical field of blue gemstone sat a huge shelf. Hundreds upon hundreds of books sat on the shelves within, a single figure standing before them.

"You're early," that girl commented, turning around. A single table was in front of the bookshelf. A trio of books sat upon that table. The girl pulled back her hood. Theodora recognized the face.

"You were the one with Ishna." Theodora said, wiping away the tears on her face. "Her techmage, right?" She raised one pistol, "Get away from there."

Lyndia shook her head. "You misunderstand me. I have no intention of stopping you. I merely came here to ensure you'd be here alone, and that you'd already have the items you'd need. You payed your role, Theodora, you played it very well." With that said, she walked forwards, hands hidden by her cloak.

Theodora stepped to the side as her eyes widened, turning to track the girl as she walked for the exit. "I'll be leaving the stage now, but the play goes on. This is your final scene, Theodora."

Screaming, Theodora demanded, "What do you mean the play goes on?!"

Lyndia laughed as she stood before the archway. She spun around, pity on her face. "Ah, that's right. You believed that you could somehow stop all of this. But you failed. The plan goes on."

Theodora didn't believe her. Her finger tightened on the trigger, but first she cried, "But we removed Erwine! She didn't do anything, there's no way Ishna's plan couldn't account for such an action, not if Erwine was the key."

Lyndia spread her arms out to either side. "And there you have it!" She cried, all too proud to gloat, "Erwine _IS _the key to everything, but this was not her part. It was not _her_ act, it was the act of _everyone else_." The girl's tone was a mad one as she finished her declaration. "You have failed, Theodora. You failed before you even started. Erwine is not the actor, she is more than that."

Lyndia stepped back into the exit, Theodora wildly firing after her. The bullets disappeared into the blue, but Theodora knew that pursuit would be pointless. She fell to her knees, weapons falling from her hands. A new wave of tears overtook her. "Nothing has any point anymore, does it?" She asked.

Her hand reached behind her back, retrieving that parchment. Placing it on the ground before her, Theodora looked over the indecipherable symbols. Then she looked back at the table. "Justinia is dead…" she whispered, "All that's left is for me to play the part that I have been assigned."

She grasped the paper in her hands, stumbling towards the table. Almost collapsing as she placed the laminated paper on the dark oak wood, Theodora looked over the open tomes. "Ishna…" Theodora whispered, seeing that all she had to do was apply her magic.

Ages-old programs weaved into the texts that looked to hail from a long-gone age activated, and the parchment began to glow. Within seconds, the paper was remade, now written in High Gothic.

"You win…" the girl finished, falling to her knees once again. "But you knew that I never had a chance, didn't you?"

* * *

Faster and faster, the ground rushed up before Erwine's eyes as the shuttle shot downwards like a meteor. Nadine barely pulled out in time for the craft to avoid slamming into the earth at thousands of miles an hour. Erwine almost slammed into the wall till she caught herself, and even Viola, seated beside Nadine, was disturbed.

Still dropping the altitude, Nadine called out. _We have no protection. We go right into that canyon and get to where everyone else is. _She looked back to Erwine for a brief moment, "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Erwine nodded. She stepped out of the cockpit, looking over the others in the passenger compartment. Sechylia was alone in the corner, while both Wei and Mila were ready and waiting. The silver-haired girl stood in the doorway for a few seconds, looking down.

"Thank you, both of you, for coming all this way with me." Erwine said. "I hope that you two survive this, and maybe we can keep going on forever." A hopeful smile came to her face, and it wasn't even dashed away by Nadine. _Get ready to drop. Enemies everywhere, I'll handle them. _

Erwine just smiled wider at that. "Good luck, both of you. The Goddess Protects." Both girls stood, echoing the sentiment. Then Wei stepped in towards Erwine, kissing her on the lips.

"Good luck," She whispered.

* * *

Justinia heard the message. Her eyes opened wide. A terrible scream of horrific pain rose from the back of her throat as she clutched at her chest. The girl doubled over as unimaginable pain ran through her entire body. She couldn't breathe as she seized up.

"By the gods…" Via whispered as Justinia writhed on the ground.

_No, no, what's going on? _Justinia felt something else-no, _someone _else in her head. Another entity, another thought. Even worse than when the daemon was in her mind. This was no terrible beast from the warp. This was undoubtedly another human. Another magical girl.

On her back, Justinia's hand reached up into the air, as she sought to grasp solace that she couldn't find. Her eyes opened up wide as she felt her body changing. Like that someone else was trying to mold it to her will. The blood red aura had disappeared, but it was now returning. Yet the shade was dark, as black as a witch's seed.

Justinia leapt to her feet, feeling new power course through her veins. _I'm going to die, _she could feel her existence fading away by the second, _all I can do is save Theodora. _Her knife was glistening in her hand as she leapt towards the three other knights.

The first cried out as the knife slid in through a gap in the armor at the elbow. In the other elbow and then the neck, Justinia stabbed, before kicking her back. The girl stumbled back as a trio of rockets impacted directly into her body. A tattered corpse flew backwards and landed against the wall.

Despite the others already moving, Justinia was faster than before. Unimaginable pain coursed through her as another knight died, and then the last of the three. Via was staring on in shock. What happened before was nearly incomprehensible. It didn't make any sense.

The final body fell beside the pool of water, Justinia's pain and despair finally bringing her to one knee. Reflected on the clear surface was a different person's face. Half of her hair had changed length, and was now colored green. One of her eyes was yellow now. "Who am I?" She asked, "What am I?"

Via struck before the thing before her could regain its focus. Justinia moved. The scythe flew from the girl's hands, a flurry of blows driving the traitor back. Into the armor the knife sliced, as though imbued with an unearthly power. Via landed multiple strikes of her own, quickly resummoning her own blade.

No matter how many wounds Justinia suffered, blood didn't come out. A smoky black substance spilled out and drifted into the air. "What are you?" Via said, as their combat continued. They clashed again and again, blows of incredible accuracy and strength measuring up to one another.

Via just dropped. Like the life had been sapped from her body, she could no longer fight. Justinia stood above her, body continuing to change. "You monster…" Via muttered, "You are a monster."

Justinia staggered back, falling to her knees once again. She wept uncontrollably as her mind started to change. Bit by bit, memories started to slip from her mind, as if they were never there. "Who am I?!" She desperately cried out.

"Ileve Nashiandra, you're one of the more interesting cases we've ever had the chance to observe." A monotone voice called. Gasping, Justinia looked up to see the Incubator walk out of the darkness.

"What? Ileve…Ileve died, she became a witch." Justinia said, before she put the pieces together in her head. Her eyes went blank as she whispered desperately. "I…I'm Justinia."

"That's why you're so amazing." The Incubator explained. "For, Ileve, you weren't even cloned. You're something else."

* * *

Nadine let the shuttle accelerated onwards towards the canyon as she and the others leapt from the craft. They were immediately running forwards. The way was clear, as the battle had died down. Now, the two sides sought to consolidate and find a way to join the engagement again.

But both noticed the figures making their way to the canyon. Neither was going to let Erwine intervene. _Go, Viola and I will handle this! _Nadine said, summoning her whip and leaping towards the oncoming Sect girls. They were above the canyon, while the traitor knights were below.

Erwine paused briefly, her wings deflecting the oncoming fire. She glared daggers at Nadine, "Don't you dare die on me!" She called, before leaping away once more. Wei and Mila were at the edge of the drop, looking below. Was guarded by five girls, two of them Ayelen and Sanae, the others being Juno's. Around them the battle raged on.

"Come on," Erwine said, extending her arm. Without another cue, silver particles coalesced to form the shape of her sword. "It's time to finish this chapter, even if it's not really the end." She stepped off the edge. Wei and Mila followed without another thought.

_Don't wait, _she said to them, _we can't fight out here, we don't stand much of a chance. Just get inside. _As Erwine fell, several of the armored girls went inside, right as the others began to open fire. There were a little over a dozen of them remaining, while the forces of the Sect and Theodora still battled throughout the canyon.

Erwine grabbed Mila, warding off what she could with her wings. Wei released a program, a shield generating beneath them all. Each of the three was entirely untaxed, with full gems. Their chances of making it down alive were good, especially with the others distracted.

"Erwine!" A blast suddenly taxed the shield, and Erwine found the source to be Reitia, leaping from wall to wall as she made her way up from the floor. A large recoilless rifle was grasped in her hands, and another shot came up towards them as she fired again. "You understand what you're doing, do you not?!" she cried, but any further shots were prevented by a shadow from above.

A sharp crack and a glowing blur crossed through Erwine's vision, and then Reitia was tumbling back down the ground, Nadine chasing after her. But that wasn't the end. Still they fell down through the canyon, and now one more figure approached. Rolling through the air, ancient ballistic rifles clutched in both hands, Megumi loosed a tirade of fire that shattered the flimsy shield, but Mila was already returning shots.

"You get it, don't you?!" Megumi shouted as she propelled herself downwards. Erwine could feel her mind already being scanned by the telepath, the girl racing to find an opening to strike.

"I do!" Erwine cried in reply, "But I'll move forwards nonetheless!" A charged shot from Mila went right past her face and barely missed the girl. Megumi's shots now bounced off of Erwine's wings, but she could feel that the barrier wouldn't hold for long.

She reached out to grasp Wei, and then pushed herself down faster. At the same time, one of the girls around the door saw her descent. Antoinette jumped and then landed a telekinetically enhanced kick against the wall to send her flying at Megumi. _Get in there! _She cried as she handled the girl.

Erwine landed right beside the entrance and threw herself against the doors, pushing them all the way open. Wei and Mila touched down beside her. Together, the three leapt into the darkness beyond.

* * *

Reitia fell down to the canyon floor, taking several steps back as Nadine struck down at where she just was. Landing into a roll, the inquisitor leapt to her feet, whip curled in one hand. "You have the parchment?" Nadine questioned. The girl was shocked.

"Y-you know?" she asked, then narrowed her eyes and aimed her weapon, "So you are just Ishna's pawn?"

"Do you have it?" Nadine asked again, steady face not changing in the slightest.

"You won't get it," Reitia spat. Nadine flicked her wrist. In seemingly all directions the whip flashed out, its path through the air impossible to trace till it came within a nanometer of striking Reitia. Leaping aside, the girl fired a round from her weapon, but Nadine merely moved her hand and the whip struck again while she danced around the shot.

Unfazed, Reitia dodged into a forwards leap, still carrying the bulky rifle. Moving well within the confines of the whip, she waited till Nadine moved again. When that girl's wrist flicked once more, Reitia hit the ground in a slide, just as the whip curled up around where her body had been. Only a few feet away, she fired at the inquisitor, and Nadine barely jumped over the shell.

Several more shots chased the inquisitor as she traveled in an arc back down to the ground, but as she did the whip moved once again. Reitia leapt from side to side, dodging the thing's attack, careful to not let it so much as graze her. It all returned to Nadine's hand as she landed again, before she leapt forwards, magic pushing her down as Reitia fired. On the ground her hand cast her weapon forwards, the end of whip once again barely missing Reitia. She leapt up to her feet smoothly, spinning around and letting the full length of the whip strike out.

Reitia jumped into the air, quickly gathering energy in her rifle as she maneuvered herself about. Nadine leapt up to face her, whip curling as she spun around. Reitia forced herself back down in expectation of a strike, but none came, not at least where she was.

Rather the whip's tip shot out to where she was going, hitting her as she fell back down. Taking the strike on her left bicep, Reitia was sent to the ground as the arm was ripped apart by the charged strike. Still holding her rifle in her right, she rolled onto her back and fired.

Nadine herself fell down to avoid what should have been a more powerful shot, but that wasn't what it was. A much longer shell flew upwards before detonating in the air, two dozen smaller projectiles shooting out in a cone all around. Nadine's whip cracked out, but they exploded in unison before she could strike them.

Still, she was just out of range and they were not very powerful. So while she was burned and slammed into the ground, she could still stand. Reitia could as well, however. "I won't allow you to further her goals!" She declared, arm regenerating quickly as she pushed her body to the limit.

Nadine merely shook her head. "You don't understand a thing." At the same time, a blade was pushed through Reitia's chest. Not striking the soul gem on her earring, it still punctured her heart. A gasp came from the girl as she struggled to look over her shoulder, and saw Viola holding the blade that did it.

"I wished I could have beaten you on my own, but there's a schedule you see." Nadine said, stepping over to the girl. A container attached to her back, partially concealed by the short cape that was a part of her uniform.

"Why are you really doing this?" Reitia rasped as Nadine retrieved the container, briefly breaking it open to ensure the presence of the final parchment, and handed it to Viola.

"A good reason." Nadine whispered silently, "One better than yours." That was the last thing Reitia heard as her body died. Already Nadine saw Sect girls approaching, but the older Guan was moving to intercept. "We just need to get inside!" Nadine called as she and Viola leapt past her, "We have something we need to do!"

* * *

Justinia couldn't take her eyes off of what she could only call a monster. Without emotion, it spoke as though she was an experiment. As she stared in horror at the small white creature, its monotone voice spoke again. "Ileve, you became a witch on Vasillica. Theodora and the others were able to successfully take the grief seed and a living human body to create the current body you are in. It was an incredible feat of magical programming. Justinia is merely what remains of that human body's mind." The Incubator rolled onto its back, moving as if to scratch itself. "Truly, you are an amazing creation. The grief seed provides incredible amounts of power, and you use the residual energy of the body to enhance your magic even more. Were it not for the instability of the method, it would be incredibly effective."

Justinia shook her head slowly. Her mouth opened and closed again and again. She tried to formulate words, but couldn't find anything to say. The Incubator stood upright once more. Its unchanging eyes returned Justinia's blank look. "So, we remain to observe the deterioration, but…you have visitors. We can't give off the wrong image. See you soon, Ileve Nashiandra." The Incubator turned and walked into the darkness as three figures appeared from the entryway.

Sounds were flowing into their ears the moment they emerged from the pure black. Blue flames illuminated the entryway of the strange space. But not a single one of the girls was focused on the dimensions or nature of the place before them. They were all focused on the kneeling girl.

That girl wasn't someone any of them immediately recognized. Slowly, she turned her head to the side. Sadness showed on the face of someone that once might have been Justinia. "Who are you?" she asked, sadness seeping through her voice. Wei cried that girl's name, running forwards. But the girl on her knees pushed herself way, holding her arms out. "Stay away from me!" She cried, "I'm…I'm not Justinia, that girl never existed."

Wei pushed the girl's arms aside, wrapping her arms around her. "Justinia!" She cried, "What happened to you?!" Sechylia leapt in as well, hugging her just as tightly.

"I'm Ileve!" the girl cried, "I'm not Justinia, I'm Ileve Nashiandra…" She fell onto her back, pushing the two girls off of her. Her body shook as she wept. Still, she was changing, parts of her switching from the body of one girl to that of the other.

Slowly, Erwine stepped forwards. Her sword was grasped tight in her hand. Sechylia flew to her feet. "No!" she said, "Erwine, don't kill her."

"Kill me!" Ileve/Justinia cried. Her voice switched on the second word, taking on a different tone and accent entirely. "Please, don't let me live like this!" Her voice changed back and forth as she desperately pleaded.

"Go on, find Theodora, find the traitors." Wei begged. "I want to save her." She looked to Sechylia as well, "We both want to save her."

Erwine took a breath. She pulled Wei tight to herself, "I want you to end her if you really can't save her. Don't let your emotions get in the way." She kissed the girl gently, before running up the steps. Mila followed her after a second of hesitation.

"Stay safe," the blonde called as she followed after her friend. Wei nodded, looking back to the girl on her back. Carefully, Wei walked towards her.

"Please Justinia, I don't understand what's happening…" Wei got to one knee, reaching out for the girl. Her hand was swatted away, Wei reflexively leaping back. "I don't want to have to kill you. Please, just tell me what happened."

Ileve/Justinia struggled to speak, grasping for her throat as her body started to finally tear itself apart. "Ileve turned into a witch. Theodora made her into Justinia. I don't know what I am anymore." Wei winced at the pain she heard in the girl's voice. Then the girl was climbing to her feet.

"No, don't-"

"I will go and find Theodora." Ileve/Justinia croaked out, "I need to know something before this ends." She stumbled towards the stairs, Wei afraid to stop her. Then she stopped. Carefully, she turned around. "Who are you?" Ileve/Justinia asked, in an unfamiliar voice, speaking as though the answer the was on the tip of her tongue yet couldn't be uttered.

"W-Wei Huang," the dark-haired girl replied. Ileve/Justinia just smiled.

For a moment, that voice Wei knew so well returned, "Oh, Wei. I'm sorry things had to end like this. You're a strong girl, stick with Erwine, she needs you." Then she drove herself forwards, glowing as she put her body back together. Without another sound, Ileve/Justinia disappeared through the doorway at the top of the stairs.

Wei ran after her, only for a sound from behind to draw her attention. A scythe flashed in towards her. The carrier of the blade was suddenly grabbed from behind, and flung backwards. A sharp shattering sound rang out as Nadine crushed Via's soul gem in one fist.

Ripping her whip from around the girl's leg, she looked at Wei. "What's going on?" Wei faltered at first, not sure what to say. "It doesn't matter," Nadine sighed. Viola followed as the inquisitor ran up the stairs. Wei followed without hesitation.

* * *

Ileve/Justinia stumbled through the hallways, with only one thought in her mind. Finding Theodora. To find the one who had ultimately been responsible, the one who had loved her, the one who had caused this all to happen. _Why do I even exist? _Justinia asked herself, _just to be her tool? _

Yet as she moved through the lonely corridors, she felt something awaken in her mind. Her physical body continued moving. Within her mind, she felt herself slipping deeper.

* * *

Lyndia slowly walked down the stairs. Four motionless bodies covered the floor of the room. Noticing Via's to be one of them, she merely shook her head. "A pity," She whispered, perhaps saddened more by the loss of the assets rather than the assets themselves.

The techmage stepped out into the battle outside, immediately leaping to start scaling the wall. A telepathic message brought the traitor knights converging on her. Shielded, the teleport reached her and they blinked away.

* * *

Justinia opened her eyes. She was in a place she didn't exactly recognize. She looked around, struggling to remember where she had just been. Strangely enough, the location didn't come to her.

Everything was white, shining bright white, to the point where it blinded her. She covered her eyes as she stumbled around wherever she was. Then the light began to die. She would finally be able to open her eyes when the blinding brightness went away.

Still having a glimmering sheen of impossible light on them, Justinia saw that the world was something she could begin to understand. She bumped into something. Looking down, as the world came into focus, she saw it was a railing. She looked out, seeing that she was on an elevated space. She saw a grassy field in front of her sloping down towards a shimmering blue lake.

She recognized the place immediately. But it felt alien, as if she'd never really known it. A creeping sensation ran up and down her spine, as if something was behind her. Justinia spun around to check, and saw a mass of darkness. A black sphere, encasing a shape that resembled a girl, sat on the terrace.

"Ileve," She said quietly. Then she repeated the name, "Ileve…"

The shape inside the sphere stirred a little. Its eyes might have opened up with that motion. Then an ear-rending scream rose from the girl. Filled with pain, Justinia covered her ears to block out the sound. Incoherent shouts followed, carrying only a single word with each. "Betrayal…hate…love…suffer…"

Justinia was almost pushed back over the railing by the force of the words. She understood it now. _Ileve is inside me. I'm just the shell. But…but all witches have a reason for turning. Was she betrayed? Did Theodora hate her? No…Theodora loved her. That's why Ileve feels betrayed, because she wouldn't let her die. _

Justinia stepped forwards, reaching out for the girl. "Theodora doesn't hate you. She loved you," Justinia said, "Please, don't do this anymore. Don't suffer anymore. Even if you have to burn me away, please live once again!"

But the girl that was Ileve wouldn't listen. She refused to listen.

* * *

Erwine stood before the glowing archway. Her sword was grasped tight in her hand. Mila stood beside her. "Somehow…" The silver-haired one whispered, "I know that this ends here." She walked forwards, and Mila matched her pace. Both were submerged into the blinding light, before emerging into a room of shimmering gemstones.

Despite the impressive sight of the massive bookshelf, Erwine was first drawn to the girl before the towering structure. A low laugh rose up as the girl spun around. Guns were gripped tight by the fingers of both hands. Long tails of red hair stretched out from either side of her head. "Hello, Erwine," She called out, "I just knew you'd be coming." The blue light highlighted the moisture on her cheeks.

Erwine raised her sword and Mila her revolver. "Theodora, step away from there. That is not yours." Erwine warned her. Upon her order not being obeyed, she intensified the magic in her voice. "Step away!" she shouted. Theodora just shook her head.

"Oh no, Erwine. I'm a bit too determined to bow down to your little tricks." The girl spat. Her voice swelled up with rage and despair, both at herself and the universe around her. She threw her head back, laughing aloud. "You see, I've lost. I tossed away Justinia-no, Ileve. I threw her happiness away, I threw all _our _happiness away!" She screamed, stumbling forwards as if drunk. Then she extended her arm outwards, "Just for the sake of stopping Ishna, I gave up on everything, all for revenge! And here I am now, after a life that has led to no accomplishment! In the end, Ishna won. She won, and without even lifting a finger herself."

Her opposite hand twitched, as if to bring her weapon up to her soul gem. But she denied the movement. A maniacal grin spread across her face, "I can't yet die. Not while you still live, Erwine Braune." She said, "I know without a doubt in my mind that you are the key at the center of everything. Even if this wasn't you part, your role _will _come in the future." Her finger tightened on the trigger. "I will give even my life to erase you from this equation." That grin turned into a sad smile, "And maybe then, I'll be free?"

She pulled the trigger all the way. The same instant she fired, her mind was bearing down on Erwine's. Mila rolled to the side, loosing a blast from her weapon. Theodora spun around it, raising both weapons as Erwine curled her wings around herself. Her ponytail flying out behind her, Erwine ran forwards and burst out from her cover.

Theodora ducked under the sword swing, and rolled under the return stroke. Erwine stabbed her sword down as Theodora's gun went to her head. Mila cut in, her left hand knocking the gun away as her own gun was pointed down. Theodora was leaning back as she crouched, and brought her left hand to Mila's face.

Erwine reached out with her right hand to knock the other gun away, but that left herself open. Theodora flipped backwards, both her legs coming up to strike Erwine and Mila in the chins. Firing as fast as she could, bullets filled the room while Theodora backed away.

Shielded by her wings, Erwine moved forwards once again. Mila ducked behind her, firing out explosive bursts of magic from her gun at every opportunity. As Erwine leapt out again, Theodora jumped upwards. But Erwine's slash was going that direction, and all it took was a flap of her wings to send her upwards.

A bright orange bolt was barely dodged by the girl, but it crashed into the wall behind her. Flying forwards, Theodora fired down on Erwine as the girl tried to turn around in time. She was protected by her wings, but Mila wasn't so fortunate. That blonde girl rolled around, staying light on her feet as Theodora traced her. Bullet after bullet grazed her.

Forcing herself downwards as Erwine flew at her, Theodora rolled and kicked out to Mila. She was forced to roll again as Erwine's sword slammed into the ground beside. Chasing after her blade, Erwine yanked the weapon from the floor and spun round to swing at the fleeing Theodora.

Theodora smoothly kept under the swing. One arm was ready. Erwine's right arm went for her head as Theodora's shots took her in the chest. But Erwine still moved forwards. A beat of her wings accelerated her, and with both arms Erwine swung at Theodora. The spin had enough strength so that when Erwine leapt up with her wings to follow, she still delivered.

Erwine, however, could do nothing about the presence boring into her mind. While Erwine was determined, set to not give up, Theodora was ready to die. Erwine truthfully was not. Theodora poured all of her magic into piercing through Erwine's mental defenses, using years and years of experience.

Despite her best efforts, Erwine had failed. She found herself swinging downwards, pushing herself down as well, before she could strike Theodora. Mila leapt for her, firing up at Theodora. All the girl ended up doing was taking the hits for Erwine. As the silver-haired girl stood to her feet, shielding herself with her wings, she looked to the side.

Mila's mutilated body lay there. Her soul gem was intact. Erwine scooped it up into her hands as Theodora fired again. Wings starting to weaken, Erwine had no choice but to rush forwards. "You can't win!" Theodora screamed, "You…You will be erased!"

The two rushed forwards one another. Erwine flourished Mila's gem around her, drawing the girl's power into her own blade. The shining gem appearing in the hilt of her weapon, Erwine felt herself grow stronger. For a few moments, she could force out Theodora from her mind as they clashed together.

As if they were dancing, the two spun about one another. Bullets flew in all directions, a blade traced lines of energy through the air, and blood spattered in all directions. Barely managing to land any substantial hits at all, Erwine and Theodora climbed upwards, their deadly dance faster than any human could ever be. Both poured all their energy into their strikes, both certain in their hatred of the other.

Erwine swung, Theodora's pistol being tossed aside. Overextended, Erwine was defenseless as Theodora pressed her gun right to Erwine's head. Only a last second flick of the girl's head prevented the bullet from blowing the skull to pieces. Even then, Erwine fell backwards missing an eye. An instant flick of Theodora's wrist left a dent in Erwine's head and sent her downwards.

Crashing onto the ground, Erwine immediately tried to move. That's when Theodora capitalized on her telepathy. A lance of mental force slammed into Erwine's mind, overwhelming her defenses and striking deep. The girl found herself immobile on the ground; the nerve connections to her brain were severed at the source. In vain, Erwine tried to get at least her arm to move, so that she could try to save Mila's soul.

Theodora didn't hesitate. A bullet flew from her gun towards Erwine. Even as her finger pulled the trigger, she was talking. "Fear-"The bullet didn't impact. "-not, Erwine." Estelle took her position in front of Erwine, her glaive raised. "Fate itself is on your side." Laelia and Celestine stood to either side of the inquisitor. Though the maze had misled them, perhaps some will did guide it.

Theodora smiled sadly as she gently touched down on the ground. "I suppose I never did have a chance, did I?"

"I don't know what you're on about, Theodora," Estelle spat the name like a curse. "But you end here." She pointed her glaive at Theodora. "I don't know why you've done any of this, but you turned Justinia against me-"

"Justinia was always on my side," Theodora laughed, "She was never yours, from the beginning she was inserted as a tool to be used when the time was right." Then Theodora looked down, stumbling a few steps back. "But…she's dead now."

"That's your fault," Estelle spat, "You're the one who started all this."

"I didn't start anything!" Theodora screamed. "I act-" She suddenly stopped, then shook her head, a hopeless expression appearing on her face, "I _tried_ to act in defiance of Ishna's plan. But…it's not over yet, and even if I die trying, I will fight her!" The girl swore, "I'll do anything to destroy her legacy, even if I become a witch myself!"

Estelle leapt forwards, saying quietly to the others, "Leave this to me." Metal smashed against metal as Theodora deflected Estelle's first strike. Switching sides, Theodora fired with her other gun at Estelle. The inquisitor rolled forwards, her glaive making Theodora slide back. Estelle leapt at Theodora, deflecting the blasts before swinging in.

Like Erwine and Theodora had before, they engaged in a deadly dance. But unlike the previous exchange, this was no battle of rage or hatred, guided by fury, instead this was a battle of ice-cold precision. Every strike, every movement down to the slightest were all dictated by decades of experience.

They knocked each's weapons and arms aside again and again. Bullets flew off into the nothingness surrounding them, or ripped into the gemstone with bright flashes. The air resembled a fireworks show, pulses of light firing out constantly. Smooth cuts in the floor were opened up by the brightly-shining glaive, which only added to the sights to see.

And with the speed the moved at, the battle began to resemble more of a fireworks show. Lacking a large space, they clashed again and again in deadly dances of close combat. All the while, their minds slammed against one another. Every trick in both of their books was played again and again, each one using tactics they'd never used before.

Estelle felt fear rising in her heart as they fought. _She's suicidal, _the inquisitor quickly realized, as she saw Theodora's body glowing with overcharge, _if she keeps this up, she'll burn herself out. She…she really has given up, hasn't she? _But neither could slow down now.

As a barrage of half a dozen stabs failed to land a blow, Estelle thought. _She's just like Adrianne. She's willing to die for her belief._ Theodora, on one foot, pivoted about, pistols firing at Estelle. Then, Estelle caught the despair on the girl's face._ No, it's because she's failed. Just like Adrianne did. But now, she has no one left to make her stop. _

The two both knew it had to end soon. Their mental battle was starting to swing in the favor of Theodora's suicidal use of magic. But that meant the desperate girl had less time left. Both had to finish this soon. _I will kill you, Erwine, _Theodora swore to herself, _I'll die doing so, but it'll be a fitting fate. _

Both charged their weapons. Breaking apart for a brief few seconds gave them time to plan. Neither capitalized on that time. They leapt back towards one another, simply intent on ending everything in one strike.

A light shined brighter than even the blinding intensity of the room, and then a sound like glass shattering rang out. Erwine, just getting herself back together, looked up. Neither girl was there anymore. For a moment, she panicked, reaching out for a sign of life with her mind.

The distant echoes of a final pair of gunshots signaled what she knew in her heart to be the final blows of their duel.

* * *

The detonation had blasted a hole in the apparently very real walls around that room. Crashing through into a nearby corridor, Theodora had the chance to fire only two more shots before fate caught up to her.

It ended faster than it had even begun. With a wet chop, Theodora's right hand flew from her body. Estelle dodged around the next shot from the left, spinning her glaive and stabbing the reverse end into Theodora's chest. The point on the end penetrated the girl's body, going right through.

Smoothly withdrawn, the weapon's edge then severed the other hand. Theodora fell down to her knees, defeated. Her eyes opened wide. Estelle wasted no time, her blade instantly coming back around to end the girl's life. A satisfied smile sat on Theodora's face the entire time, but it was tinged with just a hint of sadness.

"Goodbye," Estelle whispered. She never connected. Instead, the inquisitor spun around to face the thing made from darkness that leapt at her. Sounds resembling words rose from its throat as it struck faster than Estelle could react. A glistening knife edge sliced into the inquisitor's flesh again and again, Estelle doing all she could to fight back against the powerful creature.

"Justinia!" A voice called from down the hallway. "Stop this! Get away from her!" Wei ran into the room, arms glowing bright.

Secyhylia was beside her. "Justinia, please stop it! Don't hurt Estelle!" The short girl cried.

She came to a halt as Justinia kept striking at Estelle. "Damn it!" She called, holding out her arms. A multitude of symbols flashed bright, before a wave of energy blasted the girl to the ground.

Estelle stumbled backwards, glaive held out towards her attacker. Covered in a color as black as a grief seed, a figure that vaguely resembled Justinia struggled to its feet, before falling over again. Theodora looked on in horror, legs pushing herself back against the wall.

Estelle backed away towards the intersection at the end of the hallway, glaive still pointed out. Wei cried out as a hand reached out from the side. Estelle disappeared around a corner as the hand yanked her away. Then the girl Wei once knew then turned around, looking at Justinia. Blocked by the fusion of minds before her, Wei could watch in horror as a wall appeared into place to separate Estelle fully.

Her mind went back to the tragedy in the Expanse, over a year ago. _I won't be seeing Estelle again, will I? _She thought, falling to her knees as Justinia stumbled back towards Theodora. Sechylia merely ran forwards to the girl, meeting Justinia's eye for a few seconds before falling to her knees.

"You're not there, are you?" She asked, "Justinia, you're gone…" Sechylia wept.

"No, I'm not," A voice that resembled Justinia's spoke, "I…I'm sorry, Sechylia. That all of this had to happen. Please, keep on living, for my sake."

"Ileve," Theodora cried, right before the hybrid fell to its knees before her. "Ileve, I'm sorry I did all that to you. I'm so sorry." She was crying as the thing pitifully looked up at her. It seemed to be in more pain than Theodora.

"I want to know something…" The girl whispered, in a voice that didn't resemble Justinia at all. "Did you really love me? Justinia, that is."

Theodora froze. Grasping for words, she forced them out. "Yes, I loved you. Not nearly as much as I did Ileve, but you still meant so much to me." A sad smile came onto her face. "I guess we should die together, huh?"

Justinia shook her head. She reached into her chest, groaning as she yanked out a grief seed. "No, my time here is over. I'm so happy that I could make you happy, that I could make Wei happy, that I could make Sechylia happy, but it's over." The girl seemed to be crying.

Then she froze for a few seconds. No one knew why.

* * *

On that terrace once again, Justinia saw Ileve in that sphere of darkness. "Ileve," she pleaded, "Please, free yourself from this madness." She ran forwards, fighting against the screaming and writhing of the girl and pressed her hands against the sphere.

"Didn't you hear what Theodora said?! She loved you! She still loves you!" Justinia had tears streaming down her face as she desperately called out to the girl. "Don't end your life like this, trapped inside a worthless shell like me! You don't deserve any of this!" Her hands banged futilely against the black sphere. "Please, Ileve, she loves you. She _needs _you more than anything else right now. Please, save her from herself."

Then she froze. Ileve's hand reached out. Slowly, the fingers of the girl brushed against the edge of the sphere. Her mouth opened wide. Like glass, cracks ran through the sphere. But no matter how hard Justinia pounded, it wouldn't break. "Of course…" Justinia shook her head, "You've already become a witch. The universe doesn't work like that, does it? No happy endings…"

* * *

"There can be a happy ending for Ileve Nashiandra." A monotone voice rang out.

Justinia gasped, looking forwards at the Incubator. It slipped out from behind Wei. "You were once a separate lifeform. Therefore, you have something of an individual soul left. Using up that magic would free Ileve from her imprisonment, now that she has accepted her salvation. Of course, it would obliterate what is left of the entity known as Justinia."

"I'll do it!" Justinia cried, grasping the grief seed tight in her hands. She pushed herself to her feet. Sechylia leapt up, tackling her.

"You can't! You'll die!" The girl screamed.

"I'll die anyways!" Justinia cried, "I'd rather give my life to save someone than for nothing at all!" She looked forwards, meeting Wei's gaze. For a few seconds, they met each other's stares. Silently, the dark-haired girl nodded.

"Understand that making this wish will entirely obliterate what remains of you, conscious and unconscious." The Incubator said.

Sechylia screamed and wept as she hugged Justinia, but the girl didn't falter. "I understand that." She said. Then, exhaling a deep breath, she spoke. Without faltering, without missing a single a word, she spoke. "I wish to save Ileve Nashiandra."

"Understood."

Justinia's chest glowed brightly. "Goodbye…" The word was the slightest whisper in the air. Then her eyes went blank, rolled back into her head, and shut. She collapsed like a fallen tree. A long and loud scream rose from Sechylia as she grasped the lifeless body of the girl.

From Justinia's dead hand rolled a small aquamarine gem. Theodora's eyes lit up as she saw it. "Ileve…" She whispered. One of her arms was almost entirely back by now. She reached out for it, taking it in her hand. "You're…you're back…" She whispered, before hugging the gem tight to her. Having lost all hope, only that single sliver of light remained to prevent her from falling all the way down into despair.

Wei turned her head to the side. Erwine stepped through the gap in the wall, Mila beside her. "It's over…" Wei whispered. Erwine looked around.

"Estelle?"

"I don't know." Wei replied in shock.

* * *

Estelle cried out, finding herself swept into the grip of a familiar face. "Nadine," she grunted, pushing back against the girl's embrace, "What are you doing?" A response didn't come for a few seconds. As the wall appeared to block off the others, Estelle started to push harder, "Nadine!" she shouted.

"Do you want to live?" the girl whispered with heavy regret in her ear. One hand gently slipped over Estelle's gem, grasping down before the girl could react.

Estelle gasped, reaching out with her mind to find staunch resistance in Nadine's. She couldn't make it in time. "W-what are you doing?" She demanded, breathing quickly.

"Just answer this question," Nadine begged desperately, for the first time expressing such an emotion to Estelle.

Estelle's eyes opened wide at the tone of the girl's voice, and she said, "Of course I do!"

"Then I'll have to place a burden upon your shoulders," Nadine whispered. "can you accept that?"

Estelle's face twisted in confusion, and she looked over her shoulder to find Nadine's emotionless face, yet it was so close to shattering. "What burden?" She asked frightfully.

"Do you want to live?" Nadine asked once again, seemingly unwilling to give the answer.

"Yes!" Estelle shouted.

"Why?"

That took the girl by surprise, but she quickly overcame that and responded, "I still have to protect what Adrianne left behind, and make sure that Ishna's legacy ends."

Nadine nodded, and released the girl as a figure stepped into the room from another hallway. Metal case in her hands, Viola said, "It's translated, they didn't see me."

"Alright then," Nadine said quietly, "Then let's go." She turned around to face down the hallway before.

"Where?" Estelle demanded, glancing back at the wall that had closed her off.

"To where our duty lies," Nadine said coldly. She looked over her shoulder, eyes narrowed and staring into Estelle's. "You said you want to live, so I suggest you follow."

"You're hiding a lot from me," Estelle observed, then she narrowed her eyes in reply, "This is all part of her plan, isn't it?"

Nadine grinned, "Estelle, I know Ishna's plan, because she told it to me." She stated, but before Estelle could say anything, she explained, "And it is imperative that you come with me. Ideally, you would have died here, but…I'm not willing to go that low. Come with me, and we'll do what we can otherwise."

"You wish to stop it." Estelle realized. She nodded, "Alright then." A glance was thrown at Viola before she started following Nadine, "Then let's go."

Nadine just giggled, "Don't worry, we can rest for now, the next performance won't begin for a little while."

* * *

Some hours later, a message came to some of the minds still on that lonely world. It brought happiness to none of them.

_Dear Celestine, Sanae, Sechylia, Wei, Laelia, Ayelen, and Erwine_

_ Each and every single one of you is an amazing person. Never falter in your beliefs, and never hesitate to do what you consider to be the right thing. I am sure that all of you will attain the endings that you one day want, perhaps some of you are already satisfied. Celestine, you shall make a wonderful Inquisitor. Laelia, don't ever let her go. Sanae, Ayelen, I hope that the two of you continue to be happy with one another. Sechylia, always remember Justinia, I doubt you'll ever be alone. Wei, please stay with Erwine. She's an irrational girl, and she needs you to stand by her. Erwine, never stop hunting for the truth. You'll find it one day, I swear to you. But do not forget that you have other promises to make good on. Goodbye, all of you. For now, I exit the stage. _

_ Sincerely, Estelle_

* * *

Erwine felt something well up in the corners of her eyes as it all hit her at once as she stepped out of the doorway, while the dry air of the world hit her. Like a sudden climax giving way to nothing, it had ended just as quickly as it began. "This isn't over, is it?" She asked to no one, realizing the words reflected quite precisely what she'd spoken over a year before. But this time, there was no one who could answer that question. She had exited with the others, but they all seemed to be crying. Only Mila, so detached from everyone there, could remain stoic, but even her cool demeanor threatened to crack.

Remembering that vow she made, sitting before the dead bodies of two people who had irrevocably changed her life, Erwine knew that while the chapter had ended, the true end was still so far away. Her fists clenched, but at the same time the last year of events rushed through her mind. Suddenly it was all too clear, what that vow she hadn't forgotten in the slightest had done.

_Am I myself, or am I Adrianne? Am I myself, or am I Ishna's pawn? _Erwine shut her eyes, and recalled something else. "I'm myself." She whispered, her tone that of a staunch declaration, "That is all I am, and all that I will be." Tears rolled down her cheeks as exhaled a deep breath. Her eyes opened. "Ishna," she whispered, "Whether it's today or tomorrow, I'll uncover everything. But I won't give up myself in the process."

That vow was never forgotten either.

* * *

And so, Milita fell silent once again. Abandoned by the Imperium as previous ages had abandoned it, the lonely little planet continued to orbit the lonely little star. Despite the great drama that had played out on the surface of the small orb, it would be soon lost once again to the ravages of time.

But all those who had lived through that drama would never be forgotten. Nor those who perished during it.

* * *

The Grand Inquisitor watched as the planet grew larger and larger before her, the ships around it holding place as ordered. The door opened and closed. Though Wilhelmina didn't move, the silent figure beside her tracked the entry like a predator would its prey.

The Grey Knights captain asked, "Anyone leave?"

"Just the traitors who were here," Wilhelmina spoke in a whisper. The damage done to the engines hadn't been anywhere near catastrophic. They were capable of repairing them given some time and the extensive databanks the ship had, and though Milita was quiet by the time they arrived, a preemptive order ensured that no one was gone.

Vera spoke softly as she asked, "_She_ hasn't shown up since she attacked us?"

The grand inquisitor nodded. "Nothing concrete. Adrianne's mentor and her lover disappeared, but they could have left with the chaos forces or be hiding out on Milita itself." She explained, "Two Navy squadrons are converging right now, and I'm calling in all neighboring sects. We'll quarantine the planet and leave no stone unturned."

The white-haired girl was silent after that, but Vera could tell that there was a question that had yet to be answered. "The girl at the center of all of this, Erwine right? What will you do with her?"

A few seconds passed as Wilhelmina shut her eyes. Without opening them, she said quietly, "I'll probably let her go." Then she opened them, and explained calmly, "First of all, there's nothing more to be done with investigating her. Secondly, there's the fact that she's at the center of all of this. If we let her go, then the plan will advance." The Grand Inquisitor grinned, "And if the plan advances, that will lead us right to Ishna."

Juno reclined uncomfortably in her chair. Only Caelina was in the room with her. They had been sitting there for some time, neither was keeping track. Neither was happy as well. "We lost Yukie, the Hadiens Sect is going to be ripped apart, Theodora and her girls will be punished, and Ishna's followers got away free." Juno solemnly said, "All while we sat here unable to do a single thing."

Caelina didn't appear willing to accept that, however. "We won't let them get away again," she told the lord inquisitor, "Next time, we'll end it."

"I thought things ended a year ago," Juno said quietly, "But it seems that was just the beginning. Who can say what this chapter was?" She sighed, but spoke a bit more happily, "But you're right, we won't allow anything like this again."

* * *

Quite understandably, Celestine's was shaking. Despite all the mental controls, she could barely keep herself smiling and steady as she kept her eyes staring straight forwards. Carefully, the fingers ran across her soul gem, and that sacred symbol was engraved on the surface.

Handing the egg back to its owner, the Grand Inquisitor of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition said, "You are henceforth Inquisitor Celestine Luminesce. Congratulations." Wilhelmina saluted. Celestine replied in kind.

* * *

"That was hilarious!" Laelia cried, patting her partner on the back, "The way you were, she might as well have been examining you for heresy!" She was nearly crying with how hard she laughed.

Celestine nodded unsteadily. "Sure, sure…" She said. Her eyes still stared out at the blackness beyond. The stars passed by slowly.

"What's the matter?" Laelia wondered. "Estelle?"

Shuddering, the violet-haired girl replied, "I only hope that I can live up to her memory." Celestine nodded, wiping the first bits of tears from her eyes.

"I believe that you will," a voice said from behind. Both girls turned around to see Sanae and Ayelen locked into stances of attention. The two hadn't even heard the door opening. Continuing, Sanae said, "We would like to serve under you, Ms. Luminesce."

"Celestine's fine," she waved her hand, blushing.

Yet none of them could forgot the ones they'd lost. Nor the one who ultimately begun it all.

* * *

Reitia gazed at the floor, eyes near lifeless. The girl sitting across from her didn't look any happier. "Do you think we did the right thing?" Megumi asked.

"We acted as best we could," Reitia replied, "And I think that's what counts." Briefly, she glanced over to the girl lying on the table in the cell. Arietta had been silent and motionless for a long time.

"They said she'll live…" Reitia muttered, "But I don't think she'll ever forgive us. No matter how much we're pardoned, one can't take back the lives we sacrificed for nothing." The two sat in silence, not comfortable to sit with their guilt yet faced with no other choice.

* * *

Lyndia inhaled and exhaled slowly, seated comfortably in a chair beside the captain's. "Where to, ma'am?" the captain asked as they reached the jump point. They were far from Milita, but a quick slip into realspace had confirmed a lack of pursuers.

"Anywhere but near here," Lyndia replied. The Hearth Knight's body rested in the ship's brig still, she had yet to become useful but one could never tell with things like this.

"Ma'am?" The human asked, confused.

Lyndia just shrugged, saying happily, "It doesn't matter, not for a long time. As long as we stay alive, you can do whatever you want." She grinned, and relaxed back in the chair, savoring the calm while it lasted.

* * *

The girl sat in the dark cell, huddled up in the corner of the cold room. For a few seconds, light bled in as the door to the room opened. Gloved hands grasped the bars, and green hair framed a sad face. There wasn't any light to show the tears on her face, but Theodora knew they were there.

"I'll miss you," Ileve whispered, "And I'll see you again. I don't think you're an evil person, and I think they'll realize that too." She tried to smile, "Don't give up hope, Theodora. I still love you."

It was the slightest of whispers that carried the affirmation to Ileve's ears, but it was there. "I love you too…" Theodora said, burying her head further in her arms.

"The Goddess Protects, may we meet again, in this world, or the next." Ileve said, gazing at her for a few seconds more, before turning around.

"See you soon…" Theodora whispered. Ileve smiled more fully as she heard that.

* * *

The girl's body was lifeless as it sat in the casket. It was entirely peaceful, the girl dressed in her normal clothes. Tears dripped down onto the casket as Sechylia bent over it, weeping uncontrollably. Wei merely stood by, staring blankly at the body. Elle could barely contain herself, but she tried hard not to cry as she sat beside the body.

The door to the room slid slowly open. A girl softly stepped in. She looked at the casket, kneeling down in front of it. Her palm touched the surface of the thing, "Thank you," Ileve whispered, "For saving me, and for doing so much for so many."

A few more seconds passed before she stood up. "In Theodora's name, and in yours, I'll keep fighting for what you fought."

"I'm going to find her," Elle whispered, "Ishna…" She wiped away her tears, standing to her feet. "Theodora might have done this, but Ishna was the one who hurt them in the first place. If I can do anything, I'll destroy her." She turned to cast her hate-filled eyes at Ileve, though that hate was not aimed at that girl.

Ileve nodded in silent agreement, and swore, "We'll wipe out every trace of her."

* * *

"So this isn't goodbye?" Erwine wondered, grinning as she and Mila sat across from one another. The mess hall of the _Yslevia _was unoccupied save for the two, and Erwine was thankful for that fact.

"Not at all," Mila shook her head. "I'll be staying around for a long time, and I doubt I'll find a reason to just up and leave."

"Thanks a lot," Erwine said, wiping the tears of joy out of her eyes.

"Don't worry," Mila said with a smile, reaching out to pat the girl on the shoulder, "After the things I've been through, I don't think I can settle down again."

* * *

Erwine saluted as she stepped into the room. The single figure in the room leaned back in the chair, tapping her pen against the long table. A large stack of papers was carried under Erwine's opposite arm. The young girl slowly walked forwards, and deposited the papers.

Looking straight ahead, Erwine declared, "Although this evidence covers mainly Adrianne Azure, I would like to nominate both Adrianne Azure and Estelle Adramartis for commendation. The latter may still be alive, but I believe that she is worthy of such an award."

Erwine fell silent as Wilhelmina parsed through the stack, glancing through the papers. Minutes passed by as the Grand Inquisitor spread the multitude of evidence across the entire table. "I suppose this is sufficient. But are you aware that there are articles concerning you as well?" Wilhelmina asked.

Gasping, Erwine stammered, "I-I must have missed those. This-this was assembled by Inquisitor Adramartis, so I apologize for such selfish actions." She told the truth.

"Don't worry, I don't care. In fact, I'm just happy other people share my opinion." Wilhelmina confessed, resting her head on her clasped hands. She grinned. "It'll take a few more years, but I think you'll make a fine inquisitor, Erwine."

* * *

Erwine watched the flash in the night sky as the _Eternal Lightning _burned away from Hadiens. A harsh gust of cold wind swept across the rooftop in that moment. Erwine raised her hand, waving goodbye to the ship.

Her head turned to see the girl beside her. "You going to run off again?" Wei wondered. Only the slightest bit of her was joking. She didn't look at Erwine, instead staring up at the starry sky. Her eyes opened up wide as she felt a pair of arms encircle her.

"Never again," Erwine swore, "I won't do that to you, or to anyone." Her voice was soft. Wei conceded to her, embracing Erwine in return.

"But what about Ishna? There's still a mystery out there…" Wei pointed, relaxing into her partner's embrace.

"There most certainly is," Erwine agreed, "But we've not the slightest lead, and besides the Grand Inquisitor is on the case." She fell silent, and looked as though her own answer didn't satisfy her. "What seems like so long ago, I told a friend I'd become a hero." She whispered, words almost lost in the wind, "And though Adrianne may have bestowed upon me her own mission, I want to make sure that I fulfill that other promise first, lest…" Her eyes shut as a dark thought came to her mind, "Lest Adrianne's mission consume me as it did her, I'd like to make my own mark on the world before that might happen."

Wei replied, "I don't think it'll do what it did to Adrianne. You're stronger than she was."

Erwine smiled, almost embarrassed to accept her words. "Thank you," She whispered, but before she could speak again Wei cut her off.

"I won't allow it, even if you yourself want to. I won't allow you to become like Adrianne was, because I know that you'd hate yourself for that." Wei promised. She titled her head up and looked Erwine in the eyes, "I'm strong too, and I won't let you get hurt."

Erwine started to cry, her heart warmed. At the same time, she returned Wei's passionate stare and once again leaned in towards her face. Gently, their lips met, and this kiss lasted far longer than the last. Even if it wasn't _the _end, it was still so wondrously joyful. For once, Erwine truly looked happily towards tomorrow.

* * *

"We have failed." The solemn voice announced, "With only a single variable manipulated, we can assume the plan will continue to move forwards as she originally intended." She reclined in a white wooden chair, her form covered by a blue cloak that seemed to swallow her face into darkness.

The four chairs sat upon a wide field of green grass under a blue sky, both the field and sky seemingly without end. A girl in black sat across from her, arms crossed as she said, "We were interfered with. There was no way we could have anticipated the arrival of the other. Our objective should be to identify her at once." The same sinister tone as before infected her speech.

A girl in a red cloak sat off to the side of both, ready to leap out of her chair as she declared, "We need to disregard secrecy at this point. The threat must be eliminated." Her voice was brash, loud.

Next to speak was a girl in a silver cloak, across from the one in red, sitting straight up against the chair's back. "We cannot tell of the repercussions if we were to interfere overtly with the plan. The consequences could be enormous." Her voice expressed wisdom, thoughtfulness, the knowledge of ages. "There has to be some sort of failsafe, we know she knew of us." She added, "Furthermore the data we are gathering is invaluable, we should seek the ideal moment to terminate this chain of events."

"We shall see," A fifth voice from nowhere rang out in all their ears, "But remember, our goal is not data, it is saving this universe."

* * *

**An afterthoughts blurb will be posted in a next few days, outlining where I'll be going in the future. I can now confidently say I'm back on schedule. Thanks for reading!**


	51. Eight Years of Memories

**In what is another one of the seemingly endless interruptions bent on destroying my already unrealistic deadlines, the anxiety I've always had worsened (for various reasons) two months ago and left me incapable of focusing on much of anything without having a panic attack. Luckily, I'm on my way to recovery. Unfortunately, my schedule is absolutely annihilated. This was supposed to come out about two weeks ago, and I was supposed to have two or three more chapters of In Someone's Name finished.**

**I honestly don't know what the next few months will look like, but I can promise I'll try my best to update either story at least once every few weeks.**

**This is intended to be a sort of filler for the time skip in-between the end of Volume 2 and the beginning of Volume 3. Not to jynx myself, but the first proper chapter is mostly finished and should be out sooner rather than later. **

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

_**Puella Magi Aeternum Bellum**_

_**In Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition**_

_**Prologue: Eight Years of Memories**_

* * *

For people who are capable of at almost any moment accessing a galactic network of information, it at first seems strange that they would be writing newspapers. It is certain that the history of the Adeptus Magica and newspapers is one of the most convoluted in all the ten thousand years of this Imperium's existence. The original intention was that the articles would be summaries of major events, for while the official reports could be read, sorting through such a great volume of information was, and still is, difficult even for the mind of a magical girl.

However, the proposals for creating at least Segmentum-wide publications for this purpose ran into immediate opposition. Many Inquisitors believed that such a practice would be open to any egotist who wished to make a name for themselves by publishing a sensationalist story, and could even be abused by traitors seeking to spread misinformation. However, it was pointed out that the same thing could be done in the official telepathic networks as well. Both sides refused to back down, and the argument dragged on for several years as committee after committee, each one supposed to make a final decision, was formed and abolished. During this time, the Grand Inquisitor stayed out of the affair, preferring to stay quiet rather than get engaged in a potentially-harmful controversy. When a firefight almost broke out between two arguing inquisitors and their retinues, she decided to step in.

Personally heading a large committee consisting of some of the most prominent individuals from the various Segmentum Sects, the Grand Inquisitor would finally lay the issue to rest. It was decided to establish a general newspaper for each of the Segmentums, for the sake of gathering the most vital information and passing it in simple packages to the wider force of Inquisitors.

Of course, time would only result in further complications as further diversity and specification was argued for and against, but such events are farther down the line from these events.

-Excerpt from _A General History of the Inquisition_

* * *

We've managed to trace the movement of the escaped vessel beyond the Western Fringe into independent territory. Based on what we've managed to learn about Ishna's movements, it's highly probable that she's secured the complete cooperation of a major ruler. A major assault would be ineffective, they'd have time to run and we'd be bogged down in an extended campaign. Should you approve it, I believe an Assassinorum detachment would be most effective, though given the information we've already gathered, it's likely that the mission would be highly risky. A more complete report on the capabilities of Asler Peryanna and the worlds under her control is included with this message.

-Message from Vigil Assassin Zifa to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader. M41.037.12

* * *

**MILITA INCIDENT STILL A MYSTERY**

Last week, the long-standing blockade around the Hadiens Sector finally concluded, but the reasons for it are still unclear. The Grand Inquisitor, who personally ordered the movement of ships, has not concretely responded to any question asked, and it appears that those who were present during the Incident either knew little or are under very clear orders to say nothing of what occurred.

What is known is that the Hadiens Sect has been momentarily disbanded due to accusations of heresy, spread throughout the entire sect it seems. Every member has been arrested under such charges. The forces of Inquisitor Theodora Magnissia have also been brought into custody for charges of heresy, though her relation to the sect and role in the incident are both still unknown.

Most agree that whatever happened had to do with the Hadiens Incident a year ago, involving the traitor Ishna Kleimar. However, she was believed dead at the end of that incident, with only her subordinates escaping. It seems that her legacy hasn't ended.

Erwine Braune, the focus of the Hadiens Incident, was once again at the center of events, adding further weight to the theory that this relates to Ishna Kleimar. Reportedly, both Inquisitor Estelle Adramartis, the lover of Adrianne Azure, and Inquisitor Nadine Edicossen, the mentor of Adrianne Azure, disappeared from Milita at the end of the incident. Their whereabouts are reportedly unknown, but both individuals have a strong connection to Adrianne, who was also at the nexus of events last year. It's clear that whatever happened, it has something to do with what happened a year ago, although the specifics are yet to be known.

Any attempts at questioning have been denied, and Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel seems intent on tightly controlling what is let out. As such, the members of this newspaper will not continue to pursue this story after this article. This is clearly a matter of Imperium-wide security, and information will come out on a need-to-know basis. The editors and writers recommend that others follow this course of action, curiosity has killed far more than cats.

-Article from the _Tempestus Herald, _by Caitlin Afreya, M41.038.03

* * *

Appraisal of the potential locations continues fruitlessly. Given the cryptic nature of the text, the massive number of potential planets, and the time it takes to fully search a planet for such a vault, I doubt we'll have any success for years to come. However, we shall of course continue to try. Currently, Ixias, Monacia, Kerig, and Oyllon are being surveyed, and we expect all four operations to conclude next month.

-Message from Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader, M41.038.06

* * *

We were unable to confirm the presence of Ishna Kleimar. No evidence was present to suggest that she was there, but at the same time it is clear that she expected us. They were prepared for an attempted infiltration, and I imagine that even now the target is relocating. The Venator was unfortunately lost, but otherwise we escaped intact.

If you desire my personal opinion, I believe that further pursuit of this target is a fool's errand, at least until we have more resources. However, I imagine that time is not something we have much of in this case.

-Vigil Assassin Zifa to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader, M41.038.12

* * *

Ashiri Maleno: "Are we certain this is the best choice, given the instability of Adrianne Azure?"  
Egnia Toella: "This is a personal recommendation from Lord Inquisitor Eskel, we also can't overlook the fact that her record is shining in comparison to Ms. Azure's."  
Catirin Akhme: "In her statement regarding the Milita Incident, Ms. Braune explains that she doesn't intend to pursue further investigation for the moment, given the lack of leads and her inexperience. That's a sharp contrast to the maniac who chased a ghost for twenty years."  
Lola Opin: "That's correct, and there's little to suggest that will change. Everyone in her retinue has connections to Ishna, but I think it's all the more remarkable that she's united them around her own cause."  
Ashiri Maleno: "A little skepticism has never hurt anyone but…you're right, we can't deny that there was an extensive investigation conducted by the Grand Inquisitor herself. If this was another Adrianne, it would be made clear."  
Egnia Toella: "Then shall we approve the promotion? I see no clear reason not to. We can increase surveillance on her as necessary, of course."

-Excerpt from Tempestus Four Toella Multi-Sector-Overwatch-Committee Emergency Meeting, M41.039.03

* * *

If anyone besides Ishna Kleimar had produced this document then I would be convinced this is a wild goose chase on the grandest scale possible. We've cleared another set and are moving on once more. I can't help but wonder if there was never any point to any of this. Really, I think it's something to be considered, if this is naught more than a red herring, and somewhere she's carrying out her true plans.

But even if we assume that, we've nowhere to start from.

-Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader, M41.039.03

* * *

**LATEST RISING STAR PROMOTED TO INQUISITOR**

Even as an Interrogator, Erwine Braune was an excellent operative. From cleaning up the last traces of Ishna Kleimar's extensive heretic networks to assisting in the restructuring of the Hadiens Sect, the past year and a half have been nothing but diligent work. Many probably already know the girl, purely from the Hadiens and Milita Incidents, where she and her mentor were targeted by Ishna Kleimar.

Despite her young age, only sixteen, she's been through more than many girls. However, while others might have broken under the pressure, it appears that Erwine has only become stronger. The dedication shown to her work equals that of some of the bigger names, and though she's young, Erwine is still determined to succeed no matter the odds.

When questioned about what she planned to do with this promotion, Erwine replied, "I doubt I'll join a specific sect. Although Siothea is my home and I value it highly, I don't wish to be tied down to a single area. Assuming the rest of the girls agree, I'll most likely go wherever I'm needed, doing whatever I can to help."

Of course, the girl is not without her baggage. Her mentor was Adrianne Azure, infamous for her twenty-year pursuit of the believed-to-be-dead Ishna Kleimar. The list of crimes that have been leveled against Ms. Azure is quite extensive, including the rape of Erwine herself. However, the girl doesn't seem to let that past control her: "Adrianne was a person who knew herself to be correct yet was confronted by a world that told her she was wrong. There have been, and there will be, many misguided crusaders who actually do evil, and while many of her actions are inexcusable, I do not believe Adrianne Azure is one of those people. I want to remember her as someone who fought for what she believed in, no matter the cost."

Indeed, Erwine is a girl who doesn't let past actions control the present. She herself admits to having made mistakes in her life, especially in the case of the beginnings of the Milita Incident, "I don't think there's any shame in admitting that I was wrong. My actions caused people to die, and I haven't forgotten that. But I've learned from my mistakes and have grown as a result. I know that the only way to prove that is to show it, and that is precisely what I intend to do."

Erwine's retinue consists of Wei Huang, Mila Gorec, Sechylia Najina, and Ileve Nashiandra. Wei Huang is a magic programmer who originally met Erwine Braune at the beginning of the Hadiens Incident. Her exact relationship with Erwine is unclear, but the consistent closeness of the two leads many to believe that they are in a romantic relationship. Neither has commented on the matter directly, and when asked insist that people are reading too much into the issue. Case reports will reveal friction between the two in the past, but the last year and a half portrays them as a spectacular team. It appears that it is safe to assume that whatever their relationship, it is only pulling them together further.

Mila Gorec is one of the few survivors from Janicelle, and appears to be the second closest to Erwine. When asked about her relationship with the now-Inquisitor, she explained clearly, "I serve under her, that is what I do. Wei is certainly _closer _to Erwine, but I think that I am still trusted. We're close friends and comrades, we most certainly have each other's backs, but I can't say that our relationship goes any deeper than that."

Ileve Nashiandra's story is a mysterious one. It's known that she is a telepath, but not much else is. The files on her past are blank. She appeared shortly after the end of the Milita Incident, but a bit of digging and an inside source reveal that she was one of the members of Inquisitor Theodora Magnissia's ill-fated excavation project on Vasillica. According to these sources, she died there. Of course, there could have been a mistake, but many suspect that there's bigger forces at work here. Nonetheless, the Grand Inquisitor herself conducted the follow-up operation after the Milita Incident, and it's doubtful that any heretic slipped through her grasp.

Sechylia Najina formerly served under Inquisitor Estelle Adramartis, and truthfully it is not clear why she didn't transfer to Inquisitor Celestine Luminesce. Ms. Najina was once close to Justinia, another girl under Inquisitor Adramartis, who unfortunately lost her life at the end of the Milita Incident. When asked to explain her choice, Sechylia was a bit sorrowful as she replied, "I felt that a change of…surroundings, was for the best. Even though I know Sanae, Celestine, and even Laelia and Ayelen, better than I do Erwine and the others, those people I knew well just reminded me of Justinia. I felt it was best to remove myself from such an environment, and try to find a new start, so to speak."

Since the Milita Incident, Erwine has been traveling aboard the former Navy cruiser _Yslevia, _under the captaincy of Elle Langnesse. She formerly worked for Inquisitor Estelle Adramartis, who disappeared at the end of the Milita Incident, but hasn't moved to work with Inquisitor Celestine Luminesce since, instead sticking with Erwine. The reason is unknown, but perhaps it is similar to Ms. Najina's.

It is clear that the new Inquisitor's team is no shoddy force, and expectations are apparently set high given Erwine's record so far. She seems to combine the passion and dedication of Adrianne with a healthy dose of patience and calm. It's almost certain that one way or another, the headlines will be talking about her for a long time to come.

-Article from the _Tempestus Herald_, by Caitlin Afreya, M41.039.04

* * *

This will be the final report on our investigation. I can safely say that we have consulted every available archive and record possible. If you wish, we can personally go to confirm every single one, rather than trusting the MSOC reports, but the time that would take is unreasonably massive.

The point is, there's no trace of what's been reported by Inquisitor Luminesce or Interrogator Aemilina. Your description of the one in black certainly matches what is known of Ishna, but there's nothing about a girl in white. Absolutely no trace of her presence, not in any official report at least. I've included a few statements from girls, older ones, who state that they've seen ones like her, ones in cloaks, but I can't fathom who this group could possibly be. Nevertheless, the statements are there, and they were most certainly telling the truth.

-Inquisitor Istia Merantius, Chief of the Ordo Archivus, to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader, M41.039.06

* * *

I didn't think anyone would care about this…it's been forty-seven years since I last saw it, and I haven't forgotten in the slightest. It was back when I was part of the Ordo Finibus. I was on Iglam, exploring a series of old caverns that wound through the planet's crust. We weren't sure who made them, but we were interested in seeing what might be in them.

I was waiting outside of the caverns, keeping the shuttle safe. They had a teleporter, and could have been out in an instant. We were following the standard procedures, we knew what we were doing and we knew that we were safe. They found something down there, I was linked to them telepathically and I was receiving everything in real-time. They died before I really understood what was going on, the links severed completely. I don't know what they found, but it was something that somebody else didn't want them to see. All I know is that whoever did it was a magical girl, dressed in red. In the final messages, I saw none of her features, only a deep red cloak.

I left the planet as fast as I could, and didn't look back. I made a report, submitted it, and then it disappeared. I looked, and it wasn't there. It just disappeared. Like whoever did that didn't even exist. According to the records, my team died in an encounter with an incredibly dangerous hostile alien lifeform, which is why Iglam has not been returned to since. That's not the truth. The truth is that someone, a magical girl, killed them all, and made a record that went into the galactic network disappear.

I don't know why I'm alive. She could have silenced me, but perhaps this is what they want, to make people scared. I don't want to speculate about this, nor even really to talk about it, because I'm scared. I hope that this is of some use to you.

Please, find some kind of justice for those who've died.

-Statement of Inquisitor Tamilla Kennens

* * *

I can't believe it's already been over three years since Milita. In that time, we've accomplished nothing, save for confirming that our guesses are nothing more than guesses. I've no intention of calling off the search, but I'm just wondering how much longer this will continue for. Luckily, the list is being narrowed down. Sooner or later, we'll find what we're looking for.

-Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader M41.040.11

* * *

**BRAUNE WRAPS UP ANOTHER ONE**

Only seven months after her apprehension of rogue Inquisitor Lylla Oike, Erwine Braune has brought another investigation to its conclusion. For months, the Leximina Sector was plagued by a series of mysterious murders, believed to be linked to a Chaos cult operating in the region. Erwine not only confirmed the presence and obtained valuable information on the operations, but successfully wiped out the cult's leadership and sent the rest scattering to the four winds.

Starting in the shadows, she first stalked individual suspects before bringing them in for questioning, being sure to keep careful control of what was and wasn't remembered. Her power is a unique one that comes in handy in such affairs, a type of telepathic suggestion that induces the target to follow one's orders. For those unfamiliar, it lacks the subtlety of proper telepathy but more than makes up for that with brute force, being able to break through even well-constructed mental barriers with the proper application. With this technique, Erwine was able to more effectively interrogate any suspects apprehended, and more easily gain information.

After confirming the presence of a structure leadership on one planet, she moved to several others and gathered evidence that pointed to a central authority managing the operations. Furthermore, there were hints that all this was building towards a grand dark ritual to plunge the entire sector into chaos. Tracking a senior cult member to the feral world of Utellia, Erwine launched a sudden attack on their remote stronghold, and secured it in a stunning display of courage. After gaining the location of their central command, a derelict space station drifting in the outer reaches of the Gutierri system, Erwine mobilized local Navy forces as fast as possible and launched an overwhelming assault on the base.

In the ensuing battle, Erwine and her retinue battled several other traitor girls, as well as a heretic knight. However, they emerged victorious unscathed, and managed to capture several of the traitors, though the knight unfortunately ended her life before they could stop her. With the information gleaned from these prisoners, Arbites forces throughout the sector are already beginning mop-up operations of the remaining cult groups.

This spectacular success has made the name Erwine Braune the latest buzz across this corner of the Segmentum Tempestus. Already several requests have been made for her presence from nearby sectors to resolve some matter or another, and there's talk of her being nominated for appointment to a Multi-Sector Oversight Committee. It's likely that she won't go far, as hype dies down quickly and she hasn't the age to really garner the support for an MSOC appointment, but it appears that Erwine herself doesn't mind that: "I don't want to serve on an MSOC. If others believe that I can best serve the Goddess there, then I shall consider it, but I don't believe that it's the right place for me. They certainly do good things, and I don't hold my achievements and ability over that of any committee, but I prefer to be in the field."

No matter the outcome, it's certain that Erwine Braune won't be forgotten for a long time. It's safe to say that everyone's looking forwards to her next exploit.

-Article from the _Tempestus Herald, _by Caitlin Afreya, M41.041.03

* * *

We found it. It's confirmed.

It's on Oxete, an uncolonized world in the Segmentum Obscurus, but one with definite traces of Golden Age ruins. The planet was scanned before, but with what we've learned from Theodora Magnissia, we were able to more easily locate the presence of the vault, deeper below the surface and heavily shielded. The recon team has settled in to secure the site, and nearby assets are already being mobilized. An excavation team should be present in a few months, but we'll refrain from trying to get the thing open until a sizable presence is on-world, given what we've found in these things before.

-Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader M41.041.05

* * *

**ANOTHER VICTORY FOR BRAUNE**

Erwine Braune's dedication to her work only becomes further defined with this latest victory. Called to the Pivell Sector, she was tasked this time with rooting out the force behind a terrorist attack on the major shipyards around Cigef. Setting to work immediately, she first swept through the shipyard personnel, before discovering the guilt of a member of the Port Authority. Tracing a trail of money, she was able to follow it back to the Ystreni Group, a trading organization with long-suspected traitorous ties.

However, things didn't go as planned when she launched a surprise inspection of one of their vessels around the planet of Weskeia. The abilities of Ileve Nashiandra, a telepath, allowed them to discover the enemy intended to fire hidden weapons point-blank when docking for inspection, so instead Erwine, with her subordinates Wei and Mila, moved out in a shuttlecraft to launch a forceful raid.

Upon clearing the vessel, Erwine and her girls were surprised to find the crew detonating explosives in an attempt to scuttle the ship. Weskeia is a mostly uncolonized world, with only a few outposts around the equator. The Ystreni vessel fell into the atmosphere, and while Erwine survived the breakup, any information to be gained from the ship was lost.

It appears that a trap was set for the young inquisitor on Weskeia, for she immediately came under attack by traitor girls. Ileve and Sechylia rushed to assist, but the brunt of the battle was fought by Erwine, who only barely forced a stalemate and escaped the planet's surface. However, she refused to be daunted by such odds, and called in the assistance of Inquisitor Celestine Luminesce, who led a full investigation into Ystreni while Erwine struck at their headquarters on Signiem.

Another brief engagement with traitors amid the towering starscrapers of the hive came to a conclusion when local PDG arrived to assist, and with the apprehension of some higher-ups, a proper crackdown could begin, but across the sector heretics were trying to flee. Erwine chased the fleeing conspirators long and far, and eventually confirmed links with Hydra Legion operatives, leading to a wider investigation by the local MSOC.

Seemingly completely unfazed by the hardships faced during this mission, especially the grueling several-month-long hunt through dozens of light-years of open space for the fleeing traitors, Erwine is as determined as ever to fulfill her duty to Her Holy Majesty. Whatever she does next, it's certain that the whole of the Segmentum will be talking about it.

-Article from the _Tempestus Herald, _by Caitlin Afreya, M41.043.02

* * *

We've fully excavated the surface layers above the top of the vault. It appears that this construction was intentional, for the doors are facing upwards. This particular site is far larger than anything discovered previously, and it's likely that the security will be worse as well. We will not be attempting to open the doors until the nearby detachment of Scythes of the Goddess arrives. We already have a full squad of Deathwatch, five Inquisitors and their retinues, and six companies of Stormtroopers, not counting other Adeptus Magica forces on site, but it can't hurt to be safe.

Given what Ishna has talked about before, I have a very strong feeling that whatever ancient weapon Erwine is supposed to awaken has to do with this vault. Whether this vault is the weapon, or has some connection to it, I believe that we've found the end of all her prophecies. As such, I've worked as hard as possible to ensure absolute secrecy. No one knows why they've been dispatched here until they arrive, and while I doubt it will do much to deter her, any time we can buy will be valuable. Furthermore, a total of ninety-seven Navy vessels surround the planet at all times, and further reinforcements are scheduled for the next several months.

Attempts to break the seal should begin in a month, but they are expected to last up to a year. We will win this.

-Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader, M41.043.03

* * *

It's been just over four years and one month since Erwine Braune was promoted to inquisitor. With an impressive record of five cases already under her belt, the girl is sure to continue her astounding track record. Recently, Erwine agreed to an interview from this newspaper, for a more personal article on herself.

Caitlin: "Would you agree that your current track record is impressive, especially for an inquisitor of your age?"

Erwine: "I definitely would, although I can't discount the other experienced individuals who assisted me."

Caitlin: "You seem humble, do you not take pride in your accomplishments?"

Erwine: "I certainly do, I just don't wish to forget about those who helped me. A single girl can only do so much."

Caitlin: "So you care deeply about your subordinates?"

Erwine: "I would say so, yes."

Caitlin: "How much of how you act as an Inquisitor is related to how Adrianne Azure acted, would you think?"

Erwine: (Brief silence) "I admired her dedication to her duty, but at times she was unaware of the feelings of those around her. I attempt to balance her passion with more level thinking."

Caitlin: "By all accounts, Adrianne had a merciless attitude towards traitors, do you share that?"

Erwine: "I…I've known people who were traitors…I believe that there are some who are simply misguided, and who can be redeemed. But there are also those who cannot be forgiven for their actions. I show them no mercy."

Caitlin: "How do you discriminate between the two?"

Erwine: "It's a difficult task, and there's no simple way, I merely try to use my best judgment."

Caitlin: "Would you say that your attitude on this matter has been affected by your relationship with Ishna Kleimar?"

Erwine (Brief silence) "Ishna Kleimar was a…she was not a good person. She was evil, and she did terrible things and sought to ensure that more terrible things would be done. If anything, she taught me that there are some people who…can't be saved."

Caitlin: "Is remembering Ishna painful for you?"

Erwine: "Yes, you can read the records of the Hadiens Incident. I don't like talking about her."

Caitlin: "I apologize, are you still alright with speaking further?"

Erwine: "I am, just please, keep the questions more current."

Caitlin: "Of course. How much do you value your work as an inquisitor, do you believe that you're an absolute necessity?"

Erwine: "Interesting question…I think that if I wasn't there, then someone else would do it. However, I try to do the best I can, so I hopefully say that I did it faster and better than anyone else could have."

Caitlin: "Do you enjoy working as an inquisitor?"

Erwine: "I do, very much so. I remember once when everything was so incredibly scary, but now doing all of this is almost easy now."

Caitlin: "You don't find the work difficult?"

Erwine: "Not at all, I think that at times I'm challenged to push myself, but so far there's been nothing truly challenging."

Caitlin: "Given what you've been through, I imagine that not much is going to shake you."

Erwine: "I imagine that has quite a lot to do with it, yes."

Caitlin: "Any special plans in the future, or will you continue on going where you are needed?"

Erwine: "So far I'm finding this work to be fitting, so no, I have no intentions of changing how I operate in the near future."

Caitlin: "Alright then, I think I've asked everything I came to ask. If you've nothing more to say, then we can conclude this."

Erwine: "I've nothing."

-Transcript of the interview between Inquisitor Erwine Braune and _Tempestus Herald _Senior Writer Caitlin Afreya

* * *

We've yet to locate any of the three who disappeared from Milita. I can't imagine where they might be hiding, unless it's on an uninhabited or non-Imperial controlled world. There's no trace of them anywhere, and while I'll do my best to conduct wider surveys of every planet possible, it will take a long time. I understand the importance of the matter, however. If they're hiding somewhere in this galaxy, I'll find out where.

-Message from Ana, Master of the Vigil Cult to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader

* * *

**BRAUNE ENDS TERROR IN AGNITHICA**

The Agnithica Sector was struck recently by a series of disappearances of senior PDf officials. Most believed that some sort of subversive force was preparing for a largescale attack, and were striking the older members of the defense forces, veterans of a Chaos assault several decades ago.

An inquisitor, one Cynthia Adelenacos, had already been called in to investigate the matter, but her own efforts were proving to be fruitless. Despite her investigation of multiple possible locations of traitor strongholds throughout the many feral worlds of the sector, no evidence was turned up.

Erwine was originally called to the sector in secret in the belief that there was a traitor amidst the ranks of the leadership, either the PDF or the bureaucracy. To this end, she transferred her soul into an adult body, switching with a senior office aboard the _Yslevia, _and masqueraded as an Imperial Navy official dispatched to the sector for the purposes of security, taking up residence aboard a battlecruiser, with her actual body hidden waiting on the ship.

The trap set, Erwine waited for an attempt to kidnap her, and when the bridge was suddenly stormed by what had been thought to be loyal soldiers, switched her soul back. Easily dispatching the opposition, Erwine was able to interrogate one and discover that they had been convinced to do this by an unknown contact promising wealth and status. Tracking down this individual revealed only that they were a middleman for a higher power.

However, the information provided was enough for Inquisitor Adelenacos to track down an official in the government of the capital world, Setteca, who had been recently been accused of embezzling funds, some of which matched up with the amount promised to those hired to kidnap the Army officials.

With this information, a thorough investigation of the government, in which every single senior official was interrogated, caused several to flee before their time came. Apprehended by a blockade set up beforehand, the traitors took their own lives by crashing their shuttle rather than be interrogated, and while Inquisitor Adelenacos considered this the end of the case, with every one having a clear grudge against those kidnapped, Erwine thought otherwise.

She believed that several signs pointed to the presence of another power, most obviously the fact that the heretics committed suicide, when it didn't seem characteristic of the individuals based on their psychological profiles. Erwine concluded that there had to be someone else involved, and thus began a complete telepathic sweep of Setteca, hoping to find a magical girl who might have silenced the traitors.

No one was discovered on the planet, but examination of the records produced a list of vessels that had exited the system since the incident. With telepathic scans confirming the lack of any unknown magical girls aboard any present ships, Navy vessels were dispatched to apprehend those that had left. The ensuing month-long chase eventually resulted in every one being caught, but with nothing to show for it. Despite accusations that she was going too far, Erwine chose to conduct investigations of each ship, and questioning of a certain trading vessel revealed that they had taken on an unknown passenger at the last minute. Though the man wasn't a teenage girl, Erwine hurried to the hive world of Thicar, where the passenger had been let off, and resolved to track him down with the assistance of the local PDG, choosing to lock down the system at the same time.

An extensive investigation of the planet revealed the presence of several rogue magical girls. They were hunted down and captured, and interrogation showed that they were engaged in a long-term plan to destabilize and seize control of the sector, while giving off the appearance of external Chaos forces at work.

Her capture of this group has put another victory on the record of Erwine Braune, but it seems that this time not all has gone well for the young Inquisitor. Some observers to the operation speculate that Inquisitor Adelenacos feels slighted by the ability of Erwine in comparison to her own, but only time will tell if anything comes of this. Furthermore, in the process of her investigation, Erwine was unable to prevent the death of another high-ranking official, but is nevertheless praised for bringing the investigation to an end.

-Article from the _Tempestus Herald, _by Caitlin Afreya, M41.044.12

* * *

As expected, the telepathic silence enforced by Lord Inquisitor Eskel is working. To the best of our knowledge, no one is aware of what is occurring in Oxete, not even the best traitor networks. Should anyone come to know, it is most likely because of a leak from a source in our ranks, not the result of their investigation. As such, a psychological profile shall be compiled on every individual with knowledge of Oxete, and they shall all be kept under constant surveillance.

-Ana, Master of the Vigil Cult, Adeptus Assassinorum, to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader, M41.044.12

* * *

You've been on my trail since the Milita Incident, don't think I haven't noticed. Everywhere I go, everything I do, you're always ahead of everyone else. I'd suspect something strange if it weren't for the fact you're a diviner, though I must say that using such a power for the purpose of writing news stories is a little selfish. Though, I suppose it's more my name that's being elevated, rather than your own. So I guess this is a 'thank you', though I have to say I don't particularly like the affection. What's the reason for it, anyways, I can't imagine it's out of the goodness of your heart.

From Inquisitor Erwine Braune

-Message from Inquisitor Erwine Braune to Senior Writer Caitlin Afreya, _Tempestus Herald, _M41.045.01

Consider it a personal interest. Your story's a rather unique one, and I'd like to see where it goes, no matter where that might lead you.

-Caitlin Afreya

-Message from_ Tempestus Herald _Senior Writer Caitlin Afreya to Inquisitor Erwine Braune M41.045.02

The process is proceeding smoothly so far, no incidents. However, I am forced to admit that it's likely because of the incredibly slow speed with which we're progressing. We hope to have the vault open by next year, but there's no telling what complications might arise. We've had no accidental visitors at all, and our work is heavily disguised, as well as the fleet hidden. Should anyone randomly pop in, they shouldn't find anything of interest. The next message will likely come when we breach the current layer of magical barriers.

-Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel to Grand Inquisitor Wilhelmina Schrader, M41.045.06

* * *

Dear Erwine,

It's been almost seven years since you were promoted, and ten since you first contracted. I understand what occurred between you and your old friend back home. Since you're just finishing up another investigation, I figure it's a good time to tell you this: Take however much time you need, but go back home and make sure that she knows how far you've come. Don't worry about anything, I'll make sure anything that comes up is properly taken care of. You deserve this.

Sincerely, Juno Eskel

-M41.045.11

* * *

Hadiens Sect (Post Milita Incident): Following the Milita Incident, the Hadiens Sect was almost entirely replaced. A few individuals, mostly those in the PDG, would be allowed to return to their former posts, but officials from neighboring sectors were brought in to form a new command structure. The operation was carried out by the Toella MSOC with the assistance of Lord Inquisitor Juno Eskel's detachment, as well as assorted loyalists from the Incident itself, most notably Erwine Braune. The new sect commander would be the recently-promoted Lord Inquisitor Leithica Helenie, from the bordering Orstan Sector. Under her would be both recently-promoted Inquisitors, as well as two transplants from the Marcostas sector. Celestine Luminesce and Sabula Abrieu were both promoted to the rank and joined the Sect, while Inquisitors Adwi Ilure and Yuko Tianama were transferred from the neighboring sector. Their retinues formed the core of the sect's forces, while the rest was bolstered by transferred PDG. Lord Inquisitor Helenie expressed an immediate interest in purging the rest of the sector's PDG of any potentially traitorous elements, a task that took roughly a year's time. When it was concluded, two dozen girls had undergone telepathic reprogramming, a measure considered extreme by some, but due to the potential for total disaster present throughout the entire Milita Incident wasn't heavily criticized. After eight years, the Sect's structure has yet to change, save for the addition of Inquisitor Laelia Aemilina, promoted from under Inquisitor Luminesce's command.

-Excerpt from _Sects of the Segmentum Tempestus (Milita Incident Update)_

* * *

Ordo Archivus: Formally established in M35.331, this group was designed to maintain the records of the Adeptus Magica. Previously, this task was handled by a group within the wider Adeptus, but some believed that various pressures, anything from paranoia of traitors to rampant politicking, were having an impact on the veracity of these recordings. As such, the Ordo Archivus was made separate from the hierarchy of the Adeptus Magica. Transferring to it means one dedicates their life to its work, and cannot expect promotions or recognition for their service in this Ordo. Due to this, the Ordo Archivus has ensured that the Imperium's history is well-kept, and one can travel back through thousands of years by combing through their records.

Ordo Finibus: After the reorganizations of the Thirty-eighth millennium, the Imperium was finally at a state of consistent internal peace, and the Inquisition found its eye turned more and more towards its borders. Independent-minded inquisitors set about creating a variety of specialized organizations for exploration and expansion of the Imperium's boundaries, working ahead of normal colonization efforts. The Ordo Finibus specializes in exploring new planets, and has developed extensive first contact procedures in case any new life is encountered beyond the fringes of Imperial rule. With the increasing establishment of independent polities beyond the Imperium by rogue magical girls, the Ordo's work decreased for a time, until steady petitions lead the Grand Inquisitor, in M40.679, to quietly grant the Ordo special permission to negotiate with these independent systems to explore beyond even their boundaries. As of yet, the current Grand Inquisitor has not rescinded this special permission, and rumors stir of a movement to write the Ordo's freedom into official Inquisitorial law.

-Excerpt from _A Guide to the Ordos of the Inquisition_ (M41.001 Update)


	52. The End of a Foolish but Happy Dream

**I'll admit that I sat on this one for a long time. It's easily the most important opening chapter I've done, so I wanted to make sure I got it right.**

* * *

Silver. That was the color that flashed before her eyes. Hair. That was what carried this strangely beautiful color. Two massive wings of white feathers stretched out to either side. A pristine face, smiling gently.

The girl shot awake with a shout. Around her waist, the blankets pooled up as she breathed hard. Wide eyes stared at the blue blankets, the same shade of navy blue as her long hair. Images of all kinds flashed through her mind, but she could only remember one word. A name.

"Erwine…" She whispered, the name bringing an ethereal feeling of melancholy to her entire body. Absolute silence for a second, then the door opened. She looked up with a start. A woman stood there, looking concerned.

"Ishna?" Her mother asked, "Are you alright?"

Shuddering a little, the girl nodded. "I just had a…" She wasn't sure how to describe it, "A strange dream."

"A nightmare?"

Ishna shook her head. A sad smile came to her face. "No, it was a happy dream." She almost started to cry.

"Well…" Her mother paused, equally unsure. "Happy birthday," She said with a smile. The door shut quietly.

In silence now, the girl repeated that name. "Erwine…" it sounded so alien, yet so familiar at the same time. She remembered this girl, but she couldn't place who she was. A memory of the future. That was the only way to describe it.

A draft of cold air dropped the temperature to a freezing cold. Needles ran up Ishna's spine, and she let out a brief moan of distress as she shuddered. As if the universe itself rebelled against what was about to occur. Ishna turned her head without really wanting to, despite knowing exactly what'd she see when she turned around.

* * *

_**Puella Magi Aeternum Bellum**_

_**In Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition**_

_**Volume 3: Behold the Dreamer**_

* * *

Her eyes slowly flickered open. From the back of her throat came a long yawn. A few seconds passed. Then the eyes shot open all the way. A cry of excitement accompanied the girl leaping from the bed. She landed with glee on her face. "We're here!" she cried, a flash of light clothing her body.

On the bed, another body stirred. Fingers brushing black locks away from a sleepy face, the girl asked, "Can't it wait?" Erwine shook her head. A bright smile was on her face.

She almost started crying as she cried, "No, no it can't!" Wei returned the smile. Then she fell back onto the pillow, pulling the sheets back over herself.

"That's right, so get going. I'm not coming down, remember?" she mumbled, curling back up. Erwine just grinned at the girl.

She spun on her heel to face the door. "Alright, I'll let you off the hook. Just get some sleep. I'll be back…" Erwine paused. Her eyes flickered before her hand darted up to wipe away tears. "I'll be back sooner or later." She promised, "But I'll be back."

"See you soon." Wei called after her. "And…" Erwine paused before the door. "Don't lose yourself down there, alright?" Erwine tried to grin.

"I won't," She whispered. Then the door was shutting, the girl sprinting out. Wei relaxed back into the bed, smiling.

* * *

Snow had fallen. Cold winds had once again swept the sheets of white across the city, pelting all with freezing layers of snow. Even now, the clouds showed no sign of breaking, and the temperature only dropped lower and lower. Some said that this was the harshest winter in a long time. But for the moment, the sky was motionless, and the world eerily peaceful.

Wings of light gently carried a girl to the snow-covered ground, the shuttle she'd jumped from accelerating up into the sky high above her. The city had been beautiful from so high up. All traces of humanity were covered up at this late afternoon hour, her footprints were tread only on fresh snow. The sparkling particles drifted away into the masses of snow as the wings dissipated.

Erwine stepped forwards, looking around in awe. Nothing was out of place. As though nothing at all had changed. _Yet looking at myself, I could see that statement is correct, _Erwine realized. An idea popping into her mind, she thought for a moment, and then she was in different attire.

As though she had just walked out of her home on her way to school, Erwine was dressed in those same clothes as she was then. Her glove-covered hands went to the scarf around her neck, merely reminiscing on the memories the object returned to her. Though once the skirt had made her shiver, now she barely felt cold at all.

Erwine grinned with content, and started walking. If anyone were to see her, they'd assume she was merely a schoolgirl walking about. There were plenty of those. She'd once been one of them, just another little girl walking about. The same as everyone else.

Now, though she saw not a single person trudging through the snow-covered alleys and side streets, Erwine couldn't help but feel she had never been here before. Simultaneously, nostalgia flooded her heart, but a sense of separation and confusion also clouded her mind. Once, she had been here. But that had been a different Erwine.

She turned a corner, and saw a wide street ahead of her. Perhaps one of the main ones. She wasn't entirely sure. It seemed that her memory had forgotten such trivial things as street arrangements over the years. She did take interest in the fact that she'd found someone else.

Another girl, who looked to be about the age that Erwine appeared to be. Hands in her pockets, head down, she almost stumbled through the snow, though not because of thick blanket on the ground. Rather, it appeared to be that she seemed lost. Nevertheless, Erwine tried.

"Excuse me," She called politely. The girl looked up with surprise. A strange sensation flooded into Erwine's heart with newfound force. That same sensation that troubled her still, the mix of nostalgia and separation, redoubled its advance on her mind. Erwine's eyes went wide for a second, suddenly losing focus as an image from long ago passed through her mind. Like a thunderbolt, it flashed brightly, only to fade just as fast.

"Yes?" the girl was confused by Erwine's hesitation.

"Ah-well, do you know of anyone around here called Nada?" Erwine questioned. She was fairly certain she was in the correct neighborhood. Many things had to change over time, but she felt that this was somehow at least similar, if not the same.

The girl thought for a few seconds. Then she nodded. Incapable of meeting Erwine's face, she said to the ground, "Take a left ahead, then a right. First hab on the left, second floor, if I remember correctly, but I may not be sure." She didn't wait for anything more. Silently, the girl continued to stumble away.

Erwine's eyes followed her for only a few seconds more, before they turned to face forwards once again. A shiver ran down her spine, though she couldn't place why. Perhaps a premonition, more likely just overly-active suspicion honed by eight years on the job.

They parted in their separate directions, and continued through the thick snow.

* * *

Ever since she entered the building, she'd started to breathe harder. They'd become deeper then, as she tried to slow herself down, but that just gave way to an endless repetition of deep intakes and exhalations, like she'd just run a marathon. Her entire body shook, though Erwine knew full well that this might just be the wrong building.

She hurried up the stairs. At the landing, she froze. Unpleasant memories came screaming forwards from the depths of her mind, to crash against her already shaky state of mind. Her telepathy was off. She was for all intents and purposes completely alone.

All she had was herself. Continuing to breathe, continuing to shudder with every step, Erwine forced her way up the last set of stairs. She came to a halt as she stared down the hallway. The next time she inhaled, Erwine caught herself before anything came back out. Slowly, she released the air, trying to expel all fears and anxieties from her mind.

She knew who she was. _I am that hero that Nada told me to be. It took a long time, maybe too long, in fact, but I am that hero. _Erwine felt her lips curving upwards, even as tears that came from an unknown place spilled down her cheeks. She was confident in who she was, and what she was. Therefore, there was no reason to be afraid.

Erwine started walking before she realized it. Her breathes were normal now. She wiped the tears away. A joyful grin came onto her face. Her heart swelled with excitement as she realized what was about to occur. Her eyes read the names beside each door. Two in each hab. They were a bit bigger than the one Erwine had spent almost half her life in.

Then she froze. Her eyes found it. For a long minute, she just stared. Running over the name again and again, completely ignoring the one that sat above it, as if the moment she moved to knock on the door it would change to reveal that she'd created for herself an illusion. But Erwine felt so certain that what she saw was real. There was no illusion. She had found her friend.

She stepped towards the door. Her body started to shake as a million different words ran through her head. _How am I supposed to catch her up on ten years? _Erwine wondered. She could remember every second of the day she contracted so vividly, but it had been ten years before.

Her hand raised up. Erwine choose to move without knowing exactly what to say. She'd faced situations far worse than reuniting with a friend. Her knuckles softly rapped against the door. A middle-aged woman with long brown hair opened it after a moment, "Hello?" She asked.

Erwine said politely, "Excuse me, but is there a Nada here?"

The woman nodded. "Yes of course," She said, "Would you like to speak to her?"

Erwine nodded, "If that's alright, yes." Then she added, "If you could, tell her that Erwine's here to see her." The woman furrowed her brow, but stepped away from the door for a few moments.

Erwine heard crashing and the sound of someone running. A girl that she recognized as Nada, albeit ten years older, suddenly appeared in front of the door and froze the moment her eyes fell on Erwine. The magical girl just gave a smile in reply. Breathless, Nada struggled to formulate words. Her roommate called from behind,"Are you alright, Nada?"

Nada nodded. She had tears in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright-I-I just need a minute alone, ok?" She quickly stepped forwards and pulled the door shut behind her. In the same motion, she leapt forwards to wrap her arms around Erwine. She hugged the girl tight to herself, and refused to let go as she started to sob uncontrollably, "You're back, you really came back," She choked out as she held Erwine in a tight-grip. She was a good foot taller than the girl, but she held her like they were the same old teenage girls.

Erwine raised her arms and held her back, barely holding herself back from crying. "It's alright Nada, I'm here."

"I know," she sobbed, repeating the words over and over. She was holding Erwine as tightly as she could. Then, both fell silent. Erwine stepped back, still holding Nada's hands in her own.

With a smile on her face, Erwine said, "Sorry it took me so long, I really wanted to be sure that I could come back and tell you I was a hero."

Nada nodded excitedly, "So…so you really did it, huh?" She asked, bursting into another round of joyful tears.

No single word that Erwine had ever spoken sounded stranger than the 'yes' with which she replied to Nada. Underwhelming, but perfectly satisfying. Fitting, but at the same time making Erwine wonder if there was more to be said. But there was only that word. Only that one word to confirm, to the friend she'd left behind, Erwine had made good on her promise.

In the end, that single word didn't even seem necessary. Nada already knew the answer to the question that she'd asked. Why else would Erwine be back, after all?

The satisfaction Erwine felt in her heart was the greatest thing she had ever felt in her life. It had been ten years, ten years that had irreparably changed her, but she had accomplished what she had set out to do. After so long, she'd succeeded, and had come back home to tell of it.

Both smiled at each other now, neither willing to shatter the perfection of this moment. This single moment in time, dwarfed utterly by the past behind him and the potential futures awaiting them, was still more important than any other moment.

It was Erwine that took the lead finally, not surprising either of them, but strikingly different from the Erwine that was. "Let's go for a walk" Erwine proposed, "I'm not supposed to discuss my work but…I can make an exception."

Nada nodded excitedly, "I'd love to," She smiled. Still holding onto one hand, Erwine started walking, the two striding hand in hand. They made their way down the stairs in silence, both satisfied with merely being with each other again.

Upon the landing Nada paused, but Erwine wasn't surprised. She herself was about to stop, and was afraid she might disturb her friend. They stared distantly at the floor for a few seconds, those memories returning to the forefront of their minds. For both, those memories were the same amount of time ago, but somehow it was distorted. For Nada, it was ten years, half of what she could remember in her life. For Erwine, it felt like an entire lifetime ago, for she was not even a magical girl yet when she stood upon that landing. It wasn't the same landing, of course, nor the same building. Still, it was a strong enough symbol to give them both pause.

"It's been a long time since then," Nada said in a hushed voice, almost a whisper. Erwine felt her friend's body start to shake. This particular landing meant nothing, it was a different one, not even the same building. But just its existence inspired the thoughts of both. "When it first talked to you, the Incubator…did you really think you'd find yourself here, as you are?"

Erwine took a deep breathe, as she started to realize that she wasn't entirely prepared for this journey deep into a past she'd left behind. "I didn't think I'd even contract…much less be any kind of a success." A shudder ran through her body. She couldn't even believe that she was really here.

"You've come a long way," Nada spoke as though she herself didn't quite believe them. The smile soon took on a sadder tone, however. "But me…I'm still stuck here." Regret stained her tone, as she looked down with increasing sadness at the floor. Her fingers hung there limp as Erwine released her hand. That friend she'd said farewell to so long ago embraced her.

Erwine spoke from her heart, she really believed the words she said. "Nada, I've done many things…many of them very scary things. Things that I wouldn't wish on anyone else." She only reached up to the girl's chest, so it felt strange being the one to comfort her. "That's not to say that you're incapable, but I'd rather the burden be mine to bear, because even being a little piece like you is safer than being a big piece like me." Weighing Erwine down were thoughts of the truth of her existence, a truth that she had sworn to never speak of to Nada. Such words would inevitably leave her in despair, and that was something Erwine would not allow.

There was a pause, before Erwine continued again. "So please, don't feel such things. You're a good person, everyone has their role. As long as you're happy, there's nothing to be sad about." Nada's limp arms finally moved to return Erwine's embrace.

"Thank you," She said, "Thank you so much." The woman almost burst into tears, but she was too busy overflowing with joy.

Erwine realized just how strange this was. Speaking to Nada like this, everything was different. A strange feeling started in her chest, and spread through the rest of her body. Almost nostalgia, perhaps more a recognition that the past she so fondly remembered differed so completely and utterly from the present. She was a different person, and she didn't know how much Nada had changed.

_If we were to spend more time together, get to know these new selves…would we really be friends? _Erwine wondered. For a moment she froze up, even as Nada moved to break apart. But the woman's movement tore her back to reality. "You're welcome," Erwine said, "It's the least I can do."

Images from long ago flashed before her eyes. Could it really be called long ago, or was it merely a blink of an eye for her? It all started with this landing. None of it had ended not even up to this very instant. The girl who looked to be so young opened her mouth to ask, "Do you remember that letter you have me?"

Nada flinched at the mention of that. Erwine didn't say a word. For a few seconds her friend hesitated, until she finally spilled out, "I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry."

Erwine shook her head. "There's no need to say that." She took a deep breath, as if preparing for a difficult task. "I can't say that what you wrote didn't hurt me, but it would be also be a lie to say that I wish I never read it. It made me understand just what I had done, just how monumental of a decision I had made." The girl's hand came up to wipe a few tears from her eyes, "It just served as a reminder that no matter what happens…" Erwine shut her eyes and looked away, "I have to be a hero." Her chest filled up with a wonderful warm sensation, "And that's why I'm happy to be here now, for it's only proof of that."

"So, you're not angry at me?" Nada asked shakily, barely holding back her own emotions. Like the river that a dam held back, they could rush forth given only the slightest crack.

Erwine turned her eyes to stare down at the floor, memories of that day all too clear in my mind. "I can't be angry at you, Nada. Doing so would be wrong, horrifically wrong in so many ways." She spun to face the girl, "If it weren't for you, I never would have been anything at all." Erwine told her proudly. _Yet my own fate would have been averted, would it not? _But such thoughts were for a time not as joyous as this.

"I've had quite enough of these memories for the moment," Erwine said. She held her hand out to Nada, "Come on, there are memories that we didn't share." Nada, tears slipping down her own cheeks, took the girl's hand all too happily.

* * *

The snow still fell lightly. Hours would pass before the tracks they left vanished into nonexistence. Few others walked the streets, so their path was strangely alone. Neither paid any attention to the rest of the world, however. All they cared about was each other.

A few minutes of silence had passed since they exited the building, both content to merely bask in the fact that they were reunited. Of course, there was a 'but' that nagged at them, an unspoken concern that was best left locked away inside their minds. Erwine couldn't blame Nada for giving it voice, for she was the one to be rightfully concerned.

Still grasping Erwine's hand tightly, the question started with a mere murmur. Erwine couldn't help but hear the low sound, and asked, "Nada, what's wrong?"

That question made Nada look away, as though her face alone might betray what she had to say. Slowing her pace, Erwine was ready to ask again, but she was interrupted by the sorrowful question, "How long will be you here?" The world slipped into silence as Erwine's mouth froze in mid-motion.

Her eyes shut, and she remembered what a friend of hers had told her before this. "Well, I may be famous, but unless something truly dire occurs, I've been told to spend as much time as I need here." Erwine explained quietly. A moment of consideration, then she stammered out, "Y-you see, it's just…I guess more than a few people owe me one or two things." She spoke like it was something hard for even herself to believe.

Erwine gasped as the taller girl suddenly spun around to embrace her. "Thank you!" She cried out tearfully, her tight grip far from being discomforting. The silver-haired girl raised her own arms and hugged her back, joy on her face. "You really are amazing," Nada said, "Really, an angel."

The words made Erwine's cheeks light up. Various other humans had already given her similar compliments, but nothing like this. "T-thank you," she stammered out.

Nada released her, but kept holding onto the girl's hands as she brightly said, "I was afraid we wouldn't be able to know each other but…this way, I'm certain that we'll be the best of friends, just like we were!"

Erwine just giggled as she broke her hand away and cupped Nada's cheek. "You're silly," she said, "We've always been the best of friends. The mere fact that I returned and that you were waiting for me says that much."

Something changed on Nada's face as Erwine said that. Not in a bad way, more that the girl appeared to be perplexed, as though a realization had just struck her. "Erwine…" She whispered, "You're different." Nada laughed as she said that, "But of course you are…"

Erwine cocked her head to the side, "What do you mean?" She wondered.

"Just right there," Nada pointed in glee, "You're just…not the girl I knew once. That's not bad at all, though. This Erwine that came to see me, I like her so much more. It feels like it's what was there all along."

Erwine froze at that. She took a step back in shock, searching for words as the world almost spun around her. "You mean…" Erwine started, barely able to form a sentence, "You mean you really think that I was always a hero?"

Nada looked surprised at that question, like the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "Erwine," she said, "You were always brave, the fact that you contracted tells me that much." A few seconds, then, "Every day I wonder if I would have made the same choice in your situation." She frowned, "But why act so surprised?" Erwine thought about the right answer for a few moments, before finally shaking her head.

"I…" She trailed off before glancing up to the sky. Snow fell onto her face as she remembered that girl's kind face. "That girl, the inquisitor who recruited me. She-she-she," Erwine somehow found it almost impossible to tell a story that had gone into the records of the entire galaxy, and would be told for generations and generations to come. Yet to her friend, she wasn't sure what to say. "Did things to me, to try and mold me into what she thought was the ideal person to finish a quest she'd begun a long time ago."

Erwine looked down, and stared in something like awe at her gloved hand. The outline of her ring was visible through the cloth. "What I am now is what she desired for me to become." _What I am now might also be what Ishna desired me to become. _"I like to think that this is what I ought to be, however. And hearing it from you is simply wonderful."

"You're welcome," Nada said happily, "I think that the Erwine before me is the Erwine I always wanted to see."

The silver-haired girl's cheeks lit bright red as she turned away from Nada, facing down the street once again. "Then…all that was for something." She whispered.

"All what?" Nada questioned, mystified by the girl's quietness.

"Ten years ago. A lot of things happened in a very short amount of time." Erwine explained, the difficulty from before having been overcome yet still finding it troubling to properly give voice to any of it, "I knew that inquisitor, Adrianne," The name was spoken gently, like it might break if said too fast, "For only a month. She did some terrible things to me, but in the end, I can't blame her for a single one of them." Erwine spoke the words with pride. "Things didn't end there, either, but…we have plenty of time, I don't think we need to rush anything."

Nada hesitated a few seconds before venturing, "You don't like remembering?"

"Perhaps you could say that," Erwine took a few steps forward, then stepped to spin on her heel and face Nada, "It's almost every day that I remember that time so long ago. Yet…somehow, it hurts every time. I can't tell why it hurts, only that it hurts."

"Do you want it to stop?" Nada asked, concerned for the one she held so dear.

Erwine merely grinned. "I can't answer that either. Those memories are what make me me. That pain, whatever its cause, is a part of me." Her eyelids slid shut, "It feels wrong, somehow, giving up part of myself, especially when I have come to accept it all."

The girl slowly breathed as she thought, eventually continuing, "The Erwine that made her contract didn't have any of these painful memories, but the Erwine that made her contract was so much less complete than the Erwine that is now." Her eyes opened, and she met Nada's, "I am content with who I am now, I am content with who I've become. To give that up just to run away from things that bring me pain is something I shall never do."

Nada could do nothing but stand and look in awe at the girl before her. Somehow, she was amazing beyond her wildest imaginations. Many scenarios of Erwine's return had come to Nada over the years, but she had never expected the girl that could barely leave her behind come back as something so completely different.

"You're amazing," Nada whispered. Returning the girl's stare, she asked, "Did anyone ever tell you that?"

Erwine was amused by that, "A few people, yes. A lot happened while I was out there."

Nada was afraid to say, "But you'll be returning there one day, right?"

Erwine couldn't deny it. "I will be, but jumping right to then is pointless." She waved for the girl to come to her, "Enough about me, you exist too."

Nada took several long strides to the girl, and together they walked again through the lightly-falling snow. For the two, in these moments, everything was perfect.

* * *

A loud yawn accompanied the slow and steady beat of the footsteps on the metal floor. Rubbing her eyes, Wei rounded the corner and kept on lazily walking. Her appearance didn't match her tired demeanor, for one had to intentionally let themselves be disheveled when magic fixed such problems instantly.

"You didn't end up going with her, huh?" A voice asked from behind. Wei glanced over her shoulder to see Mila walking up behind her. That girl's look was a sharp contrast to Wei's exhaustion.

Wei nodded as Mila stepped past her, and after a couple steps to catch up, the two walked alongside one another. "It's her home, her friend. I don't want to interfere." Wei explained.

"Why so exhausted?" Mila wondered as they approached the end of the corridor, "Erwine was the liveliest thing this afternoon."

"Just didn't sleep well," Wei offered as an explanation, quickly regaining her usual alertness.

The blonde chuckled, "Don't tell." She only half-jested.

Wei stepped ahead of Mila to open the door before them, and stated clearly, "That's an assumption you're making."

"Is it wrong?" Mila smirked. Wei matched her stare for a few seconds, before the girl stepped into the officer's mess. The carpeted room had plenty of space, and was furnished like a noble's mansion. Oak tables of the finest quality provided seating, while a separate door led away to the actual kitchen.

Wei followed her into the spacious room, and declared, "It is, I just didn't sleep well. We exited the warp in the middle of the night." Night was a relative term, however.

"Then don't sleep when we're entering or exiting, it's that simple," Mila jokingly scolded as the two made their way towards the table a fair number of people were clustered around. Their conversation wasn't drawing anyone's attention save Sechylia's.

About half of the _Yslevia's _officers were currently engaged in watching, actually assisting, their captain go up against a magical girl. Sechylia was standing beside that magical girl with the aquamarine hair, as a large board was laid out across two tables put together.

Ileve glanced to the side to see their approach, and waved, "Good evening," she said softly, then turned her head back to the board, "Just wrapping things up." Said board depicted an in-depth map of some continent, while the thousands of hexes on it contained hundreds and hundreds of small pieces that represented assorted units.

Hands wrapped in mint green silk picked up a large quantity of dice and carefully shook them. Gently they were deposited into a container lid laid aside for that purpose, and while the humans scrambled to read the numbers, it took about half the time for Ileve to grin happily. "Again," she chuckled, while Elle had barely begun to sigh.

It was a daily activity on the ship, sometimes twice or thrice a day depending on how the tides of the warp were and how exhausted everyone was, to have the officers engage in this wargame against one or two of the magical girls. It was picked up years ago, and was a highly complex game involving a lot of thought. The sort of thing that magical girls, with all their thought-processing capability, could easily excel at. To compensate, it had been modified to the point where over half the game was entirely random, yet against Ileve in particular the humans still found themselves struggling.

"You haven't won yet," the captain pointed out, simultaneously pushing her chair back from the table to confer with the others. The magical girls did adhere to the rule of not using any enhanced hearing to listen in.

Ileve stood up and turned to face the two newcomers, stretching her arms as she did so "How are you two?" She asked, while Sechylia stared at the board, hoping to guess the next turn's events. Her azure eyes were covered by a pair of purely cosmetic glasses while a long, thin ponytail of similarly-colored hair trailed down her back, leaving much of her hair to frame her face. Ileve always had an analytic look to her, and though she was quiet, her interest in the world was a sharp contrast to Mila's general aloofness.

"Same as usual," Mila shrugged, "We'll be here for at least a few days, and I Juno will insist we take more time off after that, so I'm thinking of going down to Siothea and seeing if I can find myself some new books."

Wei pulled over a chair from another table and slumped down into it. "Well, a bit disappointed." She sighed, "Erwine's finally home, and so delighted but…I can't see any of that."

Ileve shook her head, "Don't think like that. I'm sure Erwine wouldn't mind if you came down yourself after a few days. She just needs some time on her own." She turned around to look back at the board, putting a hand on a hip covered by a single-piece green dress that ended at the knees. "This should be another half an hour or so, if you don't mind the commotion." She said.

"It's fine," Wei said as she slumped in her chair, "I could use the distraction."

Mila took a few steps forwards, running her eyes over the board. "This is new," She commented, "Never seen that pocket in the south."

"That was an interesting set of rolls a few hours ago," Ileve fell back into her chair and crossed her emerald-green stocking-covered legs, "Hasn't moved since then, and I honestly don't mind. She's about to get her entire army group encircled."

"She could still breakthrough in the center," Sechylia observed, pointing to the spot.

Ileve thought on that, "Probability's not on her side, but probability doesn't take sides." She swung herself around to face the table, "Alright then, I'll take care of that next turn."

Mila glanced over at Wei, staring blankly at the table. "Hungry?" She wondered. Wei nodded. "I'll go get you something." Mila decided, striding towards the door. It wasn't uncommon that they ate, though they didn't need to.

"Alright!" Elle shouted, "We're ready to go!" Ileve raised her eyebrows.

"That didn't take long," She observed, and Sechylia started to bounce up and down in expectation as the captain made her moves, stopping several times to converse again with her subordinates.

Already the massive pile of dice was starting to be put together, and after a few minutes of careful placement of pieces, Elle took the massive pile in her hands and once again spread them out into a lid. This time, Ileve was barely finished glancing over the results before a rousing cheer of victory from the humans filled the room.

Ileve shrugged, "Probability doesn't take sides," She reiterated matter-of-factly.

* * *

Compared to Erwine's journey, Nada's life had been the dullest thing in all the world. After she had recounted some of the more major events, she couldn't help but feel simply terrible. "I must be nothing compared to you," she whispered, "Just one person on a meaningless planet."

The inquisitor shook her head. "That's not true at all," Erwine insisted, "You're not meaningless. No one's existence is meaningless." They were coming near to the outer edges of the city's suburbs, which gave way suddenly to plains coated in snow. However they did not see that, merely witnessing the wall that surrounded the city rise up above them. Though Siothea wasn't a particularly enticing target and sat far from the warfronts, one could never be too safe.

The buildings came to an abrupt stop before the wall, giving way in the space of just one street to the imposing structure. "You've never seen over that thing, have you?" Erwine asked as they looked up at it. Nada thought for a moment, then nodded.

"I did, once. I got to see out from one of the taller buildings in the neighborhood. Though I may not be able to do much purely because of where I am, many people welcome the help of someone good at mathematics." She explained, clearly relishing the memory. "That actually wasn't very long ago, the family told me they'll send referrals to their own friends." A smile was on the girl's face, "So I guess that's nice."

"See, you're not worthless." Erwine said, proud of the girl, "And even if you were absolutely nothing at all, you'd still mean something. I only stand where I am because there are billions of people like you holding up the Imperium."

Nada blushed, touched by the girl's words. Laying a hand on her cheek to try and hide the growing redness, she stammered out, "Y-you really think that, don't you?" Erwine wasn't sure if the girl wanted to believe it or not.

"I do think so," Erwine confirmed. It was her turn to relive memories as she explained, "I came to understand that from those ten years that I spent out there. Well, I suppose that I never did feel that I had no reason to exist, but I did learn that there's so much to be gained with accepting yourself." Her hand reached up to pull Nada's away from her face. "It doesn't matter who or what you are, enjoy the fact that you exist, because there's so much joy to be gained from living."

The girl that looked older cracked a smile, and almost started laughing. "You're much wiser than you look," Nada commented, "I wish I could have that…though of course," She stared up at that wall, as though it were a symbol of that repression she felt, "I wish for so much."

"You shouldn't do that," Erwine told her. She turned all around as her eyes scanned the snow-covered buildings. "In all honesty, I think that there's a lot to be gained from just tutoring math on a quiet planet like this. Sometimes I wish I could just rest with my feet on the ground, rather than constantly traveling from one planet to another."

Nada frowned, "You don't regret contracting, though, do you?" Erwine paused facing away from the girl, and thought for a long few seconds.

"Now? No." She looked back to Nada, "Have I in the past? Did I once? Yes. But I haven't regretted it for a long time, and I hope that I never experience the feeling again." A brief gust of cold swept through, tossing Erwine's hair out behind as she said, "It truly is terrible." She smiled humorously, "This keeps looping back to me, doesn't it?"

That garnered a chuckle from the woman, "It does indeed," Nada agreed. She looked back up at the wall that rose above her, "Perhaps we should head back?"

"No," Erwine denied that, stepping forwards, "I'll give you a treat." She gestured for the girl to follow her after Nada hesitated at first. The two headed towards one of the wall's towers, the nearest point through which it could be accessed. "We always used to want to go to the top of this, didn't we?" Erwine recalled as they came up to the door. No guard stood before it, and the rapping of her knuckles on the metal called no one.

She shook her head. Next her voice raised and she shouted, "Somebody open the door." Erwine hoped that the sound would carry, and it most certainly did, for a man who didn't seem sure what he was doing opened the door in a couple seconds. As the haziness cleared from his eyes, Erwine was already holding up her gem. "I'm just showing a friend around, nothing to see." The mere sight of the jewel would be enough, but the Inquisitorial 'I' only hastened the man's response.

"Of course, ma'am!" The guard said, and took several steps back as his hands scrambled to yank his vox from his belt. Though Nada was intrigued by what Erwine had done, she asked no questions. As Erwine and Nada passed by him and walked to the stairs in the back of the room, they heard his frantic communications telling of the inquisitor's presence.

The battlements themselves were actually enclosed from the elements, a roof above ensuring that they were safe from overhead attack. However, for their purposes it was rather limiting. The gun ports were at least wide enough to gaze through, and it wasn't as though the place had a military atmosphere about it. Various furnishings lined the walls, everything from small stoves to sofas.

A few guards were sitting around in the middle of a game of cards, but were currently locked in stances of attention. Hurried footsteps from another direction called Erwine's attention to a man who bore insignia marking him as a lieutenant. "Is there something wrong, ma'am?" He frantically asked.

Erwine shook her head. "Nothing at all. Just walking with a friend, no need to tell anyone." She explained. The message was clear. The lieutenant was gone after a salute, the sort humans used, and Erwine briefly said to the other men, "As you were." They sat back down and resumed their activities, but wary eyes weren't torn from Erwine.

"Come along," the inquisitor said to Nada, eyes set on a relatively clean little section of the battlements. From further down the corridor, the lieutenant gazed, more scared of his job than anything else.

Nada stepped up to the open ports, and stared out at the scene before them. A few roads and train rails stretched out from the city into the distance, but that was the only trace of mankind beyond the wall. Otherwise, the world was almost featureless, save for the occasional bumps of hills and skeletons of trees, all the way to the horizon.

In a thoughtful voice Nada spoke, "If one were to just look out at this view, this city looks like the only thing in the whole world, maybe even the whole universe." She paused, "But in reality there's so much more out there, isn't there?"

Erwine nodded, "There is. I've seen so many amazing things that I sometimes wonder if there's anything that will impress me anymore." She shrugged, "But the thought doesn't make me side. The memories of those things I saw is enough to keep me going."

"The way you talk," Nada said, "Makes your life sound easy."

"If only," The inquisitor replied, "I'm looking forwards to this little break." Erwine herself found herself lost in the scenery before her. Though it wasn't anything prettier than other sights she'd seen, the mere knowledge that it was her homeworld that she stared out at was enough to swell up some nostalgia-like sensation. Nostalgia for that longing she'd had as a child to stand atop that wall and look over it.

But even as a child, she had flown far above it, and had seen the whole world from an even greater height. The two found themselves staring out in silence. Eventually, both became afraid to be the one to shatter that fragile quiet. The snow-covered plains, with snowfall still coming from above, were somehow amazing.

It would be Erwine who suggested, "Perhaps we should head back." Flinching at the sound, Nada looked to the girl and nodded in agreement.

"The sun will set soon anyways." She said. They turned away, and returned to the stairs that would lead them back down.

Ushering Nada ahead of her, Erwine looked to either side at the guardsman and said respectfully, "Thank you for your service, the Goddess Protects." Then she was following her friend downwards. The same words were said to the man at the bottom, before the two emerged back out into the open air.

* * *

Indeed, the sky was already beginning to dim. Though the sun was invisible beyond the barrier of clouds, it was just beginning its descent towards the horizon. Intention already decided, Erwine and Nada adopted a pace faster than before as they walked.

Erwine suddenly came to the realization that she'd forgotten an entire slew of questions she'd meant to ask. Gasping as they walked, Nada was at first surprised, mainly because she hadn't expected such a thing from the Erwine she'd come to know. But before she could wonder what was wrong, Erwine said in shock, "My parents." She looked at Nada and asked, "Nada, my parents, yours too, where are they now?"

Equally surprised by the fact that she herself forgot, Nada started, "Ah-um…" It merely took a moment for her to remember, but that second was enough to terrify Erwine. "They're alive still. Living further up town, if I remember correctly. What your Adrianne did for us was…truly something amazing. I hear they're off pretty well these days." Nada explained.

Erwine breathed a sigh of relief, nodding as she said, "Thank you. I'll have to go see them, perhaps tonight? Or tomorrow."

Nada nodded, "That's a good idea, probably tomorrow?" She suggested.

Erwine agreed, "I have plenty of time." They picked up their pace again as Erwine asked, "Are they still working in the factorums?"

They paused as a solitary car rolled down the street they were about to cross. Nada shook her head, "Not all of them. Our fathers are, but our mothers have since moved on elsewhere. Mine works cleaning houses a bit further up from where they live, and yours has settled down to educate herself. She's hoping to enter one of the academies and become certified as a teacher."

They crossed as Erwine smiled, her heart-warming by the second. "That's good," she said, "More than anything else, I want at least them to have happy endings." Then she further questioned, "They haven't had any more children, have they?"

Nada shook her head, "No, they haven't. Yours say that a magical girl is all they could ever ask for. Mine just want some quiet." She giggled, "Though they don't regret me, of course."

The inquisitor sighed, "This place is nicer than I thought, isn't it?" She asked. "Ten years ago, it seemed so tiny, but there really is more to it."

Her friend shrugged, "I don't know, sometimes it seems so big, and sometimes I wonder if I'll go anywhere else than here." She smiled, "But like you said, even if I don't, I'm still something, right?"

"Of course you are," Erwine said, quite sure that her ideas were correct. Nada didn't want them to be wrong, and she didn't want to not believe in them. Just in the past few hours, she felt like a newfound light had been introduced into her life. No, not introduced. _Reintroduced. _Erwine had been there, and it was only right that she had come back.

A few tears bubbled up to her eyes, and Nada wondered just how amazing magical girls were, for Erwine saw them before Nada was even finished reacting to their presence. The silver-haired girl paused and turned towards Nada, who stopped as her friend did. The inquisitor, a member of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition, grasped the hand of her friend, nothing more than a math tutor on a relatively backwater world. "You're crying because you're happy, right?" Erwine asked worriedly.

Nada nodded, "That's why," She said, all too happy to admit that.

"Good," Erwine said, "Good," she repeated, unable to find the right words to explain just how overjoyed she was in that instant. It was a joy only grew stronger by the second.

* * *

Over the course of the past half an hour, her pacing had steadily changed from background noise to an active annoyance to everyone in the room. Though the game went on, tensions were wearing thin, at least for the humans. But even the magical girls, with all their power, were starting to become annoyed by Wei's incessant walking back and forth.

As the dice roll stopped once more, only for the steady beat of her heels to resume, all eyes fell on the girl, who didn't appear to notice their stares. Sighing, Mila stood up, walking straight ahead. She intercepted Wei in mid-stride, grabbing the girl by the arm and dragging her towards the door. "Mila!" she growled in annoyance, but a quick glance at the rest of the room quickly convinced Wei to exit for the moment.

The moment the door shut, Mila pulled Wei in front of her, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Wei narrowed her eyes, but caught herself before she said anything hasty. For a few seconds they paused in the hall, much to the worry of a single crewman coming down that way. A quick glare from Mila sent him scurrying around the corner. "I guess…" Wei started, muttering quietly, "I'm worried about Erwine. Worried a lot."

"Because she's come home." Mila stated, then guessed, "Because she'll be sad to go? Because it may bring back unhappy memories? Because she might regret contracting?"

Wei cut her off, "It's all that and more, I'm sure you know." She said quietly, "It's…" The girl said in distress, "I haven't been away from Erwine like this before. We've split up on cases, but we knew what we were doing and there was an objective and…" She took a deep breath, before calming herself and saying slowly, "I just don't feel comfortable letting her run around in her childhood, who knows what might happen to her?"

Mila reached out and laid a hand on Wei's shoulder. Gripping tightly, the girl smiled, assuring Wei, "Erwine's going to be fine. Believe me, I've been with her for the past ten years. She's not going to lose herself over this. This is only the culmination of everything she's worked for."

Wei understood that, and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. "I know she'll be fine, but…I guess I've learned not to be too sure." She explained.

The hand on her shoulder pulled away, and Mila suggested, "Want to go back in there with them?" After a moment without Wei giving a reply, she then asked, "Or would you rather go down there?"

"Siothea?!" Wei gasped, and quickly shook her head, "I can't-I mean-Erwine's there and she-"

"Obviously we'll leave her to herself," Mila said, "But it can't hurt to get on solid ground every once and while." She reminded her, "It was a month coming here."

Crossing her arms, Wei took a deep breath, "I'll think about it." She decided, before turning around and walking back down the hall. Mila stared at her back for a few seconds, before she turned around and stepped back into the room.

* * *

It wasn't the board. It wasn't even the pieces on the board nor the people on the other side of the table who moved them. It was the dice. The very thing that had been designed as the "balancing" factor in the game were what currently annoyed her.

Ileve stared intently at the board, mind racing to try and find some way of the situation she was in. One bad roll had turned the entire game again. Occasionally, her eyes flicked up from their intense stare towards those watching her think, which never failed to make at least one react in some way, be it subtle or overt.

Sechylia leaned over her shoulder, though she didn't do anything to assist. As she stared, the door opened and closed, and a brief check showed only Mila returning from the hallway. _How is she? _Ileve wondered privately.

_Worried about losing Erwine. Honestly I can't blame her. However, she'll be perfectly fine. _Mila replied as she settled back down in her own chair.

_Are you worried about her? _The girl with aquamarine hair questioned, focusing on the board but with one of her many consciousnesses speaking to Mila.

Mila shifted uncomfortably in her chair, an action that was out of the blue for those not involved in the conversation. Hesitantly, she replied, _As much as I hate to admit it, a little. Erwine lets her emotions get to her. It's simultaneously her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. I don't think anything terrible will happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if our inquisitor was slightly less energetic than usual for the next month or so. _

Ileve nodded, an action that sent chills down the spines of her opponents, but was in fact in reply to Mila. _I concur. _Ileve said neutrally, _though hopefully she'll come out of this more confident in herself than ever. _She gathered up the dice, ready to roll.

_Indeed, _Mila agreed, _perhaps she'll even consider herself ready to continue…that. _

The other girl let the dice go, pausing as she did so. Not due to the results, which Elle and the others set about pouring over. Slowly, she said, _I do hope she'll be able to do that. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the work I've done but…there is a pain that hasn't gone away. _

_In a way, she took my home from me,_ Mila said as the humans once again cheered, _I do feel that this has been merely preparing us all. Once this is done, we'll put an end to Ishna and her legacy for good. _As she said that, Mila knew that there was little reason to believe that the five of them could do anything that a task force assembled by the Grand Inquisitor herself couldn't do in the past nine years.

_However, _she thought to herself, _we know this all ties back to Erwine. Theodora was probably correct, Erwine has to be there in order for things to move forwards. _Ileve put her hands down on the table and stood up.

"Fine," she shrugged, "It's your win this time. Congratulations." With that, she stepped away and pushed the chair back in, before heading for the door. Sechylia followed after her.

_Do you think we really can? _Mila asked Ileve, right before the girl left.

The magical girl paused at the door, before turning to look back at Mila. Aware of the motion, the blonde glanced over her shoulder to see the determination on Ileve's face. _We can. _The girl affirmed, her conviction strong.

Mila turned her head forwards again as the door closed, while the humans settled down. Their victory had taken a toll on their minds, which only meant that the game was working was intended. Already, they were heading for the door to return to their rooms and rest.

Mila stood up, and announced, words aimed specifically at Elle, "I'll be going to find Wei. We might be going down to Siothea. I'll let you know if we do." The captain waved goodbye, exhausted, as the girl strode out the door, weaving through the others exiting.

* * *

Buildings rose up to either side of them, just as they rose alone every street in the city. The ground was already covered in inches of snow, but a fresh coat was descending from the grey sky above. A cold gust of wind came roaring down the street, whipping up their hair and any loose bits of clothing.

Erwine couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu. However, it reached a bit deeper than what was seemingly a coincidence. For a moment, Erwine felt that she _had _experienced all those sensations before, but couldn't quite place when.

She felt something was behind her, her hypersensitive ears picking up on the sound of movement through the snow. Erwine whipped around, her blade reflexively flashing into her hand. No, not reflexively. The inquisitor felt not the usual rush of adrenaline that accompanied such an action. Rather, it was as though her mind felt it was what she should do.

Coming around the corner at the end of a street was a young girl, seemingly thirteen or fourteen, dressed in heavy winter clothing over a normal schoolgirl uniform. Her arms were held close to her as she shivered, her head turning about wildly, as though something chased after her. But she looked all around her, like danger lay everywhere.

Suddenly her eyes fell on Erwine, and she gasped. As the girl recoiled in fear, her feet tripped over one another and she fell down into the snow, hands continuing to desperately push herself backwards.

Erwine froze in horror as she saw the sight. A deep sense of dread pervaded every part of her being down to the tiniest particle as she realized where she had seen this sight before. This exact same sight, down to the motions she herself made. "A memory that hadn't happened yet…" She whispered, mouth dropping open in awe as memories of ten years before returned to her.

The other girl scrambled to her feet, turning to run from the sword brandished at her. Erwine shouted out, her magic running through the words, "Stop!" As though a switch had been flipped, the girl halted in place, before Erwine crossed the space in between with merely two great strides.

Embedding her sword in the ground point-first, she grabbed the girl by the shoulders, screaming her demand, "What do you see?!" Enough magic was in the words to force a magical girl several years older than Erwine herself to speak, and for a normal human teenager, it was enough to send her entire mind's contents spilling out.

"The world is twisting! And changing!" The girl frantically cried, utter terror apparent in her voice, "It's like a nightmare!" She kept rambling on, speaking of horrific sights that she'd seen for hours now.

It was then that Erwine realized what was happening. Cutting out any thoughts of Nada or Siothea for a moment, she looked at the world around her, and something, _something, _felt wrong. It was the way the world felt before a warp breach, in those critical last moments before the walls of reality were torn asunder and the surrounding space was forever altered. Plenty of reports had identified individuals who were unusually warp-sensitive, and could often see the world changing as the warp energies slowly pervaded realspace.

Her mind was working instantly, sending a wide-range telepathic signal across the entire planet. _This is Inquisitor Erwine Braune. There is an attempt to form a warp breach underway. Nothing further is known. Initiate evacuation immediately, move all Adeptus Magica personnel and assets, including potentials, offplanet immediately. This is not a drill. _

At the same time, another fragment of her mind was sending to the _Yslevia, _screaming orders to her subordinates, _Ileve! Scan the planet now! We have a warp breach in progress! Get all ships away from the planet, issue evacuation orders! _

Even as frantic replies came back asking for clarification, Erwine's attention was torn away by the screams of Nada demanding an answer, and a sensation of needles crawling up her back. Her head whipped to the right, looking up at the roof of the building. Nada was silenced by the sudden motion, her own gaze following Erwine's, only for her to flinch back at the sight of the figure there.

Gloved hands slowly pulled down a hood to show a face Erwine vaguely recognized from various after-action reports. Her eyes stared into those of the only person she knew to know of Ishna's plan. Lyndia sounded regretful as she said, "I do not wish to do this. In fact, I would rather that such horrific sacrifices be averted entirely." She shook her head, "But you must learn something that you have refused to accept for a long time." A moment of silence, "You cannot fight fate."

Brilliant wings spread out as Erwine clutched her sword and leapt upwards, reaching the roof in an instant. Lyndia stepped back from the wide swing of her blade, right into the waiting grasp of another girl. "We shall meet again," the heretic techmage said before she disappeared, "Then, you'll receive the answers you deserve." Then she was gone.

_Order a lockdown on the system! _Erwine shouted to her vessel above, _mobilize all Navy vessels, prevent anyone from leaving! Send a message to the sect, up to MSOC, and to Juno! If any ship manages to leave, track their vector! _She looked all around, mind spinning as she struggled to figure out what to do.

_Getting Nada out, _Was the first thing that came to mind. It was wrong, saving one person while so many others were at stake, but she would have to leave anyways. _Send a shuttle down! _Erwine ordered.

_Already done. _Ileve replied, _I'm tracking massive amounts of activity all over the planet. They must have spent years slowly preparing for this if the climax is approaching this quickly! _

_I saw Lyndia, Ishna's techmage, she was just here in front of me. _Erwine said as she leapt back down to the street, _she's behind this, I know she is! Damn it! _Rage flowed through her body, both at herself and at Ishna. Her hands came to her face as she tried to calm her hyperventilation, while the young girl had fallen down to her knees in fear.

"Erwine!" Nada shouted, "What's going on?! Who was that?!"

_Nada. _In a sea of chaos, that was the one thing that made sense to Erwine. The friend that she couldn't lose. To her, nothing had changed. Nothing was different, not yet at least. Erwine steadied herself and straightened her arms, balling her fists to reduce the tension.

She looked up at the sky, seeing the approaching shuttle in the distance, "We need to get out of here," The inquisitor said simply.

"What?!" Nada asked, following her line of sight but unable to pick anything out in the sky, "Why?!"

"Because I'm me, and the mere fact that I accept being me means that I must shoulder the burdens placed upon me." Erwine replied, as though that answered everything. "No matter how many people that might hurt." Tears were running down her cheeks. At this stage in the ritual, there was only one reply. With no Knight forces in the region, and since the world was not a strategic location, there was only one acceptable response.

Nada was completely confounded, but her attention was suddenly torn away by the roar of the approaching shuttlecraft. To Erwine, it felt like a nightmare, but she knew it all to be real. Slowly, she reached down to grab the young girl by the shoulder and pull her up, scooping her into her arms in a single motion. With the girl draped over her arms, Erwine looked up as the shuttle decelerated hard, barely enough to prevent it from slamming into the street.

The door was already down as it landed, and Erwine hurried up the ramp, depositing the girl within before looking back at Nada. "Come here!" Erwine shouted, the order not a magical one, but she briefly considered it when the woman hesitated. "Nada! Listen to me, you're going to die if you stay here!" She insisted, and that was when the first signs showed.

A foul stench suddenly filled the air, and a sound like a thousand screams suddenly echoed in their ears. The light of the world grew dim for a moment, then brightened, then dimmed. Nada stood frozen in shock, while the girl behind Erwine fell to the floor of the compartment. Her hands covered her eyes as she shut her eyes and curled into a ball, screams of pain erupting from her throat.

The inquisitor's wings spread as she leapt towards Nada. Snow blew up from the ground along her trail as she propelled herself to wrap her arms around the woman before leaping back over the same path into the shuttle. _Go! _She cried before she was entirely inside, and the craft lifted off, the door slamming shut as Erwine caught brief glimpses of other vessels escaping the city. The magical girls would live, being ready at all times to preserve their lives. But they would be leaving behind everything else.

"What's happening?!" Nada screamed at the top of her lungs, fear apparent on her face as she realized that something terrible was happening. She received no response from the Inquisitor, who stood silently with her eyes shut, as though she was deep in thought, even as the steep upwards acceleration of the shuttle brought Nada to the floor.

Erwine took a deep breath, pausing to listen to Ileve's message before replying to her friend. _All PDG forces evacuating. We've alerted planetary officials, and they are moving offworld as well. _All standard procedure. _System on lockdown, no ships detected attempting to break these orders as of yet. We managed to send warnings before interference became too much, but we won't hear back till it dies down again. _

_Alright, keep them away from the planet, pick up any Adeptus Magica forces that need it, otherwise send them to the Navy vessels. _Erwine turned to face Nada, staring into the girl's eyes as she heard the inevitable question come, though it came specifically from Wei.

_Does the situation call for Exterminatus? _The girl questioned, her voice solemn.

_There is nothing else to be done, _Erwine replied simply, before turning her attention to Nada. "A warp breach is about to form on Siothea. I know who did it, and I might even know why." She explained simply, "It will destroy the planet, therefore there is only thing I can do to save the souls of those who cannot escape."

Nada's eyes went wide. "What do you mean?!" she demanded, "You mean they're all going to die?! What are you going to do?"

"Commence Exterminatus," Erwine said, as though the word explained itself to a woman who had never heard it spoken. The shuttle rumbled as it pushed up through the atmosphere, only serving to dredge up further memories. _Create a firing solution, _she sent to the _Yslevia, have it ready to go when I arrive. _Nada didn't appear to understand. Erwine said nothing more, for while she knew the girl would have to know, she wished to let her remain innocent for just a few seconds longer.

Briefly, she remembered the first time she experienced zero gravity, and as both Nada and the young girl alike reacted in shock, Erwine couldn't help but feel that this was all planned from the very beginning of her life. No matter how twists and turns appeared upon the road she walked, they all lead back to the same path.

Soon the shuttle was touching down in the hangar, and Erwine leapt out as the door opened, knowing full well that Nada would follow her but also realizing that hiding the truth would only hurt her more in the end. She heard the girl coming after her, also knowing that in her childish inquisitiveness, the younger one couldn't help but follow.

Immediately joined by Wei and Mila as she exited the hangar, Erwine tore through the empty halls of the cruiser, set on reaching the bridge as fast as possible. None of them spoke. Both Wei and Mila knew that no words could sooth Erwine at this point. The only thing they could do was act as was their duty.

Sechylia and Ileve were both on the bridge when they arrived, staring at the image of Siothea clear in the monitor before them. There was no atmosphere of chaos, nor panic, nor fear. The room was silent and calm, each and every one of the men and women within understanding what must occur.

Erwine took a deep breath and shut her eyes, afraid to speak the words that would condemn so many people. Yet in the end, it was indeed the only thing she could do for them. The doors rolled up again, a pair of footsteps, those of an adult, walking in. "E-Erwine?" Nada asked frightfully, "W-what are you going to do…?"

Inquisitor Erwine Braune's eyes opened. She nodded, and a channel was opened to every vox listening. Before them, the planet was already starting to show the signs of the breach. A sickly glow permeated the upper reaches of the atmosphere, and every magical girl in the system could feel the warp energy slipping through the widening cracks.

Her voice betrayed no fear as she spoke. Gone where the hints of doubt and fear. Replacing them was a voice that carried an absolute understanding of what must be done, yet found no other emotion in the act. "I am Inquisitor Erwine Braune of Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition. In the name of Her Holy Majesty The Goddess and the people of Siothea, I declare Exterminatus upon the planet of Siothea. In the name of The Goddess, let this be done. The Goddess Protects, may She guide their souls." Nada's eyes opened wider and wider with every moment, till she eventually felt tears running down her cheeks. Were Erwine facing her, she would have seen the waterfall of tears that had already spilled.

The bridge doors rumbled open again. Erwine paid the sound no mind. A quiet voice beside her spoke something. The _Yslevia _shook, and it was with a bright flash that the atmosphere of Siothea ignited as the guns of every warship in the system opened fire. Another set of screams from beside her. Were she not so engrossed with the simultaneously terrifying and grand sight before her, she might have heard the words they spoke.

Erwine stared unwaveringly as the flames scorched all air and life from the planet. Still, that foul aura lit the world, and the stench of the warp still lingered. The vessel rumbled once again as the next volley went off, these munitions set on splitting the planet apart. Massive holes were bored in the surface, the torpedoes and shells burrowing deep underground before erupting in continent-cracking detonations.

More screams. Another volley. Cracks began to run through the planet's surface, clearly visible even from so high up. Another volley. The core began to collapse in on itself, massive sections of the planet collapsing inwards and erupting outwards. Erwine couldn't tear her eyes away. She did not want to, but even if she did she doubted that she could have. It was a sight too magnificent to turn away from.

Before their eyes, a planet was killed. Someone was begging for a reason why this had to happen. Erwine knew that the reason was simple, but people in times like this couldn't accept even the simplest of answers. In her stupor, Erwine felt that somebody spoke to her, but she didn't have the mind to reply. Gone was the happiness felt not even thirty minutes before. Gone was the exhilaration of overcoming so much to finally achieve such happiness. Replacing it all was the painful realization that she hadn't won anything.

"This was fated to happen," She whispered, "The wheels of fate were kicked unstoppably into motion long ago." Strangely enough, Erwine found herself feeling nostalgic at the words, and even felt that she was merely repeating someone else's. She froze suddenly, an image from what felt like an eternity ago flashing into her mind.

Dread welled in her heart, and it was with regret that she turned her head to the side to find a sight that she wished she did not see. For it was a sight that she had seen before, albeit from a different angle.

Standing before the young girl was an Incubator. _I'm…the…girl in the dream…_Erwine thought, the world suddenly spinning around as she acted purely on reflex. It was different, but still the same. A flash of light and a coalescence of shining particles brought her sword into her hand, and with a smooth motion the dream ended.

Blood splattered out in every direction as Erwine sliced the Incubator in half, a primal scream of terror, rage, and regret issuing forth from her throat. In but a single moment, and with a single thought, her entire life had been shown to be nothing more than a façade.

Siothea split apart, its fragments flying in all directions. Nada fell to her knees in horror, as every other pair of eyes on the bridge fell on Erwine. She didn't consciously move, but her blade moved nonetheless. Into smaller and smaller pieces she hacked the corpse of the Incubator, knowing that to make a wish to save a planet would only doom another world to despair, and also rejecting the cursed destiny that had been hers from the moment she was born.

Her screams wouldn't stop. Mila pulled the little girl from her, while Nada took notice and scrambled away across the floor in fright. They only stopped when a pair of arms embraced Erwine from behind, gently clasping the girl's hands and ceasing their motion. "Erwine…I'm here…" Wei whispered, but she didn't understand. She couldn't, for that dream that seemed so insignificant was shared only with Adrianne.

Erwine shoved her away, tears streaming down her face. On the monitor, Siothea didn't exist anymore. Nor did the billions who had dwelt upon its surface. The warp's taint was gone from the planet and the system, but in extinguishing that, she had extinguished so much more. In truth, she extinguished even her own free will, for to do all of what she had done was only to accept that she had no control.

In the midst of her grief, Erwine searched for, and found, the one thing that she could with absolute certainty blame. The name erupted from her mouth in a cry that filled the room. "Ishna!" In that moment, Erwine cast aside everything else she had ever felt for the girl. No more questions, no more ambiguity, none of that anymore.

In that moment, she felt only hate.


	53. A Bittersweet Awakening

**I could write some long thing about how sorry I am and about how things are back on track, but I really have no clue what is going on with me at the moment. I can certainly say I'm fine almost all the time, but sometimes sitting down to write will trigger the anxiety again. All I can say at this point is that updates will come when I can get them out. Thanks to everyone reading!**

* * *

Heretics will often justify their actions by saying things like "the ends justify the means." Too often is this expression taken as an absolute truth, yet too often is this expression taken as an absolute falsehood. In reality, the ends may indeed justify the means. Should a war that is tearing apart countries and killing thousands upon thousands be ended through brutal means, many are ready to pin the blame upon the victor. However, is the war not over? Is it not true that its ravages shall see no one suffer further?

All too often we forget to think in this manner, and instead consider the world in absolutes. Loyalist and traitor, faithful and heretic. The answer to any question an inquisitor faces is a complicated one. Despite this, in the moment of action one should not let their judgment be clouded by such considerations. If one's mind is pure, then their actions will not matter, for they were performed with the best of intentions.

Magical girls we may be, with minds theoretically unlimited, but in the end we can be, and often are, just as short-sighted as the humans we are sworn to protect. Lest we repeat the mistakes of the past, we must strive towards perfection, no matter how unreachably distant it may be.

-Published in _Voice of Terra, _by Inquisitor Meris Cosel

* * *

_A warp breach was formed on Siothea while Inquisitor Braune was present. Exterminatus was commenced. It is certainly Ishna. _Joining the loud strings and chorus of the piece currently played on the phonograph was the loud bang of the girl's hands slamming down on the desk as she stood, her chair propelled backwards onto the floor by the action.

A paperweight was dislodged, and the fierce chilling winds swept up several papers, only for the flash of white that was her quick-moving hand to catch them all, the Grand Inquisitor not even bothering to look at them._ Not now, not as the Cadian war picks up again…_she mentally cursed under her breath, now transmitting, _pull any assets from minor cases and assign them to combing every inch of this galaxy for Ishna. _She slammed her fist down against, angry both that she had failed to protect those she was sworn to protect, and that once again she was outwitted.

But Wilhelmina Schrader was no fool, and she would not allow herself to be played for one again.

* * *

Many of the fragments of the planet known as Siothea stayed near to where the whole had been, whilst others were cast off throughout the solar system by the catastrophic forces that shattered the planet. Under the orders of the Inquisitor, not a single ship had left the system, whilst they waited for reinforcements in a hope that Ishna's subordinates could be apprehended.

For now, the collection of vessels, tiny slivers against the greater blackness of the universe, drifted around the ruins that served as a tombstone for Siothea. Tumbling slowly through the void, the rocks were barren and lifeless. After this, the system would fall silent for at least a long time, with nothing else to attract anyone to the various other planets and moons.

Twenty-seven minutes and thirty-four seconds had passed since the destruction of Siothea. Erwine had counted every single one of them. Sitting on her bed wasn't going to help anything. With her arms desperately hugging her knees as though letting go would send her sliding down a slippery slope, she buried her head down, not wishing to see the world.

A report had to be filed. There would be an investigation, from every level possible. At least the Hadiens Sect and the local MSOC would send separate investigative teams. Psychiatric evaluations would follow, and even if she passed cleanly in every way, she would still be known as one who had conducted an Exterminatus. For to do so was to admit one's failure.

And beyond all that lay still that final horrific realization. That no matter what she did, her fate was still firmly in Ishna's grasp. There were too many questions to be considered at once, and Erwine understood that even if she considered them all one by one, she wouldn't find a proper answer.

The only thing she knew for real was that she had seen the future in her dream. _Were all the dreams of the future that I've seen real? Has it already been written? _Erwine wondered, every question and the resulting string of further questions only serving to drive her deeper into despair.

Wei sat right outside her door, having been cast out from the room that she'd occupied for years with Erwine. It would be so easy to call out to her, but she couldn't possibly understand, at least in Erwine's mind. The girl had already tried to console her, but Erwine had accepted nothing. _Wei doesn't understand, _Erwine thought to herself, and saw no reason in her mind to believe otherwise.

A knock on the door caught her interest, and deep down she just wanted the world to make sense again, for some light to appear in the darkness. So she didn't reject the door opening, nor did she shout away the person who entered. The moment she saw who it was, Erwine knew that no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't.

Nada slowly shut the door behind her, shakily breathing as she stared at Erwine. Both froze as their eyes met, neither knowing how to respond to the other. "S-she told me to try…" Nada said quietly, voice barely audible. Tears welled in her eyes as she asked, "Erwine…what happened-" A poignant pause, "-to you?"

Erwine's mouth opened as she stretched her legs out, sitting up straighter and reaching out as though ready to reply. But no words came from her mouth, and she ended up collapsing onto her back, staring lifelessly up at the ceiling. "Erwine." Nada's voice was sterner this time, "What is going on?" She was desperate for an answer, an answer that she had every right to receive.

The inquisitor took a deep breath, and slowly slid her legs off the bed and sat up. "Do you remember…?" She started then trailed off as she stared down at the floor, "How I spoke of painful memories?"

Nada nodded, "Yes, I remember,"

Erwine stood, stumbling at first before steadying herself. She tilted her head back, turning it to send a lifeless stare at Nada. "I always knew I could never forget those memories…" She turned, facing straight ahead at Nada, "I didn't forget them, in fact. But I didn't believe that-" Erwine turned in the direction she knew the ruins of Siothea to lay in, screaming, "That she would steal even _this _away from me!"

She fell to her knees, arms falling limp at her sides as she wept uncontrollably, "I just wanted to be a hero, like you wanted me to be, but she has to steal even that joy away." Erwine felt the rage return to her heart, as she clenched her fists and cried out to the ceiling, "Why?! This is just to make me play your stupid game! What do you want?! Why are you doing this?! _How _are you doing this?!" She stopped speaking, incapable of anything but crying as she fell over onto her side, curling up.

Facing away from her friend, Erwine merely cried, the world still not making enough sense to do anything else yet. She gasped when she felt arms embrace her, arms that hadn't held her like that in so so long. Gently, Nada lifted the girl up and into her lap, keeping Erwine tight to her as she buried the girl's head in her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Erwine whispered in astonishment, the tone of her words a sharp contrast to the way she peacefully relaxed into Nada's embrace.

"I don't understand, I honestly don't, and I don't think that I can," Nada replied, words the slightest of whispers. "This is all I can do for you." Though she already held Erwine tightly, she squeezed down even harder, as though the girl would run away were she not to hold her enough.

Erwine said nothing, and let the girl embrace her. In those moments, that was the only thing she knew for real.

The girl sat in the corner hugging her knees, refusing to look up from the ground. For the past twenty minutes she'd remained that way, motionless and in shock. Nothing made sense, and unless this really was just a nightmare, than in an instant she had lost everything she ever cared for. But nightmares ended eventually, no matter how real they became. This one only dragged on and on, with the end nowhere in sight. So she resolved to wait, until it all ended, for she had the power to do nothing else.

Mila knew that in many ways, the girl felt the same things Erwine did at that very moment. She herself couldn't help but feel powerless, for Erwine had rejected any words she had to say, and there was nothing she could do to help otherwise. _She stole control away from all of us…_Mila thought solemnly, not letting her eyes stray from the girl in the corner.

She understood just as well as Erwine did the threat present. Though she'd always harbored doubts about the Incubators, this was only another step towards suspicion of them. _Surely they must know that they'll only doom more people to die, don't they?_

* * *

A knock on the door derailed her train of her thought, and after a brief scan of the room to confirm nothing had changed, Mila walked to the door, one hand reflexively tightening as though it grasped a gun. Her caution was only to be expected, for Ishna-was alive.

Mila paused right before the door, hand frozen in motion as it reached for the knob. _If Ishna's alive, then why didn't she appear before Erwine? Why would she miss this chance to torment her? If she's really alive, then where is she? _Feeling uneasy, Mila glanced over her shoulder, seeing the girl still in the corner and nothing else.

She opened the door, and was a bit relieved to see a friendly face. Ileve entered as she stepped aside, shutting the door for Mila. _How is she? _The girl wondered, eyes running over the form of the other.

_Hasn't moved nor said a word. _Mila replied, _nothing else has changed either. _Ileve nodded, and Mila wondered, _any news on Erwine? _

_Wei sent her old friend in. She hasn't thrown her out yet, so hopefully some progress is being made. _Ileve replied, saddened by the thought of the girl.

_Just a couple hours ago…_Mila began, suddenly realizing that not much time at all had passed, _we were talking about whether or not we really could destroy Ishna's legacy…_

_And here we are, caught up in it as though we never escaped her plan in the first place, _Ileve said solemnly. A few seconds of silence, then she turned around. _I'll go check on Sechylia and the rest of the crew, make sure everything's in order._

_What's the word from higher-up? _Mila asked as the girl's hand tightened around the knob.

_Sect investigator will be here within the week. MSOC will be within two. Juno's ordered the dispatchment of every available Navy vessel to lock down every planet in the sector. _Ileve explained, then shook her head, _I know that she did nothing wrong there, but I'm still worried for her. _

_I am too, _Mila concurred somberly, walking to a chair in the corner of the room and collapsing down. By the time she repeated herself, Ileve was gone. _I am too._

* * *

Her lover had thrown her out of the room they had shared. She had screamed at her until she left, refused to hear a single word she said. Wei wasn't angry; she wasn't annoyed; she wasn't disappointed, at least not in Erwine. She felt none of these emotions for Erwine. Wei herself was the target of them all.

She had been unable to do anything. After almost ten years, she was still helpless before the machinations of that girl. _Ishna, _the name repeated again and again in her mind, and Wei let it come. It only reminded her of who the real enemy was, of who she would follow Erwine anywhere to destroy. Into the depths of the Warp, into heresy, into death. She'd do it, without even batting an eye. But despite that, she couldn't do anything for Erwine.

Her back leaned against the door of _their _room. She knew that within, Nada was most certainly soothing Erwine, somehow doing what Wei couldn't with words with her mere presence. Gently, the despair took Wei's hand and led her downwards, further and further downwards until it was nothing but an endless spiral of questions about her very reason for existence.

A sound down the hall shook her suddenly from her introspection. Happily embracing the distraction, Wei turned her head to see Ileve exiting Mila's room. "Are you alright?" the girl asked, knowing that Wei hadn't even seen her enter in the first place.

Wei nodded, though it was the slightest of motions. "Your gem," Ileve said, a quiet demand.

"It's fine," Wei whispered, meeting Ileve's eyes with a desperate look. The older girl paused for a few seconds, before turning around and striding away, confident that Wei wasn't stupid.

Wei watched her leave, and slowly reached up behind herself with her hand, feeling the cool metal of the door under her fingers. "Please be alright…" She whispered, knowing that no matter how far she fell, it would never be all the way into despair. Not as long as she could still do something for Erwine, even if it was only fighting in her name.

* * *

Erwine had lost track of time. The world around her, all of it, meant nothing to her, so long as she was in the arms of the one constant throughout her whole life. Since as long as she could remember, Nada had been there. Even Wei had only been there for half of that time.

If Nada embraced her, if Nada was behind her, if Nada believed in her, Erwine could do anything. However, she did owe Nada in reply. Erwine knew that, and was reminded of it as she sat there, as Nada asked for what was due. "Erwine, what's going on?" She asked quietly, after a silence that lasted longer than she could keep track of.

"I already mentioned the painful memories," Erwine whispered, not moving from her spot in Nada's lap. "A long time ago, in the first weeks-no, before I even contracted…maybe even before I was ever born, a magical girl called Ishna took note of me. For reasons that I can't imagine, she placed me at the center of her plan." Erwine paused, realizing that after everything, she still wasn't quite sure what the plan was, "A plan to put me on the path to do something terrible."

Erwine took a deep breath, finding it hard to open up all of her heart even now, even here, even with Nada. "She killed Adrianne's mentor, she killed Adrianne's lover, she killed Adrianne." Erwine felt a storm of emotions broiling up within herself, "She made it look like she died, but she's still here, as is her plan. Everyone in the galaxy, the highest members of the Inquisition, tried to find her but they located nothing. No trace, she'll only let herself be seen when she desires it." Erwine started to weep, as she raised her voice to let out a pitiful cry, "And I can't do anything. Even after I let her go and tried to find my own path, I come back home only to find that she won't release me. She's still standing right beside me…" Her eyes opened wide in shock, and for a moment, there was clarity in Erwine's mind.

After a long silence, in which Nada had to worryingly check that Erwine was still conscious, the inquisitor finally spoke the deepest truth locked within her heart. "I don't know if she's evil or not. She's killed so many people, and ruined the lives of so many others…but the way she spoke to me…it sounded as though she really meant no harm to anyone. Like she simultaneously enjoyed and despised everything she did. In the end…I almost wanted to save her." Erwine trembled as she spoke almost inaudibly, "I just want to know the truth, but it seems so impossibly far away that at the same time I just want it all to end, to get away from it all."

Still, Erwine sat in Nada's arms, scared of moving from the girl's comforting grasp. It was safe where she was. At the same time, Nada truly understood that there was a person different from the Erwine she knew in her arms. But at the same time, it was the same person.

Physically, she'd changed so much, but in so many ways she was the same Nada. Erwine didn't look a day older, but she could have lived a hundred years. The woman knew that she understood nothing, but she would be there for Erwine, even if the only thing she could do was give her a shoulder to cry on.

It was the slightest motion at first, but Erwine began to move. Steadily, millimeter by millimeter, she began to break away from Nada's embrace. Her tears had ceased, and she appeared devoid of emotion. Everything about her was completely alien to Nada, but she knew that beneath all that, Erwine was there.

Soon the girl was separate from her, and returned her confusion with an expression that she'd never imagined Erwine could make. Even in the face of everything, the girl appeared to be brave. The Erwine that had left ten years before would have crumbled in the face of all of that. She would have collapsed into Nada's arms and never left.

Nada couldn't help but stare blank-eyed in astonishment as a hopeful grin came onto Erwine's face. "Don't worry," She said, "I'll be fine. No matter what happens, the only way to move is forwards." Erwine gripped Nada's shoulders, telling her, "I have to be going…I have to find the people who did this and ensure my crew is alright. Please, wait here. You'll be safe."

The inquisitor stood, taking a deep breath. Nada wasn't sure if the girl was truly calm, or if it was merely a charade. Whatever it was, it didn't matter at the moment, for Erwine resolutely marched to the door. The woman's mouth opened, but she couldn't find anything that she thought would be right to say. However, Erwine did know what she herself ought to say. "Thank you," the magical girl said, looking over her shoulder with a smile as she stood before the door.

"You're welcome," Nada replied, without another word the girl was gone. Nada moved slightly and fell against the side of the bed, slumping down as the exhaustion struck her. There she lay for a few moments, resting her eyes, till they shot open, "By the Goddess…" She whispered in horror, "This is all real, isn't it?"

* * *

Wei was already standing when the door opened. The moment she heard the knob turning she'd leapt to her feet, confident the one exiting would be Erwine. Her prediction proved to be correct, for the girl stood before her now. It hurt Wei that the girl was better than before, but at the same time she didn't want to wish pain upon her.

"Erwine!" the girl said happily, a smile on her face as she rushed to embrace the girl, only having waited a second before moving. It was that single second that said everything.

Even as she wrapped her arms around Wei in kind, Erwine whispered, "What I did to you wasn't right…I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Wei replied simply.

"Wei, if there's something you need to tell me, you can just say it," Erwine assured her, "I'll understand,"

"It's fine," Wei sounded a bit less sure of herself.

Erwine pushed her away, grabbing her shoulders and staring into her eyes. Wei flinched briefly, before averting her eyes. "Wei," Erwine said sternly, "You mean just as much to me as Nada does. Please believe me."

Wei nodded, "Erwine, I understand that. I really do." Her confidence decreased with every word.

"Look at me," Erwine begged, and Wei turned her head. The girl's eyes were sparkling, but she tried her hardest to push down the tears. "There's something that I never told you…" she started, speaking quietly, before looking both ways down the hall to ensure they were alone. Wei looked confused, and Erwine explained shamefully, "Ishna was always there."

"The night before I contracted, I had a dream. I was on a starship, looking down at Siothea. Beside me was a girl. An Incubator was there, telling me I could save everyone." Erwine shuddered as she recounted the images that were still so vivid, "I thought it was Adrianne, but that girl who was destroying the planet was me." Erwine shook her head, "You already know about Ishna being there the whole time, but I never thought that the dream I saw was a vision of the future. I can't help but wonder if it was a fluke, fate, or if Ishna knew all along and put that sight in my head." Erwine gasped, "What if…she meant all along to destroy me here by putting that idea in my mind, so that-oh by the Goddess-her plan can't really be that-" She broke down into an incoherent mumble, the shock hitting her in one overflowing wave.

This time t was Wei's arms where she found solace, as the girl quietly reassured her, "Erwine, I'll always be here for you. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, I'll be here. Whether or not Ishna planned all of this, you're still at the center of it all, and if you can find the way out, you win."

Erwine nodded, swallowing her tears and calming herself. _I can't let myself panic, not now, _she told herself. It had all happened so fast, so fast that she walked thin line between calm and terror. She stepped away from Wei, "Thank you," she said, before immediately turning down the hall. _If I can't stop moving, then I won't. _"Let's go see that girl," She decided, "It's only right that I try to make sense of this all for her."

* * *

When she entered the room, her eyes fell first on Mila reclining in a chair to her right. The girl returned her gaze, but before Erwine looked away, the girl called her. _Erwine, hold on a moment. _Erwine paused and awaited her. Mila stood and stepped close, though she continued to use telepathy.

_This may not be the time, but you need to hear this. At least ask yourself this question, if Ishna is still alive, then why didn't she speak to you on Siothea? You know better than I that she wouldn't do this without saying a word. Not if she could say something. _Mila was expressionless as she spoke privately to Erwine, letting Wei hear at the same time, but clearly focused on the inquisitor.

Erwine blinked once. Then again. Then her mind processed it fully, and her head slowly turned away from Mila as she looked wide-eyed down at the floor. Her fingers curled up tight and she brought her gaze up to look at the girl, saying only, _I don't know, _then cutting the link.

Wei took a few steps after her, before stopping to stare blankly at Mila. Neither knew the truth of what Erwine felt. Erwine herself wasn't ready to accept it yet. Instead of that, she moved forwards, doing the only thing she knew. Soon both their gazes would turn to the conversation between the destroyer of a world and a little girl.

* * *

The girl looked up as..._that thing_ approached. No one had come over to her before, not in however long she'd been sitting in that corner. She recognized the girl that came as the one who had destroyed her home. Killed her parents, her friends, and everyone she ever knew. Imagining her as a monster seemed hard, for she didn't look the part.

She tried to be brave, and though she knew she was powerless against this girl, she still tried. _Someone has to stand up for all those people she killed, even if everyone else here is a monster._

* * *

Erwine looked down blankly at the girl, still caught up in the torrent of thoughts inside her mind. She pushed them aside as she dropped to one knee, looking the girl in the eyes as she did so. They stared at each other for a few seconds, Erwine emotionless and the girl trying to show strength.

Then the older of the two spoke softly, "Many people say things like this, and though they're just trying to help, we know that they're lying." Erwine paused, then continued again, resolute in her focus, "But I know exactly what you're feeling rght now." She slowly shifted herself, moving to rest on both of her knees.

Taking a few seconds to calm herself, she started to speak sweetly, not unlike a person she knew a long time ago, "Once, I had a dream, and in that dream I saw the same thing you just saw, my home being destroyed." Erwine's hand came to sit over her chest, and she felt her heartbeat as she continued, "I saw a girl standing beside me. Not too long ago, I learned that girl was me, and the eyes I saw with were yours." The young girl was confused, understandably so. She pushed herself into the corner even further, not sure what Erwine meant. "But back then, I thought I was that girl, and that the one beside me was a monster."

"The day I made my contract, I met a girl who looked like that monster, and I thought she was. She convinced me that she wasn't, and that the future I saw wasn't the one I would experience." Erwine shook her head, and suddenly realized that she'd been crying, "I had ten years to avert this, and yet it still occurred." She raised her arms, leaning forwards and grabbing the girl by the shoulders, who was entranced enough by Erwine's seeming understanding that she didn't resist. "Today I lost everything, including any sense of being able to control my own destiny."

She shook the tears away from her eyes, and for a few unclouded moments stared into those of the girl, "But you…you haven't lost that yet. You may thnk you've lost everything, but as long as you keep hold of yourself, you still have _something._" Erwine asked, "Do you understand?" The girl didn't reply for a long time, until she eventually nodded. It was barely a motion, but it was enough for Erwine. "Good…never forget that, alright?"

After a few seconds, she removed her hands from the girl's shoulders and returned to her original posture. Silence reigned for a minute, until the girl spoke almost inaudibly. "Why didn't you let me save them?" Contained in those words the girl spoke was enough sorrow to have driven any magical girl to the brink.

Erwine nodded, as though to show that it was a good question. "Did you ever have any class about contracting?" The girl nodded. "Didn't they tell you about wishes made for other people?" The inquisitor asked, and received another nod. Now she narrowed her eyes, "Then why would you want to save those people?"

That made the girl think, but Erwine gave her all the time she needed. "I was willing to suffer, if it meant saving all of those people." The girl explained, "I thought that I tried hard enough, I could save anyone else from any despair it would bring." She sounded confident.

"You're a better person than most," Erwine whispered with a proud smile, and the girl seemed to take that to heart. "But you need to understand that ultimately, no matter how hard you try, you can't stop the universe's basic functions. It's merely how the world works, and like it or not we all must abide by those rules."

"Even the Goddess?" the girl asked with fear.

Erwine nodded, though it wasn't without sorrow, "Even the Goddess. It's a fundamental law of the universe that hope and despair must be balanced, changing or going against it would bring only further despair."

"So Siothea can't come back?" the girl asked in terror, "I can't ever bring any of them back?"

Erwine cried harder as she replied, "That's right. I'm so sorry, but they can't be brought back. The price of an entire planet is great enough that only another planet can pay."

The girl was crying now as well, despite having remained strong for so long, "So there's nothing I can do? In the end, I'm powerless…"

Her words tugged at the strings of Erwine's heart as the magical girl was made to remember someone else so close to her. "You don't have to be powerless." Erwine said softly. The conviction in her words only increased as she continued, "Should you find a wish worth contracting for, then you can become a magical girl. You can fight."

"You said that you lost everything…" The girl whispered, "Does that mean somebody took it away?" Befuddled, Erwine nodded. "So…did that someone take away my home from me?"

In the girl's eyes Erwine saw the same traces of hatred-no, the same lust for revenge that filled Adrianne. The same lust that once filled herself. "She did, in effect," Erwine confirmed, then spoke again before the younger girl could. Her stern voice hammered her words home, "But do not contract out of revenge. Revenge in and of itself is an emotion strong enough to rip you apart." Her eyes grew misty once again, "Someone I loved was destroyed by the desire for revenge she harbored, and she gained that desire after she contracted. Making the entire foundation for your existence such a volatile emotion will only bring suffering, I assure you."

"So you really do understand everything…" the girl said in disbelief, then demanded, "Then what am I supposed to do, I have nothing?!"

"I won't make you leave here." Erwine said. She knew that the nature of the girl meant that she couldn't just let her go. _Her nature as a warp-sensitive will be in the report, and even if I lie they'll find out. Some inquisitor will find her, and it may be one not so understanding. _"I'm not quite sure what will happen to you, but I promise that you'll be safe." She wouldn't lie, but she was willing to make such a promise. Erwine glanced back to see Wei and Mila, who had been watching silently and motionlessly. She looked back to the young human with a sad smile, "If you truly want to make a difference, then find something worth wishing for."

Erwine stood, and after a few seconds of hesitation, turned away from the little girl. After a couple steps, she paused. "Your name," the Inquisitor said as she she looked over her shoulder, "What is it?"

"Freja Leitner," the girl replied quietly. Then she asked, "What's yours?"

"Erwine Braune," the magical girl said, then with a grin, "Just call me Erwine."

* * *

Erwine left the room with Wei at her side, Mila content with being left inside to watch over Freja. The last thing Erwine wanted to be responsible for was the suffering such a poor wish would bring about. As she stepped from the room confident that one problem had at least a bandaid on it, she found herself wondering what to do.

It was in that moment that the spiral began anew, only for Erwine to shake her head and instantly look for something else to do. "Where's Ileve?" She asked. _No one will be here for a few days. The least I can do for the crew is ensure that they're alright. _

"Probably on the bridge," Wei replied, conscious of Erwine's mental state. Her eyes kept looking to Erwine's gem, even sometimes looking twice in the same second as if they might betray her.

Erwine nodded, "Then to the bridge we go." The words didn't sound intended for Wei, rather they were spoken as a reminder of her objective, as a reminder to keep looking forwards and never backwards. As Erwine strode quickly down the hallway, Wei did not hesitate to follow. Wherever Erwine went, she too would go.

* * *

They hadn't left their posts since it happened, leaving the entire bridge trapped in an atmosphere of solemnity. Elle hadn't moved from her chair, continuing to stare ahead at where Siothea had been, with Sechylia to her left and Ileve to her right, both staring ahead as well.

No one had spoken since Ileve arrived to give a few inspirational and comforting words. The silence had begun to wear down upon all of them, but none felt comfortable speaking a word. Eventually, Elle felt uncomfortable sitting there while Erwine suffered, despite knowing that she could do nothing and having a feeling that to leave would only guarantee some further disaster. "Will she be alright" the woman whispered quietly, her words directed towards Ileve. Though Justinia was gone, the memory of her had yet to fade, and Ileve was the one who she turned to when she needed it.

"She'll be fine," Ileve nodded, herself cursing the fact that there was nothing she could do despite the sympathy she had. Sechylia remained silent as Elle shifted her gaze back to the screen, wondering how something as massive as a planet could be gone in an instant.

By some standards, she was old. With fifty-eight years under her belt, she certainly wasn't on the young side, but the juvenat treatments that came along with an inquisitor's favor meant that she could waste a century and still have plenty of time. Indeed, the age hadn't even begun to show on her face. She didn't worry about the magical girls around her outliving her. Statistics showed that she had a better chance of lasting longer than they did, given their professions.

However, the woman didn't enjoy ruminating on the possibilities of the future. If there was anything she'd learned, it was that it was truly impossible to tell what might happen. The day before, she hadn't expected to have conducted Exterminatus, yet the memory was still fresh in her mind.

She was not a being that lived on hope, but the memory still weighed heavy on her heart. Elle couldn't imagine what the magical girls felt. The opening of the doors called her attention, and she looked behind her shoulder to see the answer to her worries approaching.

Erwine strode onto the bridge not with confidence, but at least calmly. All eyes fell on the inquisitor as she came to a halt beside Ileve. For a few seconds she silently ran her eyes over the bridge, before they looked to the screen and the void that Siothea had once occupied.

She began speaking with no further ceremony, "I'm sorry for what had to be done today. Some of you may say otherwise, but I wish to take responsibility for what occurred. Ultimately, the fault lies with myself." She took a breath, and though she had no real plan, she decided one there and then. "We will remain in system, keeping it under lockdown until the investigation teams arrive. By the time they finish, we will have hopefully determined a course of action to destroy whoever did this." Another pause, and she continued, "I must ask you all to remain vigilent until reinforcements arrive. We must assume that the enemy is still here, and we must ensure that no one leaves until they are found."

She'd run out of words to say, but was unsure how to end. It would be Ileve who would save her, saying, "Erwine, perhaps you should get some rest. You're exhausted, and you need to be rested when the investigators arrive." Still, Erwine felt uncomfortable leaving now, but it would be a gentle tug on her arm from behind that would move her in the end.

Glancing behind herself, she saw Wei giving her a knowing glare. Erwine left in silence, Wei following behind. Everyone watched her go, and most stared at the closed doors for a couple seconds even after she was gone. "She'll be fine," Ileve said confidently. No one questioned her, for no one desired to.

* * *

She hadn't stopped moving since the first message arrived from Siothea. The entire building had sprung into action, and she knew from years of training them that the entire sector had begun to move. Every possible asset was now looking into every possible avenue of investigation.

Already the inquisitors she trusted the most to handle the matter were on their way, and the rest were scrambling to dig up any trace. Still, given the precedent, there was a good chance that they'd find nothing. However, Leithica Helenie wasn't about to be known as the Lord Inquisitor who did nothing after a world in her sector burned.

The long rectangular table in the situation room displayed a holographic map of every system in the sector, and with simple manipulation of the projected figures one could zoom in and out and bring up various figures for the worlds projected. Surrounding the table was every member of the staff not otherwise occupied, each one focused on combing through the details and history of every single planet so as to find the slightest hint that might suggest a traitor presence.

A simple look by any telepath at the web of networks would show a constant string of messages going in and out of system to and from not only the local MSOC but all of the bordering groups, as well as the Segmentum Sect and even some flung all the way to Terra itself.

All that needed to be said was that Ishna had seen a world destroyed, and the response was immediate and effective. Lockdown orders had already been issued by the Toella MSOC, and the others were considering it. Segmentum had moved all available independent elements to support any investigation into the matter.

In the end, despite all the hurrah, there was little that was really done. With a recent string of Chaos invasions and a strangely sizable group of Deathwatch and Inquisitorial forces having disappeared years before, the resources for an almost certainly fruitless investigation such as this one were few and far between. But anything that could be done would help.

Leithica knew that ultimately the task would fall upon her sect, and it would be a task she would gladly accept.

* * *

The tears had come in waves, fading in and out. Sometimes she cried more, sometimes she cried less. Sometimes the room was just silent. For Nada, the world had suddenly stopped making sense some time ago. She had no idea of how much time had passed.

Everyone and everything she knew was gone. Except for one person. That one person was the one who had taken all of them away from her-no, she was the one who had saved her, out of all the people she could have saved. The idea of hating Erwine was alien to Nada, but at the same time it was familiar. _She is the one who left, she is the one who contracted when I was left behind…maybe…maybe…_She cut her thoughts off before they could progress any further, though in that act she only gave them further power.

Though she tried to stay calm, it was a constant struggle, and thus she was never calm. She wasn't sure if she was thinking straight or not, but it really didn't matter for the truth was the undeniable truth. Everything was gone.

A knock on the door. Nada wondered who it might be, and realized that probably only Erwine would come to see her. It opened without her speaking a word, and sure enough it was that familiar face. Immediately Erwine paused, not even finishing shutting the door behind her as she saw Nada lying on the bed, tears still fresh on her face.

For a few seconds she just stared until she slammed the door and crossed the room in an instant to embrace the woman. It was obvious to Erwine what was wrong. "I'm sorry," She whispered, "I shouldn't have ignored like I did, I'm so sorry."

Nada didn't move, still considering her feelings for the girl. "You really couldn't have done anything, could you?" Nada whispered, her hands coming up to grip the girl's arms.

Erwine shook her head, sayng sorrowfully, "I couldn't have saved them. That was the only choice I had. Even if I knew what was happening, there was no time to stop it."

It would be a few seconds before Nada relaxed, but relax she did and embrace Erwine. Even more time would pass, but eventually Nada would ask almost inaudibly, "What will happen to me now?"

"I won't let any harm come to you," Erwine immediately promised. She hesitated before speaking again, "You'll have to find a new home, but know that you're always welcome here, though I can't say it's the safest place."

"Thank you," Nada replied, and was content to rest in Erwine's arms. They needed to say nothing more to each other.

* * *

Only a few hours had passed, but they were already underway, with the warp just ahead of them. It was unfair to think such things, but all of them knew what they had been feeling when the news came in. They hadn't spent twenty years of their life wrapped up around the actions of a single person and not come to understand her at least a little.

Assuming that Ishna was still alive, and even possibly if she wasn't, then she would certainly bring some tragedy to pass on Siothea. That was what they had thought, but they had all doubted it to some extent. Now that they were on their way to conduct the official investigation into the Exterminatus conducted on Siothea, they knew that they were wrong.

Amid their rumination on that fact, the rest of the people on the ship barely had idea why they were so deep in thought. Of course an Exterminatus had occurred, but there was something different about the four magical girls. Being left in the dark was uncomfortable to the young, at least relatively, captain of the ship, a man who had prided himself on wanting to understand Inquisitorial matters.

Mathias Kendrick felt that the girl standing beside him only stayed there for appearances, as there wasn't anything left to be done, and she hadn't said a word in the past half an hour. Eventually he grew restless, and turned his head to the violet-haired girl, "You believe this relates to the incidents ten years ago, correct?" He'd did his best to read through the archives upon his assignment to the Sect, and understood what the magical girls on the ship were thinking, but if nothing else it would break the awkward silence.

Celestine Luminesce wasn't someone he knew well, having only been a captain for two years and assigned to the Hadiens Sect for one. But the girl had chosen his ship as her personal vessel, for a reason he couldn't imagine. His voice broke her from her thoughts, and she turned her cold eyes to him, but her stare relaxed after a few moments.

"Indeed," she confirmed, "I imagine Ishna would not hesitate to make Erwine suffer, especially if it is her home. She would still have friends there, and she most likely couldn't save them all."

"I can't imagine hearing the news was pleasant." The captain said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He wore the usual navy uniform, and his officer's cap sat above a head of short black hair.

"It wasn't at all," Celestine said sadly, taking a deep breath. She exhaled slowly as she looked over her shoulder, wondering what Laelia was up to.

"Is Ms. Aemilina alright?" the man asked, "I haven't seen much of her."

"The four of us were more separated from the conflict with Ishna than the others, but of the four of us she and Ayelen were hurt the most by that girl." Celestine explained quietly, as though the girl might be listening. "And even setting aside what she did to us, the prospect of confronting that girl is not an enticing one."

Mathias nodded, unsure how he ought to reply. In the end, it wouldn't be his job to deal with the girl. He was just supposed to get her there and support her. "I'll do everything I can to help," he assured her, though winced after he spoke, for it was an unspoken expectation.

Catching the grimace, Celestine grinned and chuckled a little. "Don't worry captain, I appreciate the kind words." Feeling a bit more talkative, she asked, "How much longer to the warp?"

"Half an hour, ma'am," Mathias replied, still referring to the magical girls respectfully despite numerous requests not to.

The Inquisitor shrugged, "Then I'll stay here, I have nothing better to do."

* * *

The mere fact that a message came had alerted her to something being wrong. Only Terra would send her anything through the communication silence imposed on the system, and even then it would have to be something vital. The astrotelepath described it as urgent, only further preparing her for whatever its contents would be.

Her heart still skipped a beat when she actually read it: _Exterminatus conducted on Siothea to prevent active warp breach by Erwine Braune. Lyndia was there. Ishna is behind this. _Juno actually stumbled, the eyes around her all falling on her, several concerned voices inquiring about her condition.

The only thing she could do was turn to face in the direction of the great hole in the ground, and say, "Get that damn thing open as fast as possible. We've run out of time."

* * *

_Warp signature detected entering system. Identifying and contacting. _Erwine was reminded that the peace couldn't last forever as the words from the astrotelepath came to her mind, and they were enough to rouse her immediately from her embrace with Nada.

"There's something I need to take care of," Erwine explained quietly, as she stood up, "I'm not sure how serious it is, but it might be important. Forgive me."

The woman looked saddened, but nodded in understanding. "Go," She said, and Erwine didn't hesitate to head for the door. As she left, Nada called, "Good luck."

Erwine waved before she shut the door. Outside waited Wei, to whom she nodded before heading towards the bridge. _Torrent-class cruiser Falcon's Grace, Hadiens Sect Fleet Detachment, currently assigned to Nisteo. _Victoria continued to search all available information on the ship as she spoke, but there was a pause longer than usual before she said, _Inquisitor…Caitlyn Afreya recently commandeered the ship, citing classified matters. _

Erwine froze, but only for a couple seconds, and then she pushed herself into action once again. She sent to every magical girl on the ship, ordering, _start gathering everything on her that you possibly can. If there are any secrets she has, I want to know them. _

_Contact established, receiving message. _Victoria replied, _addressed to you, Inquisitor: _

_This is Caitlin Afreya. I wish to speak with Inquisitor Erwine Braune. I have a matter of the utmost importance to discuss with her._

* * *

Extreme skepticism is perhaps one of the worst cancers afflicting Her Holy Majesty's Imperial Inquisition, and has been since its inception. A healthy dose of skepticism is necessary for an inquisitor's work, one should always question what they sense. However, to question and to doubt are different things. One questions in order to learn more, and ultimately is in the pursuit of a better understanding. One doubts in order to push away a view they find unsatisfactory.

Magical girls are themselves the result of miracles that may bend reality. Given this, we must accept that anything imaginable is possible in some scenario. While there are no shortage of liars in this world, there is also no shortage of fools who doubt all that is placed before them, as though this shall lead them to some higher truth. Sometimes the truth is simply what is before one's eyes. That being said, questioning is healthy, but one should always be unbiased in that questioning.

Too many times have we been blinded by bias in one direction or the other. We refuse to accept the most obvious truth just as much as gladly accept the most obvious falsehood. Ultimately, only the individual can better themselves in this regard, and we should all strive for this improvement.

-Published in _Voice of Terra, _by Inquisitor Meris Cosel


End file.
